“Rich Men North Richmond” Is No. 1, Oliver Anthony Makes Chart History – Variety

Michael Caudill, Billboard

Oliver Anthony’s hit song “Rich Men North of Richmond” debuted at No. 1 of all time Billboard Hot 100 chartmaking the singer-songwriter the first artist ever to achieve this feat with no prior charting record in any form.

He is the sixth artist in Billboard chart history to have a Hot 100 solo debut debut at number one, after Zayn, Power, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia and Clay Aiken. And “Rich Men North of Richmond” is their first Hot 100 No. 1 single since 2020’s Heat Waves by the Glass Animals, which topped the chart for five weeks in March and April 2022.

“Rich Men North of Richmond,” which was shared widely online along with a video of the bearded folk singer singing with an acoustic guitar in the woods, drew 17.5 million streams and sold 147,000 downloads in the tracking week ending Aug. 17, per Luminate. . A YouTube video for the song has had 30 million views to date.

With lyrics referring to high taxes and “care for fat milk”, the song drew praise from the right and criticism from the left, with many deeming the Virginia-based singer, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere, an “industrial plant”.

In a statement posted to Facebook after the “Rich Men North of Richmond” bombing, Anthony (whose legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford) wrote that he wasn’t rushing into a record deal.

“People in the music industry give me blank stares when I ignore eight million dollars’ worth of offers. I don’t want six tour buses, 15 tractor trailers, and a jet plane. I don’t want to play stadium shows, and I don’t want to be in the spotlight.” “I wrote the music I wrote because I struggled with mental health and depression. These songs have connected to millions of people on such a deep level because they’re sung by someone who feels the words the exact moment they’re singing them. No editing, no agent, no bullshit. Just some idiot and his guitar A style of music we shouldn’t have strayed from in the first place.”

After it debuted at number one on the Hot 100 chart, Anthony told Billboard, “The despair and frustration of our time reverberates in the response to this song. The song itself is nothing special, but the people who supported it are amazing and deserve to be heard.”