Florida Georgia Line Photo: Jim Wright

Florida Georgia Line hold the No. 1 and No. 3 spot on this week’s country digital tracks chart.

The duo has the top country debut this week, with “Smooth” landing at No. 3 country and No. 31 overall. The track sold 22K, and is the follow-up to “H.O.L.Y.”, which is still atop the country digital tracks chart. “H.O.L.Y.” moved 61K this week, for a total of 859K after 11 weeks.

At No. 2 on the country tracks chart is Kelsea Ballerini‘s “Peter Pan,” with 23K sold. “Different For Girls,” by Dierks Bentley with Elle King, moved 21K for a No. 4 rank. Jon Pardi‘s “Head Over Boots” lands at No. 5 this week, with 19K.

On the tracks sales rankings, Justin Timberlake‘s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” remains at No. 1, selling 92K this week. After 10 weeks, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” has sold more than 1.6 million units.

Overall track sales declined 25.4 percent YTD, while country digital track sales have declined 23.6 percent year to date

Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller returns to No. 1  on the country album chart with 14K. Blake Shelton‘s If I’m Honest lands at No. 2 with 11K, while Now That’s Country 9 moved 6.5K this week. Dierks Bentley‘s Black moved 5.9K albums this week to land at No. 4, followed by Keith Urban‘s Ripcord with 5.5K at No. 5.

The country rankings have no Top 10 debuts, though Mark Chesnutt‘s Tradition Lives debuts at No. 22 (1.8K). Kree Harrison‘s This Old Thing debuts at No. 28 with just over 900 units.

Overall album sales declined 15 percent YTD, while overall digital album sales declined 20.2 percent. Country album sales decreased 7.9 percent, while country digital album sales decreased 14.6 percent YTD.

On the overall chart, accounting for streams and sales, Drake‘s Views returns to No. 1 (92K units/18K album only), but the Top 10 sees three debuts. Schoolboy Q‘s Blank Face LP debuted at No. 2 (74K/52K album only), while Chevelle‘s North Corridor debuted at No. 8 (32.5K/31K album only), and Switchfoot‘s Where The Light Shines Through debuted at No. 10 (29K/27K album only).

Reba and Brooks & Dunn at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Photo: Justin McIntosh

“I love getting to hang out with Ronnie and Kix. I love them with all my heart,” Reba tells MusicRow, as she prepares to return to the stage with Brooks & Dunn this month. The upcoming shows are part of their Together In Vegas residency at the Colosseum Caesars Palace. “They are two of my best friends and we have a good time on and off stage.”

The residency opened in 2015, and the pairing of the two superstar acts is as natural as it is spectacular. Brooks & Dunn served as Reba’s opening act in 1992, when the duo was just getting their first taste of success off the strength of singles like “Brand New Man,” “My Next Broken Heart,” and “Neon Moon.” By 1997, they were co-headliners, which resulted in the No. 1 single “If You See Him (If You See Her)” the following year. They collaborated again in 2009 on the hit, “Cowgirls Don’t Cry.”

Reba’s music has taken her around the world, but she says teaming with Brooks & Dunn and Caesars Palace offered a chance to entertain fans without the rigorous travel schedule. “I’ve been doing this 40 years. To get to be in one place for three weeks like we are in July—we are playing three shows a week, on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday for three weeks—I’m in my same dressing room, on the same stage. It’s heaven. I absolutely love it. We don’t have to load in, load out, it’s easier on my crew, easier on my band, and everybody loves it. The people here at Caesars are incredible. They are so hospitable, they take great care of us and we have become great friends.”

Reba’s entire team began work on the production in 2014. She said, “We rehearsed a long time in Nashville before bringing it to Las Vegas. Steve Cohen did a beautiful job on staging. It’s a functional, moving, beautiful lighting design and we just have a blast on it.”

To prepare, Reba watched two of Celine Dion’s residency shows at Caesars, as well as shows from Shania Twain and Bette Midler. “I was very overwhelmed at the size and enormousness of the stage,” says Reba. “But the way they designed the staging of it, it’s not that big of a feeling to me. It’s very cozy and warm.”

Reba and Ronnie Dunn at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Photo: Justin McIntosh

That cozy atmosphere also allowed Reba to opt for more relaxed stage attire. “Terry Gordon designed and created my outfits. I wear a lot of my boots from my Dillard’s line. We adorned them a little bit, put a few more rhinestones on them, but that was neat to get to wear my boots onstage.”

Reba says the most challenging part of creating the run of Vegas shows was deciding which hits to perform, and how to include as many as possible. “Putting the set list together took forever, because Ronnie and Kix have a huge catalog, and I’ve got a huge catalog, so just narrowing down the songs we want to play that we think the fans will like, that was the hardest part.”

Reba, Kix and Ronnie were not content with a segmented performance model where each artist sings their own set and leaves the stage. Instead, they begin and end their shows together. In between, it’s a collaborative undertaking, with each artist weaving in and out of the other’s songs. Reba says that spontaneity keeps her on her toes. “You never know what they are going to say or what they are going to do. These guys are not anybody that you can say, ‘OK, at this point, say this.’ They will look at you like, ‘OK, I’m going to tell you what I’m going to say when I say it.’”

She continues, “So I walk out each night ready for anything. Every night they hit me with a little zinger that I don’t know where that’s coming from. It’s just their personalities. They are witty and they are funny. They don’t have any barriers and they just go for it. It’s very refreshing to me because I’ve always been a little more strict and to the rules, and they are not, so it’s a good blend for both of us.”

Reba and Brooks & Dunn’s Together In Vegas residency continues through July 30, followed by shows on Nov. 30, Dec. 2, 3, 7, 9 and 10. A string of shows are slated for 2017, including dates on Feb. 22, 24, and 25; and March 1, 3, and 4.