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Country UPDATE

BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS EDITED BY TOM ROLAND, tom.roland@billboard.com MAY 14, 2015 | PAGE 1 OF 9

INSIDEMakin’ Tracks:

Chris Janson’s ‘Buy Me A Boat’ >page 2

Stark Report: American Idol’s

Footprint >page 4

Questions Answered:

Tommy Producer Louis Jay Meyers >page 6

Carrie Underwood Hangs Five With CMT

>page 6

Kacey, Luke Set Release

Dates >page 6

Chris Stapleton, who has written four No. 1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for other acts, makes his solo album debut with Traveller (Mercury/Universal Music Group Nashville). The set enters the Top Country Albums survey (dated May 23) at No. 2 (27,000 copies sold in the week ending May 10, accord-ing to Nielsen Music) and the Billboard 200 at No. 14 (30,000 equivalent album units).

Traveller logs the largest sales start for a country art-ist’s first full-length album in 2015 and the biggest since Sam Hunt’s Montevallo bowed with 70,000 on the chart dated Nov. 15, 2014.

Stapleton, 37, has written a gaggle of charted tunes for a range of artists, including Hot Country Songs No. 1s for Josh Turner (“Your Man,” 2006), Kenny Chesney ( “Never Wanted Nothing More,” 2007), Darius Rucker (“Come Back Song,” 2010) and Luke Bryan (“Drink a Beer,” 2014). Adele even covered a song that he wrote, “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” which she included on select inter-national editions of her 2011 pop opus 21.

Stapleton was previously a member of bluegrass band The SteelDrivers, who, in 2008 and 2010, notched a pair of

No. 2-peaking albums on the Bluegrass Albums tally during his tenure with the act. He departed in 2013, the same year that he signed a solo recording deal with Mercury Records Nashville. He has tour dates lined up through October, including a handful of shows supporting Eric Church’s The Outsiders World Tour.

On Hot Country Songs, Chris Janson’s “Buy Me a Boat” (War-ner Bros./ WA R) re-enters at a new pea k of No. 29. A s a self- released single, it debuted at No. 33 on the April 4 chart almost entirely due to sales after DJ Bobby Bones played it on his syndicated radio show March 20 (and Toby Keith tweeted about it). Now that Warner Bros. Nashville is promoting it to radio, “Boat” relaunches, bound-ing 60-29 as the Greatest Gainer on Country Airplay (8 million in audience, up 560 percent, accord-ing to Nielsen Music) and returning to Country Digital Songs at No. 24

(13,000 sold, up 267 percent). For more on Janson’s “Boat” ride, see Makin’ Tracks, next page.

This column was written by Billboard co-directors of charts Keith Caulfield (keith.caulfield@billboard.com) and Gary Trust (gary.trust@billboard.com).

STAPLETON

Country MID- WEEK

UPDATE

Chris Stapleton Starts With Best Sales For A New Artist In 2015

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Amid the electric power chords, clever wordplay and Chris Janson’s forceful vocal arc about the power of the greenback, the best moment in “Buy Me a Boat” arguably comes 50 seconds in, with his delivery of two simple words: “Maybe so.”

In the mouths of many singers, the phrase might be treated as a throw-away line, just a couple filler syllables to get from one phrase to another. But Janson’s soft reading conveys it as a sonic shrug, an admission that there’s truth in the adage that money can’t buy happiness: “Maybe so, but it can buy me a boat.”

“He’s got a real quality in his voice,” says “Boat” co-writer Chris DuBois (“Beat This Summer,” “It Won’t Be Like This for Long”). “It just rings sincere.”

“Boat” has surfaced as the underdog story of country music in 2015. The song wasn’t intended as a single and hadn’t been pitched to a label, but due to a fluky set of circumstances it got two spins on Premiere Networks’ morning program The Bobby Bones Show on March 20. That limited exposure generated enough sales for it to debut at No. 33 on Hot Country Songs despite being available only the final three days of Nielsen Music’s tracking week.

Listeners likely latched on to the swampy gui-tar sounds, appropriate for a song about a boat; its middle-class fantasies about a fatter wallet; and the grainy, everyman tone of Janson’s voice. They likely were also struck by his delivery, which — demon-strated by his handling of that “Maybe so” phrase — is both impassioned and conversational.

“That’s exactly what we were having: a conversa-tion,” says Janson of “Boat” and its creation.

Janson and DuBois had the “Boat” songwriting conversation last fall, at a time when Janson was less than enamored with the recording business. He had built an audience with a dynamic, energetic live show, but had two mostly unfruitful label deals: BNA, which released his debut single in March 2010, and Bigger Picture, which imploded amid financing issues in May 2014. Janson had tasted success as a songwriter with “Truck Yeah,” a song Tim McGraw took to No. 10 on Country Airplay in 2012, and that’s where his focus was when he met DuBois for their 2014 co-write at Sea Gayle Music on Nashville’s Music Row.

“I was trying to get another ‘Truck Yeah,’ ” says Janson.DuBois threw out the title “Buy Me a Boat,” and Janson immediately ap-

plied a melody to it. But instead of focusing on the “boat” part of the equation, Janson gravitated toward the “buy me” part — the economic significance of boat ownership, particularly to a working-class audience. Thus, the opening lines came rather easily.

“ ‘I ain’t rich/But I damn sure wanna be’ — I think the majority of the human race has at least said that once or twice in their life and meant it,” notes Janson. “That’s just kind of the way of the world, and not that money is everything, but it can buy some of the fine luxuries in life.”

