Rich Men North of Richmond (Song)

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    Oliver Anthony Music’s ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Stays No. 1

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    The song by Oliver Anthony Music played a role at the Republican primary debate, though the musician clarified he doesn’t identify with “people on conservative news.”“Rich Men North of Richmond,” the out-of-nowhere viral protest song by Oliver Anthony Music, is the country’s No. 1 single for a second time, after playing a key role in last week’s Republican primary debate.“Rich Men,” a spare acoustic track uploaded to YouTube just weeks ago by the largely unknown Anthony, quickly caught fire as an angry cry against corporate and political elites, though it also took shots at welfare recipients. Embraced by conservative commentators, the song shot to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, with big download and streaming numbers.Last week, the first question at the Republican debate was about the significance of “Rich Men,” and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida spun it as a sign of policy failures by the Biden administration.In a video response posted to YouTube, Anthony — real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford — said he was bothered by how his song has become a political talking point. “It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I’m one of them,” he said. “I see the right trying to characterize me as one of their own. And I see the left trying to discredit me.” The song, he added on Facebook, “is about corporate owned D.C. politicians on both sides.”“Rich Men” repeats at No. 1 on the all-genre Hot 100 with 23 million streams and 117,000 downloads, according to the tracking service Luminate. It is also No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart.On the Billboard 200 album chart, Travis Scott’s “Utopia” marks a month at No. 1 with the equivalent of 161,000 sales, including 92 million streams and 92,000 copies sold as a complete package, according to Luminate, driven by discounted vinyl sales on the rapper’s website. According to Billboard, “Utopia” is the first rap album to spend its first four weeks at the top since 2018, when Drake’s “Scorpion” had five. (In 2021, Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” spent its first three weeks at No. 1, then returned to the top for another two weeks later on.)Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” holds at No. 2, while the singer-songwriter Hozier opens at No. 3 with his new “Unreal Unearth.” The “Barbie” soundtrack remains in fourth place, and Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” is No. 5. More

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      Popcast (Deluxe): A Shocking No. 1 Hit and Addison Rae’s New EP

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Amazon MusicThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:“Rich Men North of Richmond,” the sudden No. 1 hit by Oliver Anthony Music, the recording alias of the roots-country singer Christopher Anthony Lunsford, which has become a culture war flashpoint and right-wing media cause célèbreThe release of “AR,” the first EP from the one-time TikTok star Addison Rae, and the way in which copycat pop might be the purest pop of all“In the Night,” the new song from DJ Sliink featuring SAFE and Bandmanrill“Namesake,” a new song from the Chicago rapper NonameSnacks of the weekConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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      How ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Topped the Charts

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      A song by the previously unknown Oliver Anthony Music struck a chord with conservative pundits. Its quick trip to No. 1 relied on tactics that help pop stars go viral.The unadorned video suddenly appeared on social media earlier this month: a young man with a bushy red beard and a guitar in a backwoods locale, dogs at his feet and bugs buzzing in the background. In an impassioned drawl, he sings a country-folk anthem about selling his soul “working all day,” and being kept in his place by inflation, high taxes and the elites he holds responsible: “Rich Men North of Richmond.”Listen to This ArticleFor more audio journalism and storytelling, More

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      Viral Hit ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Debuts at No. 1

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      Oliver Anthony Music’s song expressing frustration over working-class struggles shot to the top of the Billboard chart after a wave of support from conservative commentators.“Rich Men North of Richmond,” an independently released track by the little-known performer billed as Oliver Anthony Music, became the surprise No. 1 song in the United States this week, topping hits by superstars like Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Olivia Rodrigo.The song, which was uploaded to YouTube just two weeks ago, caught fire with conservative commentators including Matt Walsh and Laura Ingraham, who described it as an authentic expression of working-class struggle, though some critics winced at anti-welfare sentiments that seemed to hark back to the Reagan era: “If you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds/Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds,” sings Anthony, whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford.“Rich Men” shoots to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with 17.5 million streams and 147,000 downloads, according to the tracking service Luminate. After Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” it is the second country song in less than a month to reach No. 1 after stirring political controversy and sparking download sales — a very small part of the contemporary music business, but one that can have an outsize impact on the charts, thanks to the weighting formulas that Billboard and Luminate use to reconcile streams and sales.According to Billboard, it is the first time that an artist has made a debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 without any prior chart history “in any form.”Whether “Rich Man” can hold the top spot for long is yet to be seen. When Aldean, a Nashville hitmaker for years, rode a wave of culture-war controversy for “Try That in a Small Town” after its music video was criticized as a coded call to vigilantism, the song spent a single week at No. 1; it dropped 20 spots after streams and downloads plunged.On the album chart, Travis Scott’s “Utopia” holds No. 1 for a third week, thanks in part to a flash sale on the rapper’s website that priced the double vinyl version at $5. Scott sold 99,000 copies of his album, 93,000 of which were on vinyl; he also had 124 million streams. Altogether, “Utopia” was credited with the equivalent of 185,000 sales in the United States, according to Luminate.The neon-haired Colombian pop star Karol G debuts at No. 3 with her latest release, “Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season),” which had the equivalent of 67,000 sales, including 68 million streams. The mixtape is a companion collection to Karol G’s last studio album, the similarly titled “Mañana Será Bonito,” which opened at No. 1 in March.Also this week, Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” holds at No. 2, the “Barbie” soundtrack is No. 4 and Swift’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” is in fifth place. More