Oliver Anthony Just Made History
We were rocked this week by country music duo Oliver Anthony and Luke Combs for a history-making feat, as they scored the top two spots on the Billboard Hot 100 all-genre music chart, pushing into the record books.
On Monday of this week, Anthony's working-man anthem, "Rich Men North of Richmond," saw unprecedented success and debuted in the number one spot, making the Virginia singer-songwriter the first artist ever to achieve such a feat with no prior chart history of any kind according to Billboard magazine.
The success of Oliver Anthony's chart-topping debut has spawned reactions of both shock and awe. When speaking to Billboard magazine, Anthony, born Christopher Anthony Lunsford, commented that "the hopelessness and frustration of our times [are]...resonating in the response to this song."
Anthony's song garnered nearly 18 million streams and 147,000 downloads in the week ending August 17, according to Luminate. It also picked up 553,000 radio audience impressions, without the help of any radio promotional efforts.
Along with Oliver Anthony's debut success, Luke Combs made history again as he grabbed the number 2 spot on the all-genre chart with the single, "Fast Car."
This is the second time in the history of the Billboard chart that country music artists have landed in the top 3 spots simultaneously, as last month Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" grabbed the top spot followed by Combs' "Last Night" and Anthony's "Fast Car." Such occurrences have not happened since the chart's inception in August 1958.
The success of these two country music greats marks yet another historic occasion in a long list of accomplishments associated with the genre on the Hot 100 chart. Classics like Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire", Faith Hill's "Breathe", and Rascal Flatts' "Life is Still a Highway" have all debuted in the top 10 of the chart since the 2000s, according to Billboard.
The Billboard Hot 100 All Genre chart is undoubtedly one of the biggest accomplishments an artist could ever dream of achieving, and the fact that these two talented artists have accomplished such a feat is surely something to raise a glass to. Congratulations to both Oliver Anthony and Luke Combs on a job well done.
Who is Oliver Anthony? Unknown musician rockets to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 chart https://t.co/qYNutPcG6v pic.twitter.com/ibFf1sLq5H
— New York Post (@nypost) August 22, 2023