Janson needed to look no further than the parking lot to connect some addi-tional luxuries to the boat: a “truck to pull it” and the high-end cooler “Yeti 110 iced down with some Silver Bullets.”

“Chris is a Yeti junkie,” says DuBois. “He had already established a relation-ship with Yeti prior to writing that song. It’s very genuine and authentic to him, so it makes total sense.”

So did DuBois’ suggestion that they reference Warren Buffett in the opening verse. “If you want to come up with a short list of the wealthiest men in America,

Warren Buffett, if he’s not at the top, he’s pretty dang close,” reasons DuBois. “If you’re going to sit on a pile of money and you’re going to compare it to some-body, then [use] Warren Buffett. And it also rhymed with ‘kick the bucket.’ ”

With the first verse and chorus finished, they adjourned so Janson could spend time with his wife, Kelly Janson, and kids. During a second session, they added the bridge and another verse, which affirms the song’s country roots: “They call me white trash, redneck and blue collar.” That stanza also references Biblical teachings on finance: The love of money is the root of all evil, and it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven.

“That’s me thinking, ‘OK, if my pastor hears this on the radio, what can I say that makes him at least understand that I haven’t lost my knowledge of

scripture?’ ” notes DuBois. “It is good to say, ‘Hey, money can create problems.’ True, but it still sounds pretty cool.”

At the end of that second session, Janson re-corded an iPhone work tape featuring his voice and a Yamaha acoustic guitar. In December, Sea Gayle songwriter Brent Anderson (“Lonely Tonight”) had two demo sessions booked at drummer Ben Phillips’ Superphonic Studio in Berry Hill, but he didn’t have enough songs to fill out the date. So Du-Bois (who co-owns Sea Gayle with Brad Paisley) brought Janson in to do two titles they had written, including “Boat.”

With Phillips on drums and Anderson on acous-tic, they worked it up with electric guitarist Justin Ostrander, keyboardist David Dorn and bassist Tony Lucido. In typical demo fashion, they devoted no more than 45 minutes to “Boat,” including a

handful of overdubs. “There wasn’t a whole lot to change,” says co-producer Anderson. “It really happened kind of the way we played it.”

Janson’s fans were craving new music, so he put “Boat” up on iTunes. He also sent a copy to Bobby Bones, hoping for a little positive feedback. Bones was so impressed with it that he played the song on the air, spurring 21,000 downloads during its first weekend.

“I’m listening to the radio in the morning, and it comes on The Bobby Bones Show: ‘Holy crap, man. That’s my demo right there,’ ” recalls Anderson. “It was unbelievable.”

It was even more unbelievable for Janson, for the airplay sparked conversa-tions with several labels. He ultimately signed with Warner Music Nashville, where a number of staff members were already familiar with his onstage abilities.

“Everybody at Warner Bros. made my wife and I feel comfortable, and they made us feel at home,” says Janson. “I just hate having to sell myself to people, and they didn’t make me sell myself.”

WMN rereleased the single to radio via Play MPE on April 27. With its sales story established, programmers responded immediately. “Boat” launched at No. 60 on Country Airplay and zoomed to No. 29 in its second week. It’s docked at No. 29 on the May 23 Hot Country Songs chart. The song’s commercial perfor-mance — along with being added to Toby Keith’s Good Times & Pick-Up Lines Tour — has given Janson a new confidence as his career conversations continue.

“It feels so freaking good, because it just felt natural,” he says of his “Boat” ride. “It just happened organically, and that’s the only way I’m going to do things from here on out.”

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE MAY 14, 2015 | PAGE 2 OF 9

Chris Janson’s ‘Boat’ Charts An Unlikely Radio Course

MAKIN’ TRACKS TOM ROLAND tom.roland@billboard.com

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Fans of American Idol were disappointed to learn May 11 that the Fox show will cease production in 2016 after its 15th season. While most of the show’s winners have pursued careers in rock, pop or R&B, in its first 14 seasons the show still had a significant impact on country, ranging from the many top 10 finalists who went on to land Nashville record deals, to Keith Urban’s current high-profile role as a judge, to the platform the show provided for established country artists to per-form on its stage, often paired with contestants, like Josh Turner’s memorable duet with season 10 winner Scotty McCreery.

In addition to the two country winners the show produced — McCreery and Car-rie Underwood — inaugural winner Kelly Clarkson has been a frequent presence on the Country Airplay chart, despite primarily identifying as a pop star. Mul-tiple top 10 finalists from the show’s first 10 seasons landed deals with significant Nashville labels, such as Josh Gracin, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Phil Stacey, Kristy Lee Cook, Danny Gokey, Casey James and Lauren Alaina. Other Idol alumni, like runner-up Bo Bice, made stabs at a country career after first trying their hand at other formats.

Consequently, the show has left a big footprint on the country format, according to radio programmers, even if they largely believe the time is right for it to wind down.

“I think Idol had a really great overall run, but like anything pop culture, it’s going to slow in growth and then fade,” says WBWL (The Bull) Boston PD Lance Houston. He particularly singles out the influence of Underwood, who he says “forever changed country music.”

KSON San Diego operations manager Kevin Callahan says, “There’s no question that American Idol and shows like it have had an impact on our format. In some cases, it has offered a fast track for talented performers because of the national platform.”

