Weekly Register: Rucker Makes Fans ‘True Believers’

Country fans believe in Darius Rucker. His new album True Believers debuted at No. 1 on Soundscan’s Top Current Country Album chart today (May 29) with sales of 83k units, including 28 percent digital. He landed at No. 2 on the all-genre chart. Rucker’s previous effort launched with sales of 101k. The Capitol Records Nashville release was produced by Frank Rogers.

Elsewhere on the album chart, George Strait’s latest slipped 65 percent in its second week, sliding into No. 2 with 43k. Lady A notched 34k to land at No. 3, followed by Blake Shelton at No. 4 (25k) and Florida Georgia Line with 22k. On the chart for nine weeks, Shelton’s Based on a True Story has release-to-date totals of 546k.

Country album sales were down 10 percent week-to-week, moving 795k units.

Cruising the Tracks Chart:
Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” has downloads of more than 3.6 million tracks and holds steady at No. 1 Country and No. 9 overall, adding 129k this week.

At No. 2, Shelton and Pistol Annies’ “Boys ‘Round Here” sold 108k, for a RTD total of 828k. At No. 3, Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel” sold 103k this week and has moved 1.29 million RTD.

The Voice contestant Danielle Bradberry continues to woo country fans. Her version of the Jo Dee Messina hit “Heads Carolina, Tails California” sold 48K downloads after she sang it on the show this week. This follows her cover of “Maybe It Was Memphis” which has been downloaded 69k times since hitting the chart three weeks ago. Chris Young’s “Aw Naw” debuted with 27k clicks.

Year-to-date:
• Country digital tracks are up 8.8 percent YTD, while overall tracks are down 2.7 percent.

• Album sales: Including TEA (track equivalent albums), Country is up 4.9 percent YTD, compared to a negative 4.2 percent all-genre slide. Without TEA, Country is up 3.5 percent (16.2 million units sold YTD) and all-genre is down 5 percent.