Month: December 2022

From its very infancy, one of the attractions of country music has been its respect for the past.

Many of the genre’s early pioneers, including Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family, made their mark by leaning on so-called “old-fashioned songs,” nostalgic material drawn from a simpler time, before the mass migration to the city, before the Model T destroyed the horse and buggy, and before racy, decadent jazz had reached its peak.

Of course, music is an art, and artists tend to experiment, so the ongoing major battle in country music is the push and pull between expanding boundaries and hanging on to tradition.

Appropriately in 2022 — which happened to mark the 100th anniversary of the first country recording session — that tug of war between progress and tradition was very much evident.

Musically, the sounds of the past were trendy as the current generation of hit-makers celebrates ’90s country. The genre was full of examples, including three of the top 10 songs on the year-end Country Airplay chart: the Garth Brooks-like drama of Cody Johnson’s “ ’Til You Can’t,” the heartbreak storyline filtered through a Texas troubadour in Scotty McCreery’s “Damn Strait” and the Cole Swindell megahit “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” which returned the melody of Jo Dee Messina’s debut to regular rotation over two decades after its original chart run.

The rise of ronky tonk — a raw, stripped-down form of country (maybe it should be spelled “rawnky tonk”?) — pushed back against the genre’s 10-year party mode while sounding a little more like country has historically presented itself. It brought a new round of young artists to the forefront, including Bailey Zimmerman, Zach Bryan, Jackson Dean and Nate Smith. And it took place as the Paramount+ series Yellowstone soared, resurrecting the once popular western format and adding to the luster of Lainey Wilson, a new artist whose country authenticity fits with her role in the show.

Yet even as country recycled its past, the format is clearly moving forward at the same time. The ubiquitous presence of Jimmie Allen, the multiple collaborations of BRELAND, Kane Brown’sexperiment with stadium headlining and the introduction of new talents — including Madeline Edwards, Tiera Kennedy, Brittany Spencer, The War and Treaty and Chapel Hart — underscores a very real interest in expanding the genre’s diversity, with Black and biracial women making greater inroads alongside the recent uptick in the format’s Black males.

Not that the progressive edge of country rosters and playlists is a one-issue concern. Frank Ray and Kat + Alex are bringing a long-absent Latino influence to the genre’s mainstream, while other acts continue widening the sound of country, including Americana-leaning Boy Named Banjo, hip-hop-tinged Kidd G, adventurous Sam Williams and piano-based Ingrid Andress.

It’s not just the artistic part of country that moved forward in 2022. Podcasts and streaming continued growing, opening more avenues for songs and artists to emerge. BBR Music Group even assigned dedicated employees to focus on single, sprawling media companies: YouTube manager Aaron Wilder and vp of promotion and marketing/SiriusXM Radio Scotty O’Brien.

Country radio, historically the dominant platform for exposing new music, recognized its diminished role more openly. Several panels at February’s Country Radio Seminar addressed broadcasters’ sluggish approach to music rotations, and Country’s Radio Coach owner John Shomby spearheaded a committee that united multiple industry factions in an attempt to reverse the trend.

CRS was held in person after the pandemic forced a remote version of the seminar in 2021. It wasn’t the only annual event that returned to a physical location: CMA Fest took over Nashville’s downtown again after a two-year absence, though a number of industry members caught COVID-19 during the celebration. 

Nearly every artist was back on the road, too, creating its own set of issues. With some longtime support crew retiring or changing career paths during the pandemic, artists — particularly at the club and theater level — were challenged when trying to book full road teams and transportation. 

The Academy of Country Music became the first major organization to shift its awards show from network TV to a streaming platform, and Viacom shifted the CMT Music Awards for the first time from cable to the CBS broadcast network, revising the schedule in the process as the CMTs moved from the week of CMA Fest to the spring. 

By summer, the new routine left much of the industry’s personnel worn out as they returned to a hyper-active calendar after two years of mostly working at home.

Reigning over it all was Morgan Wallen, whose Dangerous: The Double Album dynamited the previous chart record by extending his No. 1 status on Country Albums to 86 weeks. Despite not fully cleaning up his public image after uttering a racial slur in February 2020, he topped nine different country lists among Billboard’s year-end charts, snared a CMA nomination for entertainer of the year, had the RIAA certify 43 different titles during the calendar year and set a 2023 concert schedule that includes 17 stadiums.

The subject of race is part of the push and pull that the industry will continue to address in the future. Back when those old-fashioned songs first took hold in the 1920s, record executives specifically marketed hillbilly records and race music — as the categories were called at the time — to separate audiences. In short order, the artists were segregated as well. The industry is taking steps to better reach Black audiences and expand the ranks of African American executives. Progress is essential to keep every valuable enterprise alive. 

