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Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (August 8th)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Brantley Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 1)
2. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (down 1)
3. Michael Ray–“Kiss you in the Morning” (up 1)
4. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust up” (up 2)
5. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 4)
6. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 2)
7. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 5)
8. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 3)
9. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It” (up 1)
10. Canaan Smith–“Love you Like That” (down 5)
11. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 2)
12. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 3)
13. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 4)
14. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (up 2)
15. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (down 1)
16. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 3)
17. Kenny Chesney–“Save it for a Rainy Day” (up 6) [biggest gainer]
18. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (up 2)
19. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (down 1)
20. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame” (up 2)
21. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl”
22. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 5)
23. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 1)
24. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (up 2)
25. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You”
26. Cam–“Burning House” (up 2)
27. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 2)
28. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (up 2)
29. Parmalee–“Already Callin’ You Mine” (entering top 30)
30. Chris Young–“I’m Comin’ Over” (entering top 30)

  • new No. 1: “one Hell of an Amen”
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Kiss You in the Morning”
  • Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Blake Shelton’s “Sangria” fell from No. 3 and No. 7, respectively, to out of the top 30
  • an actual good song enters the top 30 (Chris Young) but is balanced by crap entering as well (Parmalee)

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free [debut]
2. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol [debut]
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Eric Church–The Outsiders
6. Little Big Town–Painkiller
7. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
8. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
9. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
10. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
12. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
13. Moonshine Bandits–Blacked Out [debut]
14. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
15. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real
16. Chase Rice–Ignite The Night
17. Luke Bryan–Spring Break…Checkin’ Out
18. Lee Bryce–Mixtape: ‘Til Summer’s Gone (EP)
19. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
20. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
21. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1
22. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
23. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
24. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
25. Miranda Lambert–Platinum

  • Jason Isbell and Alan Jackson score a huge victory for country music by taking the No. 1 and No. 2 spots this week
  • Canaan Smith and Kelsea Ballerini are no longer in the top 25…Kelsea’s album came out on May 19th, and Canaan’s came out on June 23rd…look at their staying power
  • after a long absence, Miranda Lambert’s Platinum is in the top 25 again this week

Source: Billboard

Female Fridays

Female Fridays: Featuring Ashley Monroe

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Her new album, The Blade, is out today (I will have a review of it shortly.) In light of that, it seems natural to feature Ashley Monroe on this Female Friday.

How You Might Know Ashley

She’s the beautiful voice that completes Blake Shelton’s “Lonely Tonight.” Also, she was one-third (my favorite third) of the Pistol Annies–other Annies include Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-4jn6q4NlQ

Bio

Ashley Monroe (born September 10, 1986, from Knoxville, Tennessee), has been paying her dues for many years. At age eleven, she won a talent competition in Pigeon Forge singing “I Want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” and landed a job in a theater performing several nights a week. Her idyllic life was turned upside down two years later, when her father died suddenly. Ashley mentions her father’s death often in her songs (“Like a Rose,” “Monroe Suede”.) Music was her outlet, and she became a very talented songwriter as she dealt with his death.

Ashley moved to Nashville soon after, and after a long search for a major label, Columbia Records finally took a chance on her, allowing her to start work on her debut album at nineteen. Two Singles were released, “Satisfied” and “I don’t Want To”–a duet with Ronnie Dunn–but neither charted well, and Ashley’s album went unreleased. Ashley and Columbia parted ways in 2007. (The album, Satisfied, was eventually released in 2009.)

It would be six years before Ashley would release another solo album. During those years, Ashley worked both as a songwriter and backing vocalist. Chances are, if you like country and listen to it often, you know a song that Ashley Monroe worked on. Songs that bear her writing include Jason Aldean’s “The Truth,” Miranda Lambert’s “Heart Like Mine,” and Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor.” Her backing vocals can be heard on Miranda’s “Me and Your Cigarettes,” and Wade Bowen’s “If We Ever Make it Home,” among others. In addition, she independently released an EP with Trent Dabbs (with the unoriginal title Ashley Monroe and Trent Dabbs), sang with Jack White’s Third Man House Band, and collaborated with The Raconteurs and Ricky Skaggs on a single called “Old Enough.” In 2012, she even performed a song called “Bruises” with Train and toured with the group.