CBS Radio vp programming Bruce Logan concurs. “American Idol has been an amazing tool for the music industry. No other singing competition [has] pro-duced a single superstar, much less multiple superstars. Like all things, the longer it goes on, the less impactful it has become, but [it] certainly [had] its heyday.”

As evidence of the show’s influence, Callahan notes that two of the four per-formers booked for KSON’s June 6 country show — James and Alaina — are Idol alums. “There has been a high level of interest in this show from our audience, and [it] sold half its tickets in the first week of on sale,” he says, despite two other country shows in the market on the same date. “No question [Idol] has had impact.”

That said, adds Callahan, “I do think it is time for the show to end, or at the very least reinvent itself, as the past few seasons have not hit my family’s viewing radar.”

WFMS Indianapolis PD Scott Lindy says Idol is “the show that changed the pop culture landscape in terms of music discovery and how music lovers could be part of creating a star. I saw two DJs almost get into a fight over who should have won the crown one year. American Idol made us emotional. Not just the in-dustry people, either. Everyone who ever sang into a hairbrush to the bathroom mirror or imagined their broom was a Stratocaster watched that show and, at some point, held their breath while hoping their favorite performer would make it to the next week.”

And when contestants were eliminated on live TV, says Lindy, “the cold, harsh reality of show business played out right in our living rooms in a way we had never before witnessed.” The show also demonstrated “the pressure, the endless hours

of sacrifice and how pure talent is rarely enough to go the distance.”JVC Broadcasting director of country programming and WJVC Long Island,

N.Y., morning man Phathead is “sad” the show is ending. “The institution that is American Idol is what set it apart from any show of the past 15 years,” he says, calling it “a throwback to shows that families could gather around the TV and watch together. It sparked conversation. It got people talking. Most importantly, it let kids dream that they could do anything they set their mind to.”

Without Idol, he says, we wouldn’t know the talents of Clarkson, Underwood, McCreery and Alaina, “plus the countless others that have gone on to live out

their dreams, serve the public, start great charities and inspire children.

“In my household the show will be missed,” adds Phathead. “Fifteen years of inspiration and bring-ing people closer is an amazing accomplishment.”

WXCY Wilmington, Del., operations manager/PD/afternoon host Brad Austin agrees, saying there’s no question Idol enriched country music. He calls Underwood “one of the biggest female artists of the last decade,” cites McCreery as having “a posi-tive, youthful impact on the format” and says Pickler has gone well beyond her top 10 finish on Idol and a handful of radio songs to be “a national star and highly recognizable personality. Idol started that.”

But Austin believes that during the show’s first few seasons “they hated country music. You could tell they thought it was hillbilly-ish and hokey. I think that was the British thinking and influence from the producers and Simon Cowell, [who] openly mocked country music, its fans and even Josh Gracin on the show. A few seasons later, Carrie broke that mold and showed Idol country’s undeniable fan base when she walked away with a huge win. I will always say Idol tried very hard to make Bo Bice the winner, but Carrie couldn’t be stopped.”

AMERICAN IDOL ALUMNI REACTFor the artists whose careers were launched on Idol, the show’s impending de-mise is bittersweet, but they are grateful for the experience.

Covington says the show “has been an incredible platform for today’s artists to put a name and face with a sound. I definitely owe AI huge props for getting my name out there and giving my career the boost that landed me as the best-selling debut artist of 2007.”

Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo, who lives in Nashville with her husband, fellow Idol alum Ace Young, says the show “has been a cultural phenomenon that made its stamp on the entertainment industry, from the stars it helped pro-duce to the history it has created in television itself.” She adds, “I am honored to be within the Idol family, and have it also be a part of my professional résumé.”

In a Bilboard.com article published May 11, McCreery said the show “changed my life” and called it “a great way for me to pursue my dreams of being a country music singer and introduce myself to the nation. I am so thankful to the show, the producers, the judges and the audience for everything they did for me. American Idol has been a dominant force in our pop culture for almost a decade-and-a-half, but all good things must come to an end.”

Similarly, Pickler told Billboard.com that she is “thankful” for her experience on the show and how it “opened the door for me to pursue my dream of being a country music artist.” She added, “It’s hard to believe that next year at this time we will be watching the ultimate finale.”

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE MAY 14, 2015 | PAGE 4 OF 9

American Idol’s Deep Impact On The Country Format

THE STARK REPORT PHYLLIS STARK phyllis.stark@billboard.com

And it’s designed to be that. It kind of scares the bluegrass audience to a certain degree, and that was part of the goal. If it didn’t, then we’d have been in trouble. But the blue-grass community needs to wrap its arms about it, because they’re al-ways preaching to the big tent, how they want bluegrass to be part of the bigger community. Well, this is the ultimate crossover, and a lot of the bluegrass community gets that and

has really embraced it.

Keith Moon had this monster drum kit, and bluegrass doesn’t use drums. Was that the biggest — or one of the biggest — obstacles in making this music transition into bluegrass? It was, but I heard it. I heard the mandolin as the high hat. I heard the Dobro as the kick drum and the floor toms and all that noise, and [Dobro player Chad “Gravy Boat” Graves] does this incredible controlled feedback on his Dobro that might as well be a Les Paul faced into a Marshall amp. It has the exact same kind of impact on the music ... I think it covers pretty well. No one that’s heard it so far misses the drums, and every-body goes into it thinking they will. It’s a very, very percussive record as a result of just the way the band plays.

During the ’90s, there was a series of country tribute albums to the Ea-gles, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Rolling Stones. Do you see this in the same vein or as an extension of that idea? You know, this was about the record. This was about Tommy. It wasn’t necessarily about The Who. There’s a Pickin’ On in that [bluegrass] series that covers The Who, very little of Tommy, but this was, to me, about that piece of music. I always heard it in this style in my brain for some reason from very early on.

It’s the 50th anniversary of The Who’s first hit, and now the band is talk-ing about this being its last tour. So there’s attention on the group… Absolutely. It was intentional 100 percent in terms of the timing. And de-pending on how this relationship [with Townshend and Roger Daltrey] might develop, there’s no telling what we can do in conjunction with The Who long term. It’s good for them. It’s their publishing catalog. And Pete has already said he liked the project. That was a big hurdle. You sure don’t want that one to go the wrong way. So far, so good. It’s already beyond any of our wildest expectations. —Tom Roland

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE MAY 14, 2015 | PAGE 6 OF 9

Q U E ST I O N S

AnsweredLouis Jay Meyers

Producer, Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry

Louis Jay Meyers co-founded Austin’s South by Southwest, and he subsequently spent another decade as the executive director of the Folk Alliance. Through it all, the banjo-playing exec harbored an idea to re-create The Who’s 1969 album Tommy as a bluegrass project. It fi-nally came to fruition with Springfield, Mo., act The Hillbenders. Dur-ing a May 10 performance at Nashville’s Station Inn, the band proved its bluegrass cred with a version of “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” before playing Tommy in its entirety. It met The Who’s Pete Town-shend during the trip and hopes that before the run is over they record an all-star DVD version at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

You had the idea of doing a bluegrass version of Tommy for years before you found The Hillbenders. What was it about the band that made you think they were the right act? It was the combina-tion of the very nontraditional vocals from a bluegrass band, like much more rock mentality to the vocals. Plus, they were already known for covering Radiohead and MGMT and different types of things, so they had already pushed the envelope from a musical standpoint. They had been able to pull that into a format where if you didn’t know it, you would just think it was an original bluegrass song. I appreciated that, because the whole goal for me was for this not to be a parody. It needed to do the songs and the arrangements justice, as opposed to being a — for lack of a better word — a Hee Haw version of it.

The idea of bluegrass musicians taking on a hard rock band seems absurd, but country artists have been doing that since Big & Rich and Jason Aldean around 2004 and 2005, so I guess it’s part of the musical landscape now. Yes, and this is much more mainstream-sounding than your average current bluegrass record.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD LEADS CMT SLATECarrie Underwood amassed five nomi-nations to top the field of finalists for the CMT Music Awards, revealed May 13. “Something in the Water,” “Little Toy Guns” and her Miranda Lambert col-laboration “Somethin’ Bad” combined for nods in three different categories, put-ting Underwood just ahead of four-time nominees Lady Antebellum and Kenny Chesney. This year’s edition of the show

will be telecast June 10 from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. One night after The Hillbenders played Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry in its entirety at Nashville’s Station Inn, The Who performed May 11 at nearby Bridgestone Arena. Before that concert, vocalist Roger Daltrey introduced The Band

Perry as national ambassadors for Teen Cancer America. The Vanderbilt Medical Center was also unveiled as the 11th hospital to partner with the TCA program. Universal Music Group Nashville has several new release dates to crow about. Mickey Guyton’s self-titled debut EP emerges May 26 on Capitol. Kacey Musgraves’ sophomore project, Pageant Material, arrives June 23 on Mercury. And Luke Bryan’s “Kick Up the Dust” comes out May 19 via Capitol, with Bryan performing the song the same day on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Voice. “Dust” is the lead single from his next album; a release date for the full project has not yet been announced. Some 29 years since Trisha Yearwood took a full-time job at the Country Music Hall of Fame, she’s now the subject of one of the venue’s exhibits as “Trisha Yearwood: The Song Remembers When” is set to open July 3. Artifacts will remain on display until December.

MIDWEEK NEWS UPDATE

UNDERWOOD

From left: The Who’s Townshend with The Hillbenders’ Graves and Meyers.

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Country UPDATE

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

TWO WEEKS

AGOWKS ON CHART

TITLE Artist PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL CERTIFIED

PEAK POSITION

l1 1 1 23 GIRL CRUSH ★★No. 1 (3 weeks)★★ Little Big Town J.JOYCE (L.ROSE,L.MCKENNA,H.LINDSEY) CAPITOL NASHVILLE

1

2 2 2 28 TAKE YOUR TIME Sam Hunt Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,J.OSBORNE,S.MCANALLY) MCA NASHVILLE 0 1

l3 5 3 15 SIPPIN’ ON FIRE Florida Georgia Line J.MOI (R.CLAWSON,M.DRAGSTREM,C.TAYLOR) REPUBLIC NASHVILLE 3

l4 6 7 25 DON’T IT Billy Currington D.HUFF (J.JOHNSTON,A.GORLEY,R.COPPERMAN) MERCURY 4

l5 4 11 8 SANGRIA ★★Streaming Gainer★★ Blake Shelton S.HENDRICKS (J.T.HARDING,J.OSBORNE,T. ROSEN) WARNER BROS./WMN

