Sturgill Simpson

Sturgill Simpson earns the top country album debut this week with the release of The Ballad of Dood and Juanita. The album takes No. 3 on the country charts and No. 23 overall with 18,000 first-week streams, according to Nielsen.

Morgan Wallen stays at No. 1, with Dangerous: The Double Album adding 42,000 streams. Luke Combs takes up second as What You See Is What You Get and fifth as This One’s For You with 23,000 and 16,000 streams, respectively. Dan + Shay rises to No. 4 with their newly released album, Good Things, gaining 17,000 streams.

Monument Records’ Walker Hayes retains his place at No. 1 country, and No. 8 overall, as “Fancy Like” earns another staggering 12 million streams this week, according to Nielsen. “Lil Bit” (Nelly & Florida Georgia Line) takes back the second spot, adding 7.2 million streams; “Chasing After You” (Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris) rise to third with 7.1 million streams; and “Forever After All” (Combs) moves up to fourth with 6.5 million streams. Dan + Shay fill out this week’s top five as “Glad You Exist” earns 6 million streams.

Cody Jinks. Photo: Jason Deramo

Cody Jinks is doubling down this November with the release of two new albums on Nov. 12 through his own independent label, Late August Records: Mercy, a solo country record, and None The Wiser, a metal album created with his band Caned By Nod. Ahead of the releases, Jinks has released “All It Cost Me Was Everything” from Mercy and “Middle Finger” from None The Wiser.

Both produced and engineered by Edward Spear and recorded simultaneously at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, the two records vary sonically and thematically yet are tied together through Jinks’ signature songwriting.

Jinks incorporates traditional elements with soul, rock and blues through Mercy. Written entirely during quarantine, he used his time at home to further develop his songwriting skills. Working with both longtime friends and heroes, the project features collaborations with Chris Shiflett, Kendell Marvel, Adam Hood, TN Jet, Josh Morningstar, Greg C. Jones and Ward Davis, as well as Jinks’ wife, Rebecca.

Meanwhile, None The Wiser pulls from arena-caliber classic rock, thrash metal and psychedelic-tinged grunge and marks a full circle moment for Jinks, who performed in a metal band before making the shift to country. Jinks wrote all ten tracks on the record with his past bandmate Ben Heffley, with some written as recently as this year and others dating back to the early 2000s.

“It was very different recording them at the same time,” recalls Jinks of the process. “Literally, it was being in one studio and walking next door and going from this beautiful country song that we’re doing to just this really angry metal song, flipping a switch. The actual art of writing was the only thing I really had to focus on to keep myself sane… the song comes first. If I’m not writing a great song, then I’m dead in the water. I really, really focused on being a better wordsmith.”

Since the release of his 2015 breakthrough record, Adobe Sessions, which features his Platinum-certified song, “Loud and Heavy,” Jinks has released four more studio albums. He’s sold over 1.5 million equivalent units throughout his career and garnered over 2 billion streams. Jinks was recently named MusicRow’s 2020 Independent Artist of the Year after receiving the most radio spins for an independent artist and was awarded Entertainer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Single of the Year by Texas Radio in 2020.

Eddie Montgomery is returning with his first song as a solo artist, “Alive and Well,” on Average Joes Entertainment.

Infused with a fighter’s spirit, the song is the first new music released by Montgomery in more than two years, and was penned by Montgomery with Ira Dean and Chris Wallin. Produced by Noah Gordon and Shannon Houchins, the moving track is a true-life snapshot of loss and survival inspired in part by Montgomery’s own story, including the heartbreaking sudden loss of partner Troy Gentry in 2017.

“This was a hard song to write, but it’s one that I thought so many could relate to,” says Montgomery. “We’ve all had losses, fought the good fight, and rose to celebrate a new day. I hope friends and fans take away a renewed sense of gratefulness for the life they live when they hear this song.”

Montgomery Gentry charted over 20 singles and earned CMA, ACM, and Grammy awards and nominations with blue-collar anthems like “Hell Yeah,” “My Town,” and “Hillbilly Shoes.” They notched five No. 1 singles, “If You Ever Stop Loving Me,” “Something To Be Proud Of,” “Lucky Man,” “Back When I Knew It All” and “Roll With Me,” and were inducted as Grand Ole Opry members in 2009 and into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

Eddie Montgomery and the Montgomery Gentry Band continue to tour, with dates booked through September.

Sophia Scott signs with Empire

Sophia Scott has signed with indie label and distributor, Empire Nashville.

The Boulder, Colorado native is best known for her viral hit, “She Ain’t Me”, which has over 15 million streams in the U.S. and was featured on the Canada Viral 50 playlist. With multiple viral videos on TikTok, and gaining over 9,000 followers each week, she currently boasts a steady following, including 200,000 TikTok followers, 1.3 million likes, 62,000 YouTube subscribers, 410,000 monthly Spotify listeners, and over 37 million overall streams to date.

Scott has received a variety of playlist placements, including on Spotify’s New Music Friday and Wild Country, Apple Music’s New in Country and What Would Dolly Do?, and her single, “White Fence,” was also featured on the U.S. Viral 50. Additionally, she can be heard on Iggy Izalea‘s new album, The End Of The Era, on her co-written track “Sex on the Beach.”

In a race to claim “Most-Added” on the country charts this week, three artists earned honorable mentions.

Kane Brown‘s single, “One Mississippi,” dominated the Billboard and Mediabase charts raking in 187 total first-week stations and an additional 24 stations on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart. This is a career best for Brown who co-wrote his latest release with Jesse Frasure, Levon Gray and Ernest K. Smith.

On the MusicRow Radio Chart, Keith Urban lands at the top of the most added list receiving 28 adds this week. His latest single, “Wild Hearts,” was also the highest debut at No. 49 and had the greatest spin increase with +349 spins. Urban co-wrote “Wild Hearts” with Brad Tursi, Jennifer Wayne, and Eric Paslay.

Frank Ray also earns a nod for being the most added song on country radio by a new artist. “Country’d Look Good On You,” released via BBR Music Group/Stoney Creek Records, has 59 new stations playing the single this week. “It’s hard to describe the feeling of hearing your own song come on the radio—it brings all kinds of emotions to the surface—I’m grateful to my incredible fans, family, manager Oscar Chavira and my entire team,” Ray shares. “Thank you to country radio for gifting me with that incredible feeling and continuing to support me and my dream.”