The most pivotal event in Ashley’s career during this time was the formation of the Pistol Annies in 2011. Miranda Lambert and Ashley, now friends, formed the group with Angaleena Presley, making their surprise debut at the ACM Girls Night Out on April 22, 2011, with “hell on Heels.” They were an instant success and produced two remarkable albums, Hell on Heels (2011) and Annie Up (2013.) The success of the Annies rebuilt Ashley’s solo career and sparked Angaleena’s, unfortunately leading to the disbanding of the Annies in 2014. However, Ashley was signed by Warner Bros, and finally released her second solo album in 2013. The album was titled Like a Rose and was produced by Vince Gill. Like a Rose was one of the best albums I have heard in the last five years, and it was met with much deserved critical acclaim. She finally got the breakthrough she had worked so long to achieve with Like a Rose, proving that hard work and dedication really can and does pay off. My only complaint with it was it ended too soon–it only contained nine tracks, and I immediately wanted to hear more. Today I get that wish, as her third album, The Blade, is finally here. I will reserve comments on that for the review, although I will say it was also produced by Vince Gill, so one would expect it to be awesome.

Why Ashley Belongs on Country Radio

Now would be the perfect time to start playing Ashley Monroe on country radio. Everyone knows her from “Lonely Tonight.” Plus, a commenter on another site described her voice as “pure gold” and that’s the best way to put it. She is a great songwriter, but even when she didn’t write the song, she has a way of telling a story when she sings. It’s probably from dealing with the pain of her father’s death and having to grow up so young. At any rate, when Ashley Monroe sings, you want to listen, to sad songs especially, but really to anything. I have praised other women for their songwriting, but with Ashley, the strength lies in her voice. Not to mention her voice is authentically country. She could put pop beats or rock beats or whatever behind it–she doesn’t, she generally stays traditional with traces of pop here and there–but she would still sound country. We need a woman like that on the radio.

Tracks I Recommend

This is not counting The Blade, as I am doing an entire album review over that. In light of that, I feel it would be a disservice to pick apart Like a Rose, as it is all awesome. So just go listen to it. As for Satisfied, everything on it is great as well, but it is more of an acquired taste, especially for those who like less twang or are just starting with Ashley. So just go listen to Like a Rose and proceed from there. With that album you cannot go wrong.

Listen to Like a Rose

charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (August 1st)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (up 1)
2. Brantley Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 3)
3. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 1)
4. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 2)
5. Canaan Smith–“Love You Like That” (down 4)
6. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 2)
7. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (down 4)
8. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 1)
9. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 1)
10. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It” (up 1)
11. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 2)
12. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night”
13. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
14. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (up 1)
15. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 1)
16. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (up 1)
17. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
18. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 3)
19. Maddie & Tae–“Fly”
20. Jake Owen–“Real Life”
21. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 1)
22. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame” (up 1)
23. Kenny Chesney–“Save it For a Rainy Day” (up 4) [biggest gainer]
24. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 2)
25. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (down 1)
26. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (down 1)
27. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 1)
28. Cam–“Burning House” (up 1)
29. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 1)
30. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (re-entering top 30)

  • new No. 1: “Tonight Looks Good On You”
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “One Hell of an Amen”
  • Little Big Town will not reach No. 1 sadly
  • Maddie & Tae will stall out soon, the bros are pushing them out
  • Easton Corbin’s “Baby, Be my Love Song” fell out of the top 30 from No. 7

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Sam Hunt–Montevallo (really?)
2. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
3. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
4. Little Big Town–Painkiller
5. Eric Church–The Outsiders
6. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
7. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
8. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
9. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
10. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
11. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real
12. Luke Bryan–Spring Break…Checkin’ Out
13. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
14. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
15. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits, Decade #1
16. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
17. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
18. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
19. Canaan Smith–Bronco
20. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
21. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
22. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
23. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
24. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
25. Tyler Farr–Suffer in Peace

  • Sam Hunt’s awful Montevallo replaces Easton Corbin About to Get Real at No 1
  • Easton Corbin falls from No. 1 to No. 11
  • look at the staying power of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson as opposed to say, Canaan Smith or Easton Corbin…just saying

Source: Billboard

Commentary

Random Thoughts of the Week: Luke Bryan Apologizes, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert Announce Divorce

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This column has previously been on Sundays, but this weekend I was moving so it comes late. However, since music is now being released on Friday, changing the times for album reviews, this column will move to Tuesdays starting next week.