4

l6 9 10 18 SMOKE A Thousand Horses D.COBB (M.HOBBY,J.M.NITE,R.COPPERMAN) REPUBLIC NASHVILLE 6

l7 7 8 33 A GUY WALKS INTO A BAR ★★Digital Gainer★★ Tyler Farr J.CATINO,J.KING (M.PEIRCE,J.SINGLETON,B.TURSI) COLUMBIA NASHVILLE

7

l8 10 9 16 RAISE ‘EM UP Keith Urban Featuring Eric Church N.CHAPMAN,K.URBAN (J.JOHNSTON,JEFFREY STEELE,T.DOUGLAS) HIT RED/CAPITOL NASHVILLE 8

9 3 4 18 HOMEGROWN Zac Brown Band J.JOYCE,Z.BROWN (Z.BROWN,W.DURRETTE,N.MOON) JOHN VARVATOS/REPUBLIC/BMLG/SOUTHERN GROUND 2

10 8 5 30 SAY YOU DO Dierks Bentley R. COPPERMAN (M.RAMSEY,S.MCANALLY,T. ROSEN) CAPITOL NASHVILLE 5

l11 11 13 16 LITTLE TOY GUNS Carrie Underwood M.BRIGHT (C.UNDERWOOD,C. DESTEFANO,H.LINDSEY) 19/ARISTA NASHVILLE 11

l12 12 14 14 WILD CHILD Kenny Chesney With Grace Potter B.CANNON,K.CHESNEY (K.CHESNEY,S.MCANALLY,J.OSBORNE) BLUE CHAIR/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 12

l13 14 18 32 LOVE YOU LIKE THAT Canaan Smith B.BEAVERS,J.ROBBINS (C.SMITH,B.BEAVERS,J.BEAVERS) MERCURY 13

l14 16 16 24 LOVE ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT Kelsea Ballerini F.G.WHITEHEAD (K.BALLERINI,J.KERR,F.G.WHITEHEAD,L.CARPENTER) BLACK RIVER 14

l15 13 15 15 DIAMOND RINGS AND OLD BARSTOOLS Tim McGraw With Catherine Dunn B.GALLIMORE,T.MCGRAW (L.LAIRD,B.DEAN,J.SINGLETON) MCGRAW/BIG MACHINE 13

l16 15 19 12 LIKE A WRECKING BALL Eric Church J.JOYCE (E.CHURCH,C.BEATHARD) EMI NASHVILLE 15

l17 17 20 27 BABY BE MY LOVE SONG Easton Corbin C.CHAMBERLAIN (J.COLLINS,BRETT JAMES) MERCURY 17

l18 18 17 27 SHE DON’T LOVE YOU Eric Paslay M.ALTMAN (E.PASLAY,J.WAYNE) EMI NASHVILLE 15

l19 20 25 19 ONE HELL OF AN AMEN Brantley Gilbert D.HUFF (B.GILBERT,M.DEKLE,B.DAVIS) VALORY 19

l20 19 22 10 TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD ON YOU Jason Aldean M.KNOX (D.DAVIDSON,R.AKINS,A.GORLEY) BROKEN BOW 8

l21 22 26 11 GAMES Luke Bryan J.STEVENS (L.BRYAN,A.GORLEY) CAPITOL NASHVILLE 21

l22 21 24 14 CRUSHIN’ IT Brad Paisley L.WOOTEN,B.PAISLEY (B.PAISLEY,K.LOVELACE,L.T.MILLER) ARISTA NASHVILLE 21

l23 24 29 9 KISS YOU IN THE MORNING Michael Ray S.HENDRICKS (J.WILSON,M.WHITE) WARNER BROS./WEA 23

l24 27 32 5 CRASH AND BURN Thomas Rhett D.HUFF,J.FRASURE (J.FRASURE,C.STAPLETON) VALORY 21

l25 25 30 11 YOUNG & CRAZY Frankie Ballard M.ALTMAN,S.HENDRICKS (A.GORLEY,S.MCANALLY,R.AKINS) WARNER BROS./WAR 25

Hot Country SongsBILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE MAY 14, 2015 | PAGE 7 OF 9

SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

TWO WEEKS

AGOWKS ON CHART

TITLE Artist PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL CERTIFIED

PEAK POSITION

l26 26 34 3 LOVING YOU EASY ★★Airplay Gainer★★ Zac Brown Band Z.BROWN (Z.BROWN,N.MOON,A.ANDERSON) JOHN VARVATOS/REPUBLIC/BMLG/SOUTHERN GROUND

26

27 23 12 18 LITTLE RED WAGON Miranda Lambert F.LIDDELL,C.AINLAY,G.WORF (A.MAE,GINSBERG J.) RCA NASHVILLE 5

l28 28 27 18 RIOT Rascal Flatts J.DEMARCUS,RASCAL FLATTS (J.BOYER,S.HAZE) BIG MACHINE 27

l29 RE-ENTRY 3 BUY ME A BOAT Chris Janson C.JANSON,C.DUBOIS,B.ANDERSON (C.JANSON,C.DUBOIS) WARNER BROS./WAR 29

30 29 23 18 GOING OUT LIKE THAT Reba T.BROWN (B.HAYSLIP,R.AKINS,J.SELLERS) NASH ICON/VALORY 23

l31 30 35 18 HELL OF A NIGHT Dustin Lynch M.J.CONES (Z.CROWELL,A.SANDERS,J.BOYER) BROKEN BOW 30

l32 31 33 12 I GOT THE BOY Jana Kramer S.HENDRICKS (T.NICHOLS,C.HARRINGTON,J.L.SPEARS) ELEKTRA NASHVILLE/WAR 31

l33 32 38 12 FLY Maddie & Tae D.HUFF (M.MARLOW,T.DYE,T.VARTANYAN) DOT 32

l34 33 36 14 I’M TO BLAME Kip Moore B.JAMES (K.MOORE,J.WEAVER,W.DAVIS) MCA NASHVILLE 31

l35 34 31 3 LOSE MY MIND Brett Eldredge R. COPPERMAN,B.ELDREDGE (B.ELDREDGE,H.MORGAN,R.COPPERMAN,B.BURTON,T.D.CALLAWAY,G.F.REVERBERI,G.P.REVERBERI) ATLANTIC/WMN 31

