‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Debuts at