Last week, I used the Random Thoughts column to rip apart Luke Bryan for his disparaging comments about outlaw country, as well as his mischaracterization of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard. Since then, Luke has called the families of Waylon and Merle to personally apologize for his actions. Both Shooter Jennings and Ben Haggard have come forward publicly about this to say basically that this is water under the bridge, and that Luke did an honorable thing by apologizing privately. I happen to agree. Whether he meant to disparage them or not, he proved by apologizing personally that he truly cared about how it affected them. he had already tried to repair his public image on Twitter–and that is all most artists would have done. Regardless of my opinion of Luke or his music, this was a very classy thing. Last week, my post was entitled “What Happened to the Class in Country?” and this was Luke showing he still has some.

Earlier today, (July 20th), Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert released a statement announcing their divorce. They said this was not the future they had “envisioned” and added that “it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately.” The statement continued, “We are real people, with real lives, with real families, friends, and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter.” In respect to them, we should not, and I will not, seek to decipher what led to the divorce. However, I do wonder how it will affect their careers. Will Blake Shelton lose some relevancy? He gained much more radio relevancy when he married Miranda, although this was also around the time he started on “The Voice,” which certainly played a role. If this had happened a few years ago, he might have been in trouble, but now, with the male-dominated radio waves and his job on “The Voice,” I think he will not be affected, but who knows? Miranda could continue to lose airplay as well–she is a female and that is an automatic strike against her, and now she won’t be married to Blake, so radio will probably give her less of a chance. Their dominance at the ACM and CMA Awards will certainly end, and Carrie Underwood will have a well-deserved shot at Top Female Vocalist. Personally, I hope neither of their careers is seriously hurt, but I prefer Miranda over Blake, and I would hate to see one less female on the radio because she lost her “ticket.” As I mentioned, I will not speculate on what led to the divorce, but we all know if cheating was indeed involved–as many gossip sites would have us believe–Miranda will put it in her next album. However, their privacy should be respected. Just because we hear their music and see Blake on TV does not mean their lives should be put under a microscope.

Tomato of the Week: Ashley Monroe

Her new album comes out Friday–I have been waiting for this since her last album–so what better day to feature her? Here’s the lead single from the new album, The Blade

Random Country Suggestion: Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, “Better in the Long Run”

A song from happier times–incidentally, co-written by our featured female Ashley Monroe.

Non-Country Suggestion: Taylor Swift, 1989

I’m late to the party on this, as I could not stand Taylor’s previous album Red attempting to be both pop and country and thus failing at both. However, I recently bought 1989 and now that she is not pretending and is embracing a pop sound, Taylor is better than she ever was in country. If you like pop, give it a listen.

Listen to 1989

That’s all for this week’s Random Thoughts!

charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (July 25th)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Canaan Smith–“Love you Like That” (up 3)
2. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good On You”
3. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (down 2)
4. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 1)
5. Brantly Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 1)
6. Michael Ray–“Kiss you in the Morning” (up 1)
7. Easton Corbin–“Baby, Be my Love Song” (down 4) [biggest loser]
8. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 1)
9. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 3)
10. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy”
11. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It”
12. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 1)
13. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 1)
14. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
15. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (up 1)
16. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 1)
17. Brett Eldredge–“lose my Mind” (up 1)
18. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
19. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 1)
20. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (up 1)
21. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 1)
22. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 2)
23. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame”
24. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 2)
25. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love”
26. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 1)
27. Kenny Chesney–“Save it for a Rainy Day” (entering top 30)
28. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (entering top 30)
29. Cam–“Burning House” (entering top 30)
30. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (down 1)

  • new No. 1: “Love You Like That” (after a completely corrupt and artificial push from Canaan’s label
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Tonight Looks Good on You”
  • Florida Georgia Line and Cam enter top 30 together…how can they be played on the same station?
  • Tim McGraw and Catherine Dunn’s “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” fell out of the top 30 from No. 8
  • Reba’s “Going out Like That” fell out of the top 30 from no. 28
  • Brothers Osborne’s “Stay a Little Longer” fell out of the top 30 after entering last week at No. 30

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real
2. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
6. Little Big Town–Painkiller
7. Eric Church–The Outsiders
8. Brantley Gilbert–Just As I Am
9. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
10. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
12. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
13. Canaan Smith–Bronco
14. Luke Bryan–Spring Break, Checkin’ Out
15. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
16. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits, Decade #1
17. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
18. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
19. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
20. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
21. Chris Stapleton–Traveler
22. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
23. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
24. The Lax–Outlaw in Me
25. Billy Currington–Summer Forever

  • Chase Rice’s Ignite the Night moved up 5 spots from No. 24 to No. 19
  • the first 16 spots were the same as last week’s
  • music will now be released on Friday, and so there are no new releases on this week’s chart

Source: Billboard