l36 35 40 8 BISCUITS Kacey Musgraves K.MUSGRAVES,L.LAIRD,S.MCANALLY (K.MUSGRAVES,S.MCANALLY,B.CLARK) MERCURY 28

l37 36 39 19 TROUBLE Gloriana M.SERLETIC (R.REINERT,M.GOSSIN,R.COPPERMAN,J.M.NITE) EMBLEM/WARNER BROS./WAR 36

l38 39 41 18 GONNA WANNA TONIGHT Chase Rice C. DESTEFANO (S.MCANALLY,J.M.NITE,J.ROBBINS) DACK JANIELS/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 34

l39 40 46 9 BREAK UP WITH HIM Old Dominion S.MCANALLY (M.RAMSEY,T. ROSEN,B.TURSI,G.SPRUNG,W.SELLERS) RCA NASHVILLE 39

l40 43 47 4 LET ME SEE YA GIRL Cole Swindell M.CARTER (C.SWINDELL,M.CARTER,J.STEVENS) WARNER BROS./WMN 40

l41 42 45 6 NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU Dan + Shay C. DESTEFANO (D.SMYERS,S.MOONEY,A.GORLEY,C. DESTEFANO) WARNER BROS./WAR 41

l42 44 — 4 TURN IT ON Eli Young Band R. COPPERMAN,J.S.STOVER (M.ELI,J.YOUNG,R.CLAWSON,M.DRAGSTREM) REPUBLIC NASHVILLE 42

l43 41 44 5 STAY A LITTLE LONGER Brothers Osborne J.JOYCE (J. OSBORNE,T.J. OSBORNE,S.MCANALLY) EMI NASHVILLE 41

l44 48 49 5 ALREADY CALLIN’ YOU MINE Parmalee NV (M.THOMAS,S.THOMAS,B.KNOX,P.O’DONNELL,W.KIRBY) STONEY CREEK 44

45 47 42 12 RIDE Chase Rice C. DESTEFANO (J.SOMERS-MORALES,D.C.TARPLEY JR.) DACK JANIELS/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 38

l46 NEW 1 TENNESSEE WHISKEY ★★Hot Shot Debut★★ Chris Stapleton NOT LISTED (NOT LISTED) MERCURY

46

l47 NEW 1 CITY BOY STUCK Granger Smith F. ROGERS,G.SMITH (G.SMITH,F.ROGERS,T.SMITH,C.LEE) PIONEER 47

48 37 — 2 TOMORROW NEVER COMES Zac Brown Band Z.BROWN (Z.BROWN,N.MOON) JOHN VARVATOS/REPUBLIC/BMLG/SOUTHERN GROUND 37

l49 RE-ENTRY 14 SPEAKERS Sam Hunt Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,B.HOOD,K.SACKLEY) MCA NASHVILLE 40

50 49 37 4 LET IT GO George Strait C.AINLAY,G.STRAIT (G.STRAIT,B.STRAIT,K.GATTIS) MCA NASHVILLE 29

For week ending May 10, 2015. Figures are rounded. Compiled from a national sample of retail store and rack sales reports collected and provided by Nielsen Music.

For inquiries about any Nielsen Music data, please contact Josh Bennett at 615-807-1338 or josh.bennett@nielsen.com

The week’s most popular country songs, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music, sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music and streaming activity data from online music sources tracked by Nielsen Music. Descending titles below No. 25 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks.

COUNTRY MARKET WATCHA Weekly National Music Sales Report

Hot Country SongsBILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE MAY 14, 2015 | PAGE 8 OF 9

ALBUMSDIGITAL

ALBUMS*DIGITAL TRACKS

This Week 609,000 205,000 2,263,000

Last Week 726,000 295,000 2,226,000

Change -16.1% -30.5% 1.7%

This Week Last Year 608,000 205,000 2,579,000

Change 0.2% 0.0% -12.3%

*Digital album sales are also counted within album sales.