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Vince Guaraldi Trio’s evergreen soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas hits a new peak on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the set rises 5-2 (on the list dated Dec. 24). That surpasses its previous high, notched just a week ago, when the album rose 7-5, beating its earlier peak of No. 6, achieved last holiday season (Dec. 18, 2021).

The companion album to the 1965 animated TV special sold 17,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 15 (up 24%), according to Luminate. Most of that sum (14,000) is driven by vinyl album sales. A Charlie Brown Christmas is available across more than 15 vinyl variants (most differing in the color of its vinyl LP), including versions exclusive to Barnes & Noble, Newbury Comics, independent record stores, Target, Urban Outfitters, Vinyl Me, Please and Walmart.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a consistent strong performer on vinyl, as it was the top-selling holiday album on vinyl annually in the U.S. from 2012 through 2021.

Since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991, A Charlie Brown Christmas has sold 4.3 million in traditional album sales across all formats (CD, vinyl, cassette, digital download album, etc.), with 469,000 of that sum in vinyl LP sales.

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Taylor Swift’s Midnights holds at No. 1 for a eighth week in a row — the most weeks at No. 1 since Adele’s 30 also spent its first eight weeks atop the list a year ago). Meanwhile, Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak reaches a new peak as it re-enters the chart at No. 4 following its release on vinyl.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

A Charlie Brown Christmas was released in 1965 but did not reach any Billboard ranking until 1987, when it debuted on the Top Holiday Albums chart, where it later peaked at No. 2 (Jan. 27, 2007). On the Billboard 200 chart, the set reached a new peak last season, climbing to No. 6 on the list dated Jan. 1, 2022. A year prior, it reached the top 10 for the first time (No. 10 on the Jan. 2, 2021 chart).

The A Charlie Brown Christmas TV special aired annually on CBS during the holiday season from 1965 through 2000. ABC picked up the rights to the show from 2001-19. In 2020, the Apple TV+ subscription service acquired the rights to the special – along with other classic animated Peanuts programs. A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of many animated TV specials based on the Peanuts comic characters. It was followed by familiar favorites like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973).

A Charlie Brown Christmas made its Apple TV+ premiere on Dec. 4, 2020. Apple initially teamed with PBS to bring the special back to free over-the-air TV with commercial-free airings on PBS and sister network PBS KIDS in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, Apple TV+ and PBS did not collaborate on a Peanuts presentation. Instead, Apple TV+ offered free limited time screenings of three Peanuts specials for anyone that logs into the service using their Apple ID. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was available free between Oct. 28-31, followed by A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Nov. 23-27 and A Charlie Brown Christmas on Dec. 22-25.

At No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Taylor Swift’s Midnights spends an eighth week in a row on top – the most weeks at No. 1 since Adele’s 30 also led for its first eight weeks on the list (Dec. 24, 2021-Jan. 22, 2022 charts). Midnights has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other Swift album since 1989 logged 10 nonconsecutive weeks in charge (2014). Since 1989, she scored seven more No. 1s albums, including Midnights.

In the latest tracking week, Midnights sold 74,000 copies – up 10%. Its cumulative U.S. sales stand at 1.666 million.

Harry Styles’ former No. 1 Harry’s House falls 2-3 with 16,000 sold (down 41%).

Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak hits a new peak as it re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 4 following its release on vinyl. The album sold 15,000 copies in the tracking week – up 956% –  with 14,000 of that sum on vinyl. American Heartbreak was released on May 20 via digital download and CD (as well as through streaming services). Its vinyl LP – a triple LP set – was not released until Dec. 9. (Unlike the many vinyl variants of the Charlie Brown Christmas album, Bryan’s set was only available in one standard black vinyl edition.)

American Heartbreak previously spent one week on Top Album Sales, debuting at No. 7 on the June 4-dated chart with 6,000 sold in its first week of availability.

Matteo, Andrea and Virginia Bocelli’s A Family Christmas falls 3-5 on Top Album Sales with 14,000 sold (down 40%), Michael Jackson’s Thriller rises 7-6 with 13,000 (up 7%), Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours climbs 8-7 with nearly 13,000 (up 8%) and Swift’s former No. 1 Evermore bumps 12-8 with 12,000 (up 21%). Rounding out the new top 10 are Michael Bublé’s former leader Christmas, ascending 11-9 with nearly 10,000 (down 5%) and The Beatles’ Revolver, jumping 14-10 with 9,000 (up 21%).

