The 9513 Last.fm Chart Update (10-25-09)

The 9513 Group has grown to 127 members, but while our membership increases, the quality of our charts remains exemplary. You could take the Top 50 artists on these charts (minus Kelly Clarkson) and build a killer radio playlist with them. It’s split about 50-50 between mainstream country acts and the alt-country/country legends that make up part of the Americana genre. I don’t know if it’s ever been attempted, but if there was a radio station that played Steve Earle, I’d sit through the occasional Faith Hill song. Mainstream fans, what say you? Would you put up with a Hayes Carll song to hear Carrie or Reba? Has a station (outside of Texas, at least) ever tried this before?

Last.fm Top Artist

Miranda Lambert has finally been dethroned, with her 24 listeners putting her behind the dynamic duo of Patty Loveless and Johnny Cash, with 25 listeners each. Alan Jackson and George Strait had 23 to lead the way for the cowboy hat acts, and Toby Keith had 20 listeners to lead the way for the do-rag acts. That’s his best showing in some time, but it’s also proof that a new album release doesn’t guarantee you the #1 spot here. Tim McGraw, with 20 listeners as well, didn’t do any better. Sugarland, which takes a rare turn out of the Top 10 with 19 listeners at #11, may see some better returns on its holiday album as we get closer to Christmastime. Hayes Carll, Emmylou Harris and Justin Townes Earle lead the Americana artists with 14 listeners, sharing chart position with Waylon Jennings and Randy Travis. While Jason Aldean (14) has more listeners than Hank Williams (13), Williams thankfully has more listeners than Beyoncé (10).

Last.fm Top Album

Lambert’s not going to relinquish this chart as easily, though, as Revolution had 18 listeners to end up at #1. For good measure, Kerosene was #2 with 15. Fearless by Taylor Swift came in at #3 with 14, and McGraw’s Southern Voice was the first non-blond-female album on the charts with 13. The rest of the Top 10 has the usuals – Chicks, Sugarlands, Underwoods, etc. But Rattlin’ Bones by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson make the Top 5 with 11 listeners, and Hayes Carll‘s Trouble In Mind and Justin Townes Earle‘s Midnight At The Movies are both in the Top 10 with 10. The Americana listeners are organizing! Loveless’ Mountain Soul II and Loretta Lynn‘s Van Lear Rose just fell short, with 9 listeners. Keith’s new American Ride CD was way down the list with 7 listeners, along with the likes of Lady GaGa and Katy Perry.

Last.fm Top Tracks

The cream of the Revolution crop is rising to the top, as the leading songs for the week are “The House That Built Me” (11) and “White Liar” (10). Josh Turner also had 10 people play “Why Don’t We Just Dance.” As far as McGraw’s “Southern Voice” goes, 8 people played it, and many more ignored it. Most of the other songs from the new album ended up with just 5 listeners. David Nail continues to hang around the Top 10 with “Red Light” (7 listeners), and Chris Young matched that with “Gettin’ You Home.” That’s Young’s best performance on The 9513′s tracks chart, so maybe it took him reaching #1 on Billboard before our group members decided to give him a listen. Up-and-comers Bomshel had 6 listeners for “Fight Like A Girl,” and Earle had the same number for “Poor Fool,” sizable numbers for songs that haven’t made it to the mainstream.

Billboard Singles

For the third straight week, there is a new #1 song, with Keith Urban‘s “Only You Can Love Me This Way” taking the honors. “Toes” by Zac Brown Band creeps up ever closer, ending at #2. Carrie Underwood‘s “Cowboy Casanova” moves up to #5, making it the first ever Top 5 country song about vampires. Consider the lyrics: “He’s the devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes, and he only comes out at night.” Reports are her next single will be about werewolves, so look out for that. There wasn’t much movement elsewhere, as most songs stayed put or moved backwards a bit. It’s sad to see “Why” by Rascal Flatts moving up to #21 while “White Liar” moves back to #22, but it may be a one-week hiccup for Lambert. Strait enters into the Top 30 with “Twang,” while “Hillbilly Bone” by Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins (with the presumed approval of Adkins’ record label) was the big debut, entering the charts at #51. Montgomery Gentry‘s “Long Line Of Losers,” fittingly, doesn’t make the Top 20, falling back five spots to #28.

Billboard Country Albums

The thought of Taylor Swift not having a #1 album sent fans out to purchase more copies, as Fearless returns to the top position. American Ride slips to #2 and ZBB’s dreams of a #1 album are reignited with a jump from #6 to #3. Rosanne Cash‘s The List holds surprisingly steady at #5. Gold And Green from Sugarland was the best debut of the week, with a Christmas album entering the charts before Halloween at #12. For whatever reason, Love And Theft had a huge bump, with World Wide Open surging from #44 to #29. Kellie Pickler‘s self-titled album also moved from #32 to #30, striking a blow for traditional, hardcore country music.

Americana Music Association Chart

It was #2 two weeks ago and #2 last week, and Band Of Heathens now have a #1 record with One Foot In The Ether. Its 374 spins were two more than The Rose Hotel from Robert Earl Keen, which moved from #3 to #2. Cash’s The List is doing well on this chart as well, moving up three to #3. It was the biggest gainer of any non-debut on the chart, gaining 44 spins this week to 349. Lyle Lovett debuted at #8 with Natural Forces. Stoll Vaughan‘s The Weatherman shot into the Top 20, moving from #26 to #20 with 177 spins. Not so lucky was the Bottle Rockets‘ Lean Forward, which dropped from #14 to #23. Given their generally awesome live show, they’ll sell most of their records on the road, not through radio, but they deserved a little more support than a week in the Top 10.

To see this week’s charts and join our group, head to http://www.last.fm/group/The+9513.

Join us on:
Last.fm | Twitter | Facebook | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr