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Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (October 31st)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Luke Bryan–“Strip It Down” (up 1)
2. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 3)
3. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 2)
4. Old Dominion–“Break Up With Him” (up 1)
5. Cole Swindell–“Let Me See Ya Girl” (up 2)
6. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (down 5)
7. Kenny Chesney–“Save It for a Rainy Day” (down 4)
8. Carrie Underwood–“Smoke Break”
9. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 1)
10. Chris Young–“I’m Comin’ Over” (up 2)
11. Blake Shelton–“Gonna”
12. Jason Aldean–“Gonna Know We Were Here” (up 2)
13. Cam–“Burning House” (up 3)
14. Tim McGraw–“Top of the World” (up 1)
15. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (up 2)
16. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 2)
17. Parmalee–“Already Callin’ You Mine” (up 2)
18. Jana Kramer–“I Got the Boy” (up 3)
19. Kelsea Ballerini–“Dibs” (up 1)
20. LoCash–“I Love This Life” (up 2)
21. Thomas Rhett–“Die a Happy Man” (up 4)
22. Sam Hunt–“Break Up in a Small Town” (up 5) [biggest gainer, sadly]
23. Brad Paisley–“Country Nation”
24. Randy Houser–“We Went”
25. Hunter Hayes–“21”
26. Granger Smith–“Back Road Song” (entering top 30)
27. A Thousand Horses–(“This Ain’t No) Drunk Dial” (up 1)
28. Chase Bryant–“Little Bit of You” (up 2)
29. The Band Perry–“Live Forever”
30. Lee Brice–“That Don’t Sound Like You” (entering top 30)

  • new #1: “Strip it Down”
  • next week’s #1 prediction: “Strip it Down”
  • Maddie & Tae’s “Fly” and Keith Urban’s “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” fell from #9 and #13, respectively, to out of the top 30
  • Granger Smith’s terrible bro anthem “Back Road Song” enters at #26
  • Lee Brice’s mediocre “That Don’t Sound Like You” enters at #30 this week
  • Chase Rice’s terrible, bland, unforgettable “Gonna Wanna Tonight” has literally been on this chart for a year…

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights
2. Toby Keith–35 Mph Town [debut]
3. Jana Kramer–Thirty-One [debut]
4. Don Henley–Cass County
5. George Strait–Cold Beer Conversation
6. Thomas Rhett–Tangled Up
7. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
8. Kane Brown–Closer (EP)
9. Alabama–Southern Drawl
10. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
11. Jason Boland & The Stragglers–Squelch [debut]
12. Brett Eldredge–Illinois
13. Eric Church–The Outsiders
14. Maddie & Tae–Start Here
15. Little Big Town–Painkiller
16. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
17. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
18. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
19. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
20. Josh Thompson–Change: the Lost Record Vol. 1 (EP) [debut]
21. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
22. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
23. Alabama–Angels Among Us: Hymns and Gospel Favorites
24. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
25. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time

  • unfortunately, Luke Bryan is back at the top of this chart
  • four albums debuted on the chart this week…incidentally, the only one really worth checking out is Squelch

Source: Billboard

Reviews

Review: Tim McGraw’s “Damn Country Music”

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Rating: 9/10

When Tim McGraw announced that his next album, set to be released in November, would be unashamedly titled Damn Country Music, we all began wondering what the “damn” referred to. Was this a mark of irony, or did “damn” emphasize the country of an album being released in a mostly non-country world simply using the term as a label? With the release of the album’s title track, it seems we have our answer.

Penned by Josh Thompson, Jessi Alexander, and Cary Barlowe, “Damn Country Music” is an honest look at the effect country music has on all those it touches. Described as the “neon fever for a small town dreamer,” country music is portrayed as the mistress that can make you leave your girlfriend, break your mother’s heart, quit your job, and leave your entire life behind. Unlike some other songs, this song does not imply that the sacrifice always works out; “you might get lost in the lights, the things that keep you up all night,” and “the sweetest highs, the lowest lows” tell us that it is not always easy. But “damn country music,” whether it breaks our hearts or makes us stars, it has a profound effect on everyone who chooses to pursue it. Tim McGraw can certainly tell this story truthfully; he came to Nashville on a whim on May 10, 1989, the day after his hero, Keith Whitley, died. He has certainly had “the sweetest highs” in his career, but knows many lows as well; numerous legal battles with Curb Records stalled his career for many years. This song carries a ring of authenticity coming from McGraw that helps it a lot. As for the instrumentation, it is decidedly country–rife with steel guitar, it is one of the most traditional things Tim has ever recorded. It is certainly “damn country music.” If this is what we can look forward to with the album, I think we can expect a good release from Tim McGraw.