Wednesday 11 June 2014

Country Billboard Chart News June 5, 2014

Country Billboard Chart News June 5, 2014

In Brief:  Billboard Country Charts

Country Album Chart ** No. 1 (2 weeks) “Just As I Am” Brantley Gilbert
Hot Country Songs ** No.1 (8 weeks) ** “Play It Again” Luke Bryan
Country Airplay ** No. 1 (3 weeks) ** "Play It Again" Luke Bryan
Country Digital Songs ** No.1 (ninth cumulative week) ** "Play It Again" Luke Bryan

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart News

Coldplay's "Ghost Stories" helds for a second week at No.1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart (BB200), that's down 78%  from a week ago, when it launched at No.1 with 383,000. Two-week sales for “Ghost Stories” stand at 466,000, making it the sixth-largest-selling album of 2014. The soundtrack to "Frozen" continues to rule by far as the year's top seller, with 2.5 million, and remains the only album to have sold 1 million copies in 2014.

Cher Lloyd, the 20-year old Malvern, Worcestershire, England "Swagger Jagger" and UK X Factor Top 4 finisher saw her sophomore album, Sorry I'm Late, debut at #12 selling 16,607 copies. Her debut, Sticks + Stones, released on 2 October 2012 in America through Epic Records, peaked and debuted at #9 on chart issued Oct 20, 2012 selling 30,876 copies one place behind LITTLE BIG TOWN with TORNADO which sold 30,908 that week as the #1 Country Album.

Brantley Gilbert's JUST AS I AM (Valory/Big Machine Label Group) held steady in the No.2 slot on the BB200 and No.1 on Billboard Country albums for a second frame selling 65,170 copies (down 69%, 211,288 sold in 2-weeks).
His Big Machine label mates Rascal Flatts saw REWIND dip from 10-11 on the BB200 and retained their No.2 slot on the country chart (sales down 23%)
Hunter Hayes “Storyline,” at No.6 Country sold another 7,000 copies to pass 100K in 4 weeks.

New on the Billboard 200 at No.193 (#24 Country) was Jamie Lynn Spears who made a bow with her debut EP, THE JOURNEY (Sweet Jamie Music) selling around 2,000 copies.
It boasts five tracks all co-written by Spears, and includes her single "How Could I Want More”. The EP released May 27th. The EP, produced by Corey Crowder, features some of country music's best songwriters including Liz Rose (Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Eli Young Band), Chris Tompkins (Florida Georgia Line, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood), Tyler Hayes (Gloriana), Rivers Rutherford (Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley) and Lisa Carver (Reba McEntire, Sugarland). See more at: nashvillegab
Billboard Article Jamie Lynn Spears Video Exclusive: The Stories Behind 'The Journey' EP Songs >> Video
Interview with Jamie Lynn Spears: On 'The Journey' EP, Writing Over 100 Songs & Dream Duet
Jamie puts on a long and leggy show in military-inspired playsuit when she posed with fans at the CMA Music Festival - Daily Mail

Critical reception for Jamie Lynn Spears “The Journey”:
5 Tracks: Time: 17:27 MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com 

Billboard (by Chuck Dauphin) .....Unlike a lot of performers out there, she isn’t afraid to let her natural Southern twang show. That’s apparent on the lead single, “How Could I Want More,”  where her voice truly reflects her Louisiana home. The song – written about her husband – is
Jamie Lynn Spears-Live
2014 CMA Festival
8 June 2014
particularly moving, and she knocks it out of the ballpark. She also does likewise on “Mandolin Summer Rain,” where you can almost see the dirt tracks and swamp land that is so much a part of her native state...I urge you to give this CD a chance based on…the music. She’s got the talent, the moxie, and the personality to take it as far as she wants to go. And, that would ring true if her name was Smith or Jones!

