'Rich Men North of Richmond' Beat Out Taylor Swift for No. 1 Song on Charts
Oliver Anthony’s viral, working-class anthem “Rich Men North of Richmond” shows no sign of slowing down.
Since last week, the song has dominated the iTunes charts and now it also holds the No. 1 spot on Apple Music’s global charts.
The former factory worker turned singer is beating out much more established musicians such as Morgan Wallen and Taylor Swift.
The 33-year old Swift is one of the biggest music stars in the world, across any genre, to put Anthony’s viral success in perspective.
Incredibly, outlets are already predicting the track might debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 next week, which would topple the many weeks Morgan’s “Last Night” has taken the title.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
Anthony’s meteoric rise was recently explained and described by Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.
She stated she believes his popularity occurred “because he understood and acknowledged the pain, the suffering and the struggling that so many Americans are dealing with on a daily basis.
“He is a voice for all of those who aren’t able to express what they’re feeling, what they’re going through, and be able to say, we need change now.”
Nesheiwat added, “One of the reasons that he said he wrote this song was not for fame, not for glory, but he was feeling a sense of mental illness, depression and anxiety because of the state of our economy.
“And so many Americans resonate with that.”
Anthony spoke out in a lengthy Facebook post on Thursday to address why the songs are speaking to everyday people.
“These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they’re being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung,” he wrote.
“No editing, no agent, no bulls***,” the singer added. “Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.”
Anthony also noted that he shunned $8 million offers from music industry executives since his quick rise to fame.
People lined up as far as the eye can see for a chance at a picture with @AintGottaDollar… hard to describe what I’m witnessing 😭 pic.twitter.com/A8bBAUGQJR
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) August 13, 2023
And the music clearly resonates with the masses given that Anthony played at a farmers market in Currituck, North Carolina, last Sunday and had a whopping 12,000 fans showing up to hear him perform.
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