Weekly Unit SalesYear-Over-Year Album Sales2014 2015 CHANGE

Albums 10,878,000 9,715,000 -10.7%

Digital Tracks 52,296,000 43,567,000 -16.7%

YEAR-TO-DATE

Overall Unit Sales

2014 2015 CHANGE

Physical 7,141,000 6,069,000 9.0%

Digital 3,737,000 3,646,000 -2.4%

Sales by Album Format

SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY

’15

’14

DIGITAL TRACKS SALES

’15

’14

10.9 million

9.7 million

000.0 million

’14

’13

43.6 million

52.3 million

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1 1 20 GIRL CRUSH LITTLE BIG TOWN (Capitol Nashville/UMGN)

2 2 6 SANGRIA BLAKE SHELTON (Warner Bros./WMN)

3 3 28 TAKE YOUR TIME SAM HUNT (MCA Nashville/UMGN)

4 4 11 SIPPIN’ ON FIRE FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE (Republic Nashville/BMLG)

5 5 13 LIKE A WRECKING BALL ERIC CHURCH (EMI Nashville/UMGN)

l6 33 17 HOMEGROWN ZAC BROWN BAND (John Varvatos/Southern Ground/BMLG/Republic)

l7 6 15 SMOKE A THOUSAND HORSES (Republic Nashville/BMLG)

l8 7 13 DON’T IT BILLY CURRINGTON (Mercury/UMGN)

l9 8 28 LOVE YOU LIKE THAT CANAAN SMITH (Mercury/UMGN)

l10 11 8 TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD ON YOU JASON ALDEAN (Broken Bow/BBMG)

l11 32 25 A GUY WALKS INTO A BAR TYLER FARR (Columbia Nashville/SMN)

l12 18 13 LOVE ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT KELSEA BALLERINI (Black River)

13 9 35 DRINKING CLASS LEE BRICE (Curb)

l14 23 5 CRASH AND BURN THOMAS RHETT (Valory/BMLG)

15 12 16 LITTLE TOY GUNS CARRIE UNDERWOOD (19/Arista Nashville/SMN)

16 13 16 RAISE ‘EM UP KEITH URBAN FEAT. ERIC CHURCH (Hit Red/Capitol Nashville)

17 14 12 DIAMOND RINGS AND OLD BARSTOOL TIM MCGRAW WITH CATHERINE DUNN (McGraw/Big Machine/BMLG)

l18 24 11 GAMES LUKE BRYAN (Capitol Nashville/UMGN)

19 15 20 SAY YOU DO DIERKS BENTLEY (Capitol Nashville/UMGN)

20 17 21 SHE DON’T LOVE YOU ERIC PASLAY (EMI Nashville/UMGN)

21 10 17 LITTLE RED WAGON MIRANDA LAMBERT (RCA Nashville/SMN)

22 20 7 BABY BE MY LOVE SONG EASTON CORBIN (Mercury/UMGN)

l23 25 9 ONE HELL OF AN AMEN BRANTLEY GILBERT (Valory/BMLG)

l24 RE-ENTRY BUY ME A BOAT CHRIS JANSON (Chris Janson)

25 22 11 WILD CHILD KENNY CHESNEY WITH GRACE POTTER (Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville/SMN)

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26 19 31 AIN’T WORTH THE WHISKEY COLE SWINDELL (Warner Bros./WMN)

l27 27 3 KISS YOU IN THE MORNING MICHAEL RAY (Warner Bros./WMN)

l28 29 12 I GOT THE BOY JANA KRAMER (Elektra Nashville/WMN)

l29 36 6 HOUSE PARTY SAM HUNT (MCA Nashville/UMGN)

30 21 3 LOVING YOU EASY ZAC BROWN BAND (John Varvatos/Southern Ground/BMLG/Republic)

l31 31 4 RIOT RASCAL FLATTS (Big Machine/BMLG)

l32 NEW CITY BOY STUCK GRANGER SMITH (Pioneer)

33 26 9 GOING OUT LIKE THAT REBA (Nash Icon/Valory/BMLG)

l34 34 7 CRUSHIN’ IT BRAD PAISLEY (Arista Nashville/SMN)

l35 NEW I’M STILL HERE CRAIG WAYNE BOYD (Long Haul)

l36 38 76 THIS IS HOW WE ROLL FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE FEAT. LUKE BRYAN (Republic Nashville/BMLG)

37 39 47 LEAVE THE NIGHT ON SAM HUNT (MCA Nashville/UMGN)

38 35 18 RIDE CHASE RICE (Dack Janiels)

l39 41 33 SUN DAZE FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE (Republic Nashville/BMLG)

l40 42 148 CRUISE FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE (Republic Nashville/BMLG)

41 43 7 BISCUITS KACEY MUSGRAVES (Mercury/UMGN)

42 40 32 TALLADEGA ERIC CHURCH (EMI Nashville/UMGN)

l43 46 41 BURNIN’ IT DOWN JASON ALDEAN (Broken Bow/BBMG)

l44 NEW TENNESSEE WHISKEY CHRIS STAPLETON (Mercury/UMGN)

45 28 2 DAMN GOOD FRIENDS TYLER FARR DUET WITH JASON ALDEAN (Columbia Nashville/SMN)

l46 49 74 PLAY IT AGAIN LUKE BRYAN (Capitol Nashville/UMGN)

l47 RE-ENTRY LOSE MY MIND BRETT ELDREDGE (Atlantic/WMN)

l48 NEW FLY MADDIE & TAE (Dot/BMLG)

49 44 32 MAKE ME WANNA THOMAS RHETT (Valory/BMLG)

l50 NEW TONIGHT GRANGER SMITH (Pioneer)