Saving Country Music (Rating: 1 out of 2 Guns) ..So, Britney’s little sister wants to be a country music star after getting booted off Nickelodeon ’cause she got knocked up at sixteen.” This is the conclusion most high-nosed country music snobs can come to upon hearing that Jamie Lynn Spears has bent her back to the pursuit of a country music career, without even having to listen to a peep of her music. At first notion, the premise of Jamie Lynn Country seems so flimsy and transparent, it’s darn near a forgone conclusion that it can be nothing more than bubble gum and choreography....Then when Jamie released her first single, the co-penned “How Could I Want More” in November 2013, many high-nosed music snobs had to spread mustard on their presumptive words and eat them....Even in 2014 though, half baked and dated material still bests most of what is coming from mainstream country males, and it’s only fair to grade The Journey among its peers. “How Could I Want More” is pretty good, “Big Bad World” is not half bad, and the other three tracks are pretty forgettable, but not offensive.

Outside of the top 25 Country albums saw a lowly debut for Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison with OUR YEAR (Thirty Tigers) which landed at No.40. 
The new album dropped 5/27. The follow-up to Cheaters Game mixes harmony and groove. The two already reign as one of Americana music’s coolest couples, and their latest release, Our Year, out May 27, 2014 on Premium/Thirty Tigers Records, elevates them closer to the lofty territory once occupied by beloved royals Johnny ’n’ June and George ’n’ Tammy....Maybe they’ll play Buckingham Palace one day, though night clubs and dance halls are more their style. But wherever Our Year takes them doesn’t really matter, Robison says, because they’re having the time of their lives. (via Press Release)

Critical reception for Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison “Our Year”
10 Tracks/ Time:  31:26 CD - MP3 - Smart Choice Music - Amazon.com 
EN145 (rating: 4.5 STARS) ..The beauty of this album comes from Willis and Robison’s knowing and canny way with a song, as well as more, and even more important, their ability to read each other’s voices, weave around each other’s vocals, and create an intimacy in their sound that invites listeners into the duo’s world. It may be Willis and Robison’s year, but with this album, it’s our year, too.
Roughstock (Rating: 5 STARS)....Country music has a long standing tradition of duets. Dolly and Porter, Dolly and Kenny, George and Tammy, Loretta and Conway, Emmylou and Gram.  Robison and Willis belong in that revered list. While each of them is a stellar singing and songwriter in their own right, when they get together they make magic. The latest collaboration finds them honing their musical choices to a nearly nuanced and balanced collection of songs. Our Year promises to be one of the best country albums of the year.

There was no sign of Jamie O'Neal’s new set ETERNAL (Shanachie Entertainment/Momentum Label Group) on the Top 50 albums. Released on May 27th it is Jamie’s spin on 11 classic hits by the likes of Patsy Cline, Bruce Cockburn, Deborah Allen, Larry Gatlin, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Juice Newton (“The Sweetest Thing” No.1 in May on Hotdisc chart in Europe), Connie Smith and others.

2014 Country Album sales Year-To Date:
12,754,000 (Physical sales 8,379,000 (down 9%) + Digital sales 4,375,000 (down 15.7%)) which is 24.0% down at the same point in 2013 (16,785,000 sales)

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Placings

(Issue dated Chart week of June 14, 2014)
(Country Album positions #1 - #25)
(TW) This Week, (LW) Last Week, Co (Country Album Chart placing / Movement)



























Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of June 14, 2014)


On Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart - which blends:
a) All-format airplay, as monitored by BDS 
b) Sales, as tracked by Nielsen SoundScan and
c) Streaming, (tracked by Nielsen BDS from such services as Spotify, Muve, Slacker, Rhapsody, Rdio and Xbox Music, among others) according to BDS it results in:

  • Luke Bryan’sPlay It Again” (Capitol Nashville) logged an eighth week at No.1 atop Billboard’s Hot Country Songs marking the fourth-most weeks a song has logged at the summit since the ranking switched from measuring core country radio audience to a sales/airplay/streaming hybrid methodology on Oct. 20, 2012. Last summer, Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” set an all-time record with 24 weeks atop the chart before it was replaced at No.1 on the Aug. 31, 2013 survey by Bryan’s “That’s My Kind of Night,” which spent 12 weeks on top. With 10 weeks at No.1, Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” boasts the third-longest reign since the methodology makeover.
  • Lee Brice claimed his fifth Top 10, as “I Don’t Dance” (Curb) jumped 12-8. The singer-songwriter last reached the region with “I Drive Your Truck,” which motored to a No. 6 peak on the March 30, 2013 list.
  • Jana Kramer charts for a third time notching a career-high debut at No.37 with “Love” (Elektra Nashville/Warner Atlantic Reprise). The actress-singer has risen as high as No.3 with “Why Ya Wanna” in October 2012.
Top 25 Hot Country Songs:

Luke Bryan with “Play It Again” stays at the Top of the Chart #1
Florida Georgia Line feat Luke Bryan with former #1 “This Is How Me Roll” stays at #2
Jake Owen  with “Beachin’” held at #3
Miranda Lambert with “Automatic” climbs two, #6 - #4 p
Brantley Gilbert with former No1 “Bottoms Up” drops one, # 4 - #5 q
Brett Eldredge with “Beat Of The Music” moves up two, #8 - #6 p
Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Sebastion with “My Eyes” jumps up, #11 - #7 p
Lee Brice with “I Don’t Dance” is up four, #12 - #8 p
Justin Moore with “Lettin’ The Night Roll” stays firm at #9
Thomas Rhett with “Get Me Some Of That” is down three, #7 - #10 q
Tyler Farr with “Whiskey In My Water” holds at #14 - #11
Chris Young with “Who I Am With You” is up one, #13 - #12 p
Joe Nichols with “Yeah” climbs three, #16 - #13 p
Dierks Bentley with “Drunk On A Plane” flies up six, #20 - #14 p
Billy Currington with “We Are Tonight” leaps up seven, #22 - #15 p
Brad Paisley with “River Bank” rises five, #21 - #16 p
Rascal Flatts with “Rewind” falls seven, #10 - #17 q
Jerrod Niemann with “Drink At That All Night” slips one, #17 - #18 q
Lady Antebellum with “Bartender” stays at #19
Craig Campbell with “Keep Them Kisses Comin’” moves up four, #24 - #20 p
Dustin Lynch with “Where It’s At” is up two,  #23 - #21 p
Eric Church with “Give Me Back My Hometown” falls four, #18 - #22 q
Keith Urban with “Cop Car” falls eight, #15 - #23 q
The Band Perry with “Chainsaw” is up one, #25 - #24 p
Miranda Lambert duet with Carrie Underwood with “Somethin’ Bad” plummets #5 - #25 q

Hot County Songs
** No.1 (8 weeks) ** “Play It Again” Luke Bryan
** Airplay Gainer ** No.3 “Beachin’ Jake Owen
** Digital Gainer ** No.5 “Bottoms Up” Brantley Gilbert
** Streaming Gainer ** No.19 “Bartender” Lady Antebellum
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.37 “Love” Jana Kramer
Debut No.41 “Cold One” Eric Church
Debut No.43 “Keep It To Yourself” Kacey Musgraves
Debut No.45 “Donkey” Jerrod Niemann
Debut No.50 “Rum” Brothers Osborne


Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of June 14, 2014

Luke Bryan matched his longest run atop the Billboard Country Airplay tally, as “Play It Again” (Capitol Nashville) led the way for a third week. The song logged 49.684 million audience impressions (+0.983 million; up 2%) and received 7412 radio plays (+78) which marked the second-largest weekly audience sum since the chart switched to an audience-based ranking in January 2005.
Thomas Rhett maintains the weekly audience record he established when “It Goes Like This” collected 50.3 million impressions in the final frame of a three-week stand at No. 1 last fall (Nov. 9, 2013). Bryan initially inked his longest run at No. 1 last summer with “Crash My Party,” which wrapped up a three-week run atop the chart dated July 27, 2013.
Top local audience penetration for “Play “during the May 26-June 1 tracking week: KKBQ Houston (1.8 million impressions), WUSN Chicago (1.5 million), KKGO Los Angeles (1.2 million), WNSH New York (1 million) and KPLX Dallas (1 million). Bryan’s Country Airplay chart history includes 15 top 10 singles, nine of which have reached No.1












