For The Second Consecutive Week, Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North Of Richmond” Is The #1 Song In The U.S.
The viral momentum behind Oliver Anthony and “Rich Men North of Richmond” is not slowing down.
Anthony experienced overnight success when a video of him singing his original song “Rich Men North of Richmond” went viral. The video was uploaded on the radiowv YouTube channel on August 8.
As of this writing, the YouTube video alone has over 46 million views. Not to mention the millions of other views it generated on social media.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” resonated with a lot of people. The song soared to the #1 spot on the iTunes chart, and soon topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well.
Oliver Anthony’s Rise To #1 Made History
On August 21, Billboard announced that “Rich Men North of Richmond” was the #1 song on the Hot Country Songs chart and the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Anthony made history as the first artist “to launch atop the list with no prior chart history in any form.”
Data from Luminate indicates that “Rich Men North of Richmond” generated 17.5 million streams in the week of its release. It also sold 147,000 downloads. Despite not being promoted to radio, the song secured 553,000 radio airplay audience impressions.
RELATED: OLIVER ANTHONY FOLLOWS UP ON VIRAL SUCCESS WITH ANOTHER SONG, “I WANT TO GO HOME”
Many wondered if “Rich Men North of Richmond” would maintain momentum going into the next week. And now, we have the answer.
“Rich Men North Of Richmond” Hits #1 Again
Billboard‘s latest batch of chart data came in on Monday (August 28). For the second consecutive week, “Rich Men North of Richmond” sits at the top of the Hot 100 and the Hot Country Songs charts.
Billboard states “Rich Men North of Richmond” was the most-streamed song of the past week. Based on data from Luminate, the song generated 22.9 million streams, up 31% from last week.
It’s rare for a #1 Hot 100 song to experience a gain in streams in its second week atop the chart. Billboard states that of the 34 songs to debut at #1 on the Hot 100 this decade, “Rich Men North of Richmond” is only the second to show an increase in streams in week two.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” also received a significant amount of radio airplay this time. It earned 2.3 million radio airplay audience impressions, up 310% percent from last week.
The news comes after the song was mentioned during the Republican presidential debate on August 23. Anthony recently shared his response to that, and you can watch his video below.