The 9513 Last.fm Chart Update (8-16-09)

Even on an off week, George Strait is going to be at or near the top of these charts. On a week where he’s releasing a new album, forget about it. The only question is just how many listeners is he going to be ahead of the closest competition for the Top Artist chart. In this case, it’s 31 listeners, 7 ahead of Sugarland at #2. Apparently their cover-filled live DVD/CD combo just doesn’t have the same level of interest as a new Strait CD. There’s not too much new in the Top 10 artists, with a couple of exceptions. Lady Antebellum jumps all the way to #3 with 22 listeners, and Taylor Swift returns to the Top10 with 19. The big news of last week, of course, was Brooks & Dunn splitting up, and that apparently didn’t get the B&D fans to break out their CDs and mp3s in mourning. The duo ended up at #16 with 16 listeners. Justin Moore, who had the misfortune of releasing an album the same week as Strait, nevertheless cracked the Top 20, showing up at #19 with 15 listeners.

Surprisingly, the #1 album of the week was Lady Antebellum’s debut, with 15 listeners. Strait’s Twang ended up in second place, along with Sugarland’s Love On The Inside, both with 14. Strait’s Troubador also has some life still in it, as 13 people listened to that as well. Rounding out the Top 5 with 12 listeners are Miranda Lambert with Kerosene and Taylor Swift with Fearless. For the rest of the Top 10, there are a few new names – Ashton Shepherd’s Sounds So Good returns to the list at #8 with 10 listeners, joining The Foundation by the Zac Brown Band, Swift’s debut and the newly platinum Learn To Live from Darius Rucker.

If the #1 Album was a surprise, the The Top Tracks chart is about what you’d expect in a Strait release week. He’s got 12 of the top 15 tracks. “Beautiful Day For Goodbye” was the favorite with 12 listeners, and two of the most talked-about tracks, “Arkansas Dave” and “El Rey,” were part of the pack with 11 listeners. The only non-Strait tracks in the Top 15 are Moore’s “Small Town USA” (11 listeners), Lady Antebellum’s “I Run To You” (10) and Gloriana’s “Wild At Heart” (10). Lambert’s “White Liar” is new to the charts and made a solid impression, landing at #16 with 8 listeners.

Freebie of the Week: The free 2009 Yep Roc Records sampler is available at Think Indie. Usually it’s the sort of thing you can get at Amazon, but I haven’t seen it there yet, so this is your best bet. If you want to get the “This Is How I Roc 2009” album, featuring tracks from Reckless Kelly, Nick Lowe, Rodney Crowell, The Gourds and others in the alt-country realm, sign up for a free account and go get it. It’s listed in the Freeloads section of the store.

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

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