  • Craig Campbell, meanwhile, claimed his first top 10 in five tries on Country Airplay, as “Keep Them Kisses Comin’ ” (Bigger Picture) climbed 12-10 in its 25th chart week. Campbell’s previous best rank was a No.14 peak with “Family Man” on the April 9, 2011 chart. Campbell’s label Bigger Picture recently suspended operations and on the lower regions of the chart Campbell’s former labelmate Ryan Kinder made a debut at No.59 with “Kiss Me When I’m Down”.  
  • Blake Shelton bagged the weeks “Most Increased Audience” with “My Eyes” (Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville) (featuring Gwen Sebastian) logging 31.917 million audience impressions, a +5.222 million gain and received 5,056 radio plays (+680). It moved 11-8 to nab his 15th consecutive top 10.
  • At No.26 Zac Brown Band with “All Alright” took home the chart weeks “Most Added” trophy. The song received 1,582 radio spins (+423) thanks to 35 fresh radio commitments (ADDS), making a 31-26 jump in its sixth week.
  • Sheryl Crow with "Shotgun" (Sea Gayle/Warner Bros./WMN) made an initial entry at No.53 to claim “Hot Shot Debut" honours.
Women of Country 2014 Watch:
Miranda Lambert at No.3 ("Automatic") was the lone solo female artist in the Top 30 Country Airplay songs. Kacey Musgraves #32, Cassadee Pope #34, Maggie Rose #46, Kelleigh Bannen #49, Danielle Bradbery #50, Leah Turner #52, Sheryl Crow  #53 and Jamie Lynn Spears #60 were an additional eight solo females in the remaining 31-60 slots, to make it 15.0% of the entire Top 60 chart.

Country Airplay
*** No. 1 (3 weeks) *** "Play It Again" Luke Bryan
** “Most Increased Audience ** No. 8 "My Eyes" Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Sebastian
** Most Added ** No.26 “All Alright” Zac Brown Band
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.53 "Shotgun" Sheryl Crow
Debut No. 55 "Tattoo" Hunter Hayes
Debut No. 59 "Kiss Me When I Am Down" Ryan Kinder


Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of June 14, 2014

  • Luke Bryan’sPlay It Again” topped Billboard’s Country Digital Songs tally for a ninth cumulative week (77,000 downloads sold, down 12% percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan) and led Country Streaming Songs for a third consecutive frame (2.1 million U.S. streams).
  • Jake Owen with “Beachin” (RCA Nashville) moved up to 4-2 on its 16th chart frame. At #6 is “Bartender” from Lady Antebellum which sold another 45,000 copies in their second week.
  • Last weeks No.1 Miranda Lambert’s duet with Carrie Underwood, “Something Bad,” (RCA Nashville/SMN) fell back heavily 1-8 (sales down 64%, 142,000 sold in 2 weeks)
  • Brantley Gilbert rebounded 25-9 with “Bottoms Up,” giving him a 24-week tally of 1.2 million downloads.
  • Jerrod Niemann’sDrink To That All Night” jumped up the chart 3 slots, 14-11, thanks to a >> Pitbull remix (both artists credited).
  • It was a lucky 13th frame for Billy Currington as “We Are Tonight” jumped up twelve slots 27-15.
  • Fans showed some affection for Jana Kramer’sLove” (Elektra Nashville/WMN) which made a bow at No.30 (16,000 first week sales)
Women Of Country Watch
Only 2 solo female artists on the Top 30 placings:
Miranda Lambert with single "Automatic" in its 15th week moved 10-12 and Jana Kramer with “Love” debuted at No.30

Dropping off the Top 30:
6 - Off the Top 50 Jake Worthington & Blake Shelton “A Country Boy Can Survive”
10 - Off the Top 50  Jake Worthington “Right Here Waiting”
11 - Off the Top 50  Jake Worthington “Don’t Close Your Eyes”
20 - Off the Top 50 Carrie Underwood “Keep Us Safe”

Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music (published June 5, 2014)
 (LW) Last Week  (TW) This Week
*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000th

































Country Aircheck/ Mediabase chart

Luke Bryan with “Play It Again” (Capitol) remained at No.1 of the Mediabase Country chart for the tracking week May 25th to May 31st. The song logged 7,716 radio spins (+83) and 60.607 million audience impressions (+ 0.290 million) from 149 tracking stations.
Click To Enlarge
Luke sends a >> Thank you to radio
Congratulations to UMG Nashville SVP/Promotion Royce Risser, Capitol Nashville VP/Promotion Steve Hodges and the entire promo team for scoring a second consecutive week #1 Mediabase chart topper. This is the second single off Bryan’s “Crash My Party” album to maintain the #1 spot for two straight weeks. The album’s lead single and title cut achieved this rare double in July 15, 2013.  Subsequent singles “That’s My Kind Of Night” and “Drink A Beer” also hit #1 in October and February, respectively.

Congratulations to UMG SVP/Promotion Royce Risser, EMI Nashville VP/Promotion Jimmy Rector and their entire promo team, for earning 61 MEDIABASE Country Adds on Eric Church's "Cold One." Those adds earned the "Most Added" title for this week. Donuts were due to be delivered to the EMI Nashville office Valory’s office (June 3rd) to congratulate the staff on their success.
For a detailed report check out Country Aircheck Weekly Issue 399 - June 2, 2014 [PDF File]
For the very latest up to the minute Mediabase Chart (Past 7 Days) go here - www.mediabase.com

Billboard Boxscores (Selective Country concerts)

Rank Artist: #6
Event Venue City/State: George Strait, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Cassadee Pope Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.
Dates: May 31, 2014  Gross Sales: $5,005,789  Attend: 55,863/ 55,863  SOLD OUT         
Capacity Shows: 1/1  Sellouts Prices: $199, $99.50, $69.50, $39.50
Promoters: The Messina Group/AEG Live/Kraft Entertainment

Rank Artist: #9
Event Venue City/State: Eagles American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas   
Dates: Feb. 19, 2014   Gross Sales: $1,886,208  Attend: 14,467/ 14,467  SOLD OUT
Capacity Shows: 1/1    Sellouts Prices: $176, $76, $46
Promoters: Live Nation

Rank Artist: #26
Event Venue City/State: Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Dustin Lynch Target Center, Minneapolis, Minn.
Dates: Jan. 11, 2014  Gross Sales: $556,983  Attend: 9,501/ 9,501 SOLD OUT
Capacity Shows: 1/1  Sellouts Prices: $80, $35 Promoters: G.A.M.E.

Rank Artist: #28
Event Venue City/State: Florida Georgia Line, Nelly, Chris Lane Trustmark Park Pearl, Miss.
Dates: May 31, 2014 Gross Sales: $519,453  Attend: 13,068/ 13,068 SOLD OUT
Capacity Shows: 1/1 Sellouts Prices: $39.75
Promoters: Outback Concerts/Jam Productions/Madison House

Rank Artist: #30
Event Venue City/State: Brad Paisley, Randy Houser, Leah Turner, Charlie Worsham First Niagara Pavilion Burgettstown, Pa
Dates: May 17, 2014  Gross Sales: $499,755  Attend: 17,944/ 19,000
Capacity Shows:1/0 Sellouts Prices: $59, $25

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