Oliver Anthony‘s viral song “Rich Men North of Richmond” has taken the music scene by storm, leaping to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Oliver Anthony Music becomes the first artist in history to debut at #1 on the Hot 100 without previously appearing on any Billboard chart. pic.twitter.com/r6u0nzCdXy
— chart data (@chartdata) August 21, 2023
This remarkable accomplishment establishes Oliver as the very first artist to claim this spot without any prior chart presence of any kind. Additionally, he also joins a select group of artists to achieve this feat with their debut singles, including Zayn, Baauer, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, and Clay Aiken.
The track by the singer-songwriter originating from Farmville, Virginia, whose background includes experience as a factory worker, initially captured the spotlight on the internet, particularly on TikTok— where he has amassed a dedicated following of 1.5 million fans. This all happened when the track was officially uploaded to the radiowv YouTube channel, a channel that focuses on showcasing unsigned talents in the Americana and country genres within the Virginia/West Virginia area.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” has garnered 17.5 million streams and achieved 147,000 downloads during the tracking week concluding on August 17, according to Luminate. Additionally, the song’s YouTube video has amassed an impressive 30 million views thus far.
The track also skyrocketed to the No. 1 position on both the iTunes Country and iTunes General charts within just one week of its release on Tuesday, August 7th, knocking Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” from the coveted top spot.
He has even caught the attention of many fellow celebrities, including Jamey Johnson, who he performed alongside during a surprise appearance at Morris Farm Market in Barco, North Carolina and rapper and record executive Gucci Mane who showed interest in signing him to his label.