Top-selling paid download country songs compiled from sales reports collected and provided by Nielsen Music. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 1 — 2 ZAC BROWN BAND JEKYLL + HYDEJOHN VARVATOS/SOUTHERN GROUND/BMLG 022962/REPUBLIC () 1

l2 NEW 1 CHRIS STAPLETON TravellerMERCURY 019405*/UMGN () 2

l3 3 1 4 REBA Love SomebodyNASH ICON/VALORY /BMLG () 1

4 4 2 28 SAM HUNT MontevalloMCA NASHVILLE 021502/UMGN () 1

5 2 — 2 TYLER FARR Suffer In PeaceCOLUMBIA NASHVILLE 500719/SMN () 2

l6 NEW 1 GRANGER SMITH 4X4 (EP)PIONEER 60 () 6

l7 10 12 9 LUKE BRYAN Spring Break... Checkin’ OutCAPITOL NASHVILLE 022540/UMGN () 1

l8 7 11 31 JASON ALDEAN Old Boots, New DirtBROKEN BOW 7105/BBMG () 1 1

9 6 7 65 ERIC CHURCH The OutsidersEMI NASHVILLE 019402*/UMGN () 1 1

10 5 3 29 LITTLE BIG TOWN Pain KillerCAPITOL NASHVILLE 021360*/UMGN () 3

11 9 6 30 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE Anything GoesREPUBLIC NASHVILLE /BMLG () 0 1

12 8 9 6 DARIUS RUCKER Southern StyleCAPITOL NASHVILLE 021931/UMGN () 1

l13 19 15 26 GARTH BROOKS Man Against MachinePEARL/RCA NASHVILLE 501135/SMN () 1 1

14 11 8 4 DWIGHT YOAKAM Second Hand HeartWARNER BROS. 546622/WMN () 2

15 14 13 92 LUKE BRYAN Crash My PartyCAPITOL NASHVILLE 018733/UMGN () 2 1

16 12 5 49 MIRANDA LAMBERT PlatinumRCA NASHVILLE 379278/SMN () 0 1

l17 17 20 22 CARRIE UNDERWOOD Greatest Hits: Decade #119/ARISTA NASHVILLE 500876/SMN () 0 1

18 15 16 32 BLAKE SHELTON BRINGING BACK THE SUNSHINEWARNER BROS. 544918/WMN () 0 1

l19 20 27 26 ZAC BROWN BAND Greatest Hits So Far...ROAR/SOUTHERN GROUND/ATLANTIC 546369/AG () 5

20 18 19 38 CHASE RICE Ignite The NightCOLUMBIA NASHVILLE 22573/DACK JANIELS () 1

21 16 14 64 COLE SWINDELL Cole SwindellWARNER BROS. 541372/WMN () 2

l22 22 25 51 BRANTLEY GILBERT Just As I AmVALORY BG0200A/BMLG () 0 1

l23 21 22 33 KENNY CHESNEY The Big RevivalBLUE CHAIR/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 306274/SMN () 1

l24 24 23 35 LEE BRICE I Dont DanceCURB 79392* () 1

25 23 24 33 TIM MCGRAW Sundown Heaven TownMCGRAW/BIG MACHINE TM0200A/BMLG () 1

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1 1 19 TAKE YOUR TIME SAM HUNT

l2 2 11 GIRL CRUSH LITTLE BIG TOWN

l3 6 7 SIPPIN’ ON FIRE FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

l4 5 63 THIS IS HOW WE ROLL FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE FEAT. LUKE BRYAN

5 4 46 LEAVE THE NIGHT ON SAM HUNT

6 3 12 HOMEGROWN ZAC BROWN BAND

l7 8 110 CRUISE FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

l8 7 59 PLAY IT AGAIN LUKE BRYAN

l9 10 72 BOTTOMS UP BRANTLEY GILBERT

l10 12 5 LIKE A WRECKING BALL ERIC CHURCH

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l11 13 7 DON’T IT BILLY CURRINGTON

12 11 26 DRINKING CLASS LEE BRICE

l13 14 10 SAY YOU DO DIERKS BENTLEY

14 9 9 LITTLE RED WAGON MIRANDA LAMBERT

l15 20 69 YOU BELONG WITH ME TAYLOR SWIFT

l16 15 44 DIRT FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

l17 16 5 A GUY WALKS INTO A BAR TYLER FARR

l18 17 91 THAT’S MY KIND OF NIGHT LUKE BRYAN

l19 22 2 GAMES LUKE BRYAN

l20 18 6 SHE DON’T LOVE YOU ERIC PASLAY

Country Streaming Songs -The week’s top Country streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

BUILDING AIRPLAY GAINERSTITLE Label Artist GAIN

LOVE IS YOUR NAME Dot Steven Tyler +444

SANGRIA Warner Bros./WMN Blake Shelton +268

LOVING YOU EASY Varvatos/BMLG/Southern Ground Zac Brown Band +241

A GUY WALKS INTO A BAR Columbia Nashville Tyler Farr +211

BABY BE MY LOVE SONG Mercury Easton Corbin +207

GAMES Capitol Nashville Luke Bryan +163

LOVE ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT Black River Kelsea Ballerini +154

HOUSE PARTY MCA Nashville Sam Hunt +151

LOVE YOU LIKE THAT Mercury Canaan Smith +135

DON’T IT Mercury Billy Currington +129

Building Gainers reflects titles with the top increases in plays from Monday through 5pm ET Wednesday, as compared to the same period in the previous week, according to Nielsen Music.

TOP COUNTRY ALBUMSCOUNTRY DIGITAL SONGS

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE MAY 14, 2015 | PAGE 9 OF 9

STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY

The week’s most popular country albums, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music. Albums are defined as current if they are less than 18 months old or older than 18 months but still residing in the Billboard 200’s top 100. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

COUNTRY STREAMING SONGS

SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY

SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY