“Forever Country” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart: Only Third Song in Chart History to Debut in Top Spot
Debuts at No. 21 on the All-Genre Billboard Hot 100; Debuts No. 1 on Nielsen’s Country On-Demand Streaming Chart; Debuts No. 2 on Nielsen’s Digital Songs Chart and No. 1 on Country Digital Songs Chart with More Than 93,000 Sold
NASHVILLE – Powered by an unprecedented gathering of Country Music talent, a never-before-seen radio roadblock, and unanimous industry support, CMA’s historic “Forever Country” has vaulted to the top of multiple charts in its first week.
Fans around the world got their first listen Sept. 16, when CMA partner radio groups nationwide came together to premiere the single simultaneously during Friday morning drive time, and their first look on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” last Tuesday. Fan response was immediate and overwhelming in their approval of the project, showing their support in sales, streaming, and downloads of the music video and single.
Thanks to participating artists sharing the video through their individual social channels, fans raved across social media, watching the video online more than 31 million times in the first five days and commenting across the internet in celebration of the project, which pays tribute to the 50thAnniversary of the CMA Awards.
“Forever Country” makes its Billboard Hot Country Songs debut exploding into the No. 1 spot. This makes it only the third song to debut at No. 1 since Hot Country Songs began as a multi-metric chart in October 1958.
“Forever Country” also debuted at No. 1 on Nielsen’s Country On-Demand Streaming Chart with 5.68 million streams (one million audio/4.7 million video), and also posts on the sales charts with debuts at No. 2 on Nielsen’s Digital Songs chart and No. 1 on the Country Digital Songs chart with just over 93,000 tracks sold. It is also trended as the No. 3 most popular Country song on Shazam.
“Forever Country” has been the No. 1 selling single of all music genres at iTunes and the corresponding music video is ranked No. 1 among videos for all music genres, outpacing typical video sales at a rate of eight to one.
The project is also a global phenomenon, posting on 25 international iTunes charts and 18 international Spotify charts. The song ranks at No. 1 in sales in Canada; No. 2 in Australia and New Zealand; Top 25 in Scandinavia; and Top 40 in the United Kingdom, of all music. On television, the music video is a hit in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the U.K. Digitally, the song debuted on the Spotify Global Viral 50 chart and has been holding steady at No. 2.
The music video is also going into heavy rotation on CMT and CMT Pure, and was featured in this weekend’s Top 20 Countdowns on GAC and CMT. The frenzy hit the mainstream as the project was the topic of media coverage on ABC News, ABC’s “Good Morning America,” ABC’s “Nightline,” NBC’s “TODAY,” Billboard, CNN/HLN, “Entertainment Tonight,” E!, People, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, POPSUGAR, Forbes.com, and many more.
- “Those are some of my favorite all time songs,” Amy Robach – “Good Morning America”
- “Maybe the most elaborate, star-studded singalong in recent memory,” – “Nightline”
- “Standing ovation! That is so good,” Hoda Kotb; “That is so fabulous,” Kathie Lee Gifford; “Hoda’s been playing [it] on repeat,” Carson Daly – NBC’s “TODAY”
- “Not since ‘We Are the World’ have so many superstars blended their voices on one recording.” – Rolling Stone
- “The video for ‘Forever Country’ has all your favorite singers and songs in just 4 minutes.” – POPSUGAR
- “What do you get when you combine 30 of the biggest Country stars on the planet and three of the most beloved songs of all time? ‘Forever Country,’ an impressive video mash-up of talent dreamed up by the Country Music Association to help promote ‘The 50th (Annual) CMA Awards,’ which air live on Nov. 2.” – Forbes.com
“Forever Country” is CMA’s history-making single and music video in honor of “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” that features 30 CMA Award-winning acts performing a medley of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” Denver, Nelson, and Parton are all former CMA Entertainers of the Year.
Universal Music Group Nashville is exclusively partnering with CMA to market and distribute “Forever Country” worldwide. The song is available at all digital retail and streaming outlet partners. CMA profits from the sales and streaming of “Forever Country” will benefit music education causes through the CMA Foundation.
“Forever Country,” the single, was produced by CMA Award winner and CMA Board member Shane McAnally and the video was directed by Grammy Award-winning director Joseph Kahn.
The rollout of “Forever Country” will continue in the weeks leading into “The 50th Annual CMA Awards.”
“The 50th Annual CMA Awards” will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 2 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.
For more information on “Forever Country” visit ForeverCountry50.com.
For more information on “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” and to sign up for CMA emails and exclusives, visit CMAawards50.com.