In the week ending Dec. 15, there were 2.911 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 11.9% compared to the previous week). That’s the biggest week of 2022 and the largest for album sales since the week ending Dec. 23, 2021, when 4.231 million were sold.

In the week ending Dec. 15, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.526 million (up 14.7%) and digital albums comprised 375,000 (down 4.2%).

There were 1.001 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 15 (up 7.7% week-over-week) and 1.521 million vinyl albums sold (up 20.1%). Both represent the largest sales weeks for each album format in 2022. Volume was last larger for both in the week ending Dec. 23, 2021, when there were 1.584 million CD albums sold and 2.113 million vinyl albums sold.

Further, the 1.521 million vinyl albums sold in the week ending Dec. 15 marks the third-largest week for vinyl since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. (The largest week in the Luminate era for vinyl was the week ending Dec. 23, 2021.)

Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 33.822 million (down 11.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 39.659 million (up 3.5%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 93.462 million (down 8.5% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 74.013 million (down 3.8%) and digital album sales total 19.450 million (down 22.7%).

As jurors decide whether Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot two years ago, Megan’s boyfriend, Pardison Fontaine, is publicly sharing some thoughts on social media.

“To any woman especially ones of color that has suffered an injustice I feel for you.. when you do find the courage to speak up.. it seems you will be ridiculed.. your credibility will [be] questioned.. your entire past will be held under a magnifying glass.. in an instant you can go from victim to defendant in the eyes of the public,” Pardi wrote in an Instagram Story Thursday evening (Dec. 22).

He continued, “To any one with a daughter sister mother niece or aunt.. I pray for their protection.. I pray for their covering.. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”

Megan and Pardi celebrated their second anniversary in October. The couple showed off their anniversary date night but Meg squashed any rumors that the couple were engaged in a tweet on Oct. 19. “Lol as nice as last night was we are not engaged,” she said.

In court last week, Megan recounted the alleged shooting and pinned the blame on Lanez. “I wish he would have just shot and killed me if I would have known I was going to go through this torture,” she said in her emotional testimony.

Lanez, who stands accused of three felony counts over the July 12, 2020 incident — during which prosecutors say he yelled “Dance, b—-” and shot at Megan’s feet — did not take the witness stand to testify in the trial. His lawyers have maintained his innocence, suggesting that the trigger might instead have been pulled by Megan’s former friend and assistant Kelsey Harris, who was also in the vehicle that night.

Gwen Stefani honored the memory of one of No Doubt‘s founding members, John Spence, in a tribute posted 35 years after his death.

Spence was the original lead singer in the earliest days of the Anaheim, Calif., group, while Stefani provided backing vocals. The first version of No Doubt — with a name inspired by a phrase Spence often said — was formed in 1986. “For some reason there was automatically this built-in following,” Stefani said in a 1996 interview with Spin. “People loved the fact that it was a girl, that it was 2-Tone, that it was me and John up there.” A year later, Spence died by suicide at the age of 18.

“remembering John Spence today, and always,” Stefani wrote of the late singer and friend on Instagram Wednesday (Dec. 21).

The pop star and Voice coach shared six photos on her post, leading with a black-and-white image of the two of them together. Some of the other pictures included performance shots and what appears to be a school yearbook photo of Spence.

See her collection of personal photos with Spence on Instagram.

Lizzo and Austin Butler still have some Christmas leftovers from their joint Saturday Night Live appearance. On Thursday (Dec. 22), the pop star and Elvis actor joined forces on TikTok to wish their fans and followers happy holidays with one of the iconic songs of the season.

“We wish you a merry Christmas/ We wish you a merry Christmas/ We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year,” the pair sang in unison. After finishing their brief song, Lizzo — who was holding the camera — and Butler embrace, much to her delight and surprise.

“If we show up as Christmas carolers at your house wyd?” Lizzo captioned the jolly video.

The pair joined forces on the Dec. 17 episode of SNL. While it marked Butler’s first time hosting the program, Lizzo originally made her debut in December 2019, when she performed a holiday-themed version of “Good as Hell,” and she returned last season in April, when she hosted and performed “About Damn Time” and “Special.” For the latest episode, Lizzo performed her cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas.”

Lizzo appears to be into the Christmas spirit this year — in a preview of her upcoming interview on CBS Sunday Morning, the three-time Grammy winner chatted about owning her first-ever home in Los Angeles, which was decorated to the brim with Yuletide flair. “It’s like not having stuff for a long time, and now [that] I’ve got it, I’m going overboard,” Lizzo gushed in the preview. “I’m literally Santa Claus.”

See Lizzo and Austin Butler’s TikTok below.