A few weeks ago, Oliver Anthony was an unknown. Today, thanks to a bare-bones song and video heralded by right-wing pundits, he sits atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Essentially unknown as recently as early August, the red-bearded singer and songwriter from central Virginia burst into notoriety 10 days ago when his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” — a rough-hewn account of working-class desperation aimed at Washington bureaucrats bent on “total control” — went viral overnight thanks in part to its hearty embrace by an array of right-wing pundits and politicians.
But this isn’t merely a story about the growing appeal of the country genre, which the tracking service Luminate says logged its biggest streaming week ever in June with 2.26 billion plays on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. According to Billboard, consumption of country music overall is up more than 20% in 2023 as compared to the first half of 2022.
Yet Anthony’s song is similarly naive in its political calculation: Where Aldean paints a hysterical portrait of urban chaos, Anthony muddies his critique of government malfeasance by complaining about obese people “milking welfare” to buy “bags of Fudge Rounds,” as though food stamps are the reason he’s been working “overtime hours for bulls— pay.
Implicit in progressives’ suspicion of Anthony’s success is the certainty that he and his song are nothing special. But there’s a live-wire intensity to his ragged delivery in “Rich Men North of Richmond” that — beyond suggesting he’s been paying close attention to Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers, to name two left-leaning Americana acts — sells his claim that he’s “living in the new world with an old soul.
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How right-wing-endorsed country sensation Oliver Anthony scored a left-field No. 1 hitA few weeks ago, Oliver Anthony was an unknown. Today, thanks to a bare-bones song and video heralded by right-wing pundits, he sits atop the Billboard Hot 100.
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Oliver Anthony Brings ‘Rich Men’ Hit to Weekend North Carolina ShowThe country singer performed songs including “Rich Men From North of Richmond” and “Ain’t Gotta Dollar” to the thousands who attended.
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‘Crazy plane lady’ Tiffany Gomas could have learned from viral sensation Oliver Anthony, author saysTiffany Gomas should have taken a page from the playbook of viral singing sensation Oliver Anthony, according to author Chris McMurray, who is familiar with a sudden rise to fame.
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'Oliver Anthony for President': What We Saw at Viral Songwriter's ConcertThe “Rich Men North of Richmond” singer read from the Bible and signed autographs for a passionate crowd on a North Carolina golf course
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Oliver Anthony says ‘Rich Men’ has ‘touched people globally’: 'Don’t have to be blue-collar’'Rich Men North of Virginia' singer Oliver Anthony said the blue-collar anthem is a song for people around the world in his first on-camera interview.
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Oliver Anthony performs across US as hit song continues success streakCountry singer Oliver Anthony, whose hit song 'Rich Men North of Richmond' has taken the country by storm, performed in front of another live audience over the weekend.
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