Oliver Anthony’s viral hit ‘Wealthy Males North of Richmond’ debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100, making him the primary artist to ever debut atop the record with none prior chart historical past.
“Wealthy Males North of Richmond,” the breakout hit from Oliver Anthony Music that went viral solely two weeks in the past, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100 Songs chart. That achievement makes the singer-songwriter the primary artist to launch on the high of the record with no prior chart historical past.
Based on knowledge from Luminate, “Wealthy Males North of Richmond,” formally launched on August 11, clocked 17.5 million streams and offered 147,000 downloads within the week ending August 17. The music additionally racked up 553,000 radio airplay viewers impressions, the majority on nation stations, regardless of not receiving promotion on radio. Additional, the music debuted at No. 1 on the Digital Track Gross sales chart and No. 4 on Streaming Songs.
Oliver Anthony — actual title Christopher Anthony Lunsford, a former manufacturing unit employee from Farmville, Virginia — selected his stage title to honor his grandfather. His music first drew consideration on-line after posting a video on the RadioWV YouTube account of him singing the now-viral music and enjoying his Gretsch guitar.
“Wealthy Males North of Richmond” has drawn each reward and criticism from either side politically, with lyrics about “the overweight milkin’ welfare” and “your greenback taxed to no finish.” Anthony says he sits “fairly lifeless heart down the aisle on politics” and is “unhappy to see the world within the state it’s in, with everybody preventing with one another.”
“The hopelessness and frustration of our instances resonate within the response to this music,” Anthony tells Billboard. “The music itself will not be something particular, however the individuals who have supported it are unimaginable and should be heard.”
In the meantime, Oliver Anthony’s co-manager, Draven Riffe, who produced “Wealthy Males North of Richmond” and likewise co-founded RadioWV, the place the music first debuted, tells Billboard “there was not an entire lot of planning concerned” in its launch.
“We simply knew if we obtained the video on the market, individuals had been going to like the music, and it will resonate with numerous people. There wasn’t some massive, huge planning crew round this. I had a couple of buddies who helped us push the music on the market,” says Riffe. “All of us coordinated, and Oliver’s following (coordinated) as properly; we simply tried to push it on the market unexpectedly with our little group of buddies, and that’s the way it occurred.”
Oliver Anthony is the primary artist to ever debut atop the Sizzling 100 with out having first appeared on any Billboard chart in any type. He’s solely the sixth artist to debut a primary solo Sizzling 100 entry at No. 1, after Zayn, Baauer, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, and Clay Aiken.
Underwood, Fantasia, and Aiken debuted following the season finales of “American Idol” in 2005, 2004, and 2003, respectively, when every artist received their season (or, within the case of Aiken, completed second). Zayn’s debut solo monitor “Pillowtalk” topped the charts in 2016 after he was already within the cultural zeitgeist as a member of One Course. Baauer’s viral sensation “Harlem Shake” debuted per week after first showing on dance/digital chart rankings.
Oliver Anthony can also be a uncommon unsigned artist to high the Sizzling 100. Lisa Loeb grew to become the primary such artist in 1994 together with her hit “Keep (I Missed You),” — however that music was additionally launched from RCA Data on the Actuality Bites soundtrack. Shortly afterward, Loeb signed with Geffen Data.
“We’re engaged on a full (lineup) of reveals with greater lodging within the close to future,” Anthony lately wrote on Fb. “Everybody within the ‘business’ is dashing me into signing one thing, however we simply wish to take issues gradual proper now. I recognize your persistence.”