Rhett, Stapleton stay first on Billboard
Tuesday, December 29, 2015 – Chris Stapleton and Thomas Rhett once again topped the Billboard Country Albums and Hot Country Songs chart with "Traveller" and "Die a Happy Man" respectively for the week ending Jan. 9, 2016.
Carrie Underwood was second on the albums chart with "Storyteller," one ahead of Luke Bryan's "Kill the Lights." Sam Hunt was fourth with "Montevallo." Blake Shelton was in fifth with "Reloaded: 20 #1 Hits."
Underwood jumped from 23 to 9 with "Greatest Hits: Decade #1." George Strait was up 3 to 10 with "Cold Beer Conversation." Little Big Town also was up 3, to 12, with "Pain Killer."
Brantley Gilbert was at 24 with "Just As I Am," up 4. Kelsea Ballerini closed out the top 25 with "The First Time," up 7.
On the songs chart, Rhett was followed by Hunt's "Break Up in a Small Town," who switched spots with Cam's "Burning House." Bryan was fourth with "Home Alone Tonight," featuring Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, up three. Chris Young was fifth with "I'm Comin' Over." Chris Janson was 18th with "Buy Me a Boat," up 4.
Jana Kramer broke into the top 10 with "I Got the Boy" in eighth, up three. Eric Church was at 17 with "Mr. Misunderstood," up 5. Stapleton was 20th with "Tennessee Whiskey," which moved up 3. Florida Georgia Line stood in 22nd with "Confession," up 4. Underwood also was up 4, to 23, with "Heartbeat."
Steve Martin & Edie Brickell remained atop the Bluegrass Albums chart with "So Familiar." Punch Brothers were second with "The Phosphorescent Blues" and third with "The Wireless" EP. The "Bluegrass Gems" compilation was fourth, up four. Rhonda Vincent's "Christmas Time" was fifth.
On the overall top 200, Stapleton was 7th, Bryan 17th, Underwood 18th, Hunt 19th and Rhett 23rd. The country and top 200 reviews use different criteria.
More news for Thomas Rhett
CD reviews for Thomas Rhett
Center Point Road
Thomas Rhett represents a dilemma for traditional country music fans. Namely, that he doesn't create much country music that appeals to traditional tastes. Although "Center Point Road" doesn't entirely reverse that trend, even during its most overtly pop moments, this new collection of songs is still a pretty good one.
The best song is also a love song - to a truck - titled "That Old Truck." It's the kind of song that only makes sense within country music circles. »»» |
Life Changes
Thomas Rhett references mangoritas, Coldplay and verified Instagram accounts on his third album, and for some, that may be a deal-breaker. His ultra-contemporary style and pop culture smarts may be anathema for fans of traditional country. However, writing Rhett off by stamping a cowboy boot and hollering "That ain't country!" writes off some truly standout songs - created by combining the best elements of country and pop music. Take the sophisticated songwriting of country and the »»» |
Tangled Up
Thomas Rhett picks up where he left off on his 2013 debut, "It Goes Like This," which netted three chart toppers. Rhett would be hard to categorize as country, although in the big tent philosophy of what passes these days, country serves more as a marketing niche. He's more soul, funk and hip hop than country. His catchy, bouncy "Crash and Burn," another number one song, is squarely soulful pop with a few small sonic tweaks (whistles, backing "uhs" near the end) »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: The Lil Smokies provide the perfect antidote –
On a night when the world to be falling further apart thanks to coronavirus (this would be the night the NBA postponed the season), there stood The Lil Smokies to at least in some small measure save the day.
The quintet is part of a generation of musicians with bluegrass as the basis, but not totally the sum of the music either.... »»»
Concert Review: White makes the case for himself, no matter how dark the music –
John Paul White opined with a glint in his eyes that his songs were not of the uplifting variety. In fact, they were downright dark. How else to explain "The Long Way" with the line "long way home back to you." Or "James," a song inspired by his grandfather who suffered from dementia.
But lest you think that the Alabama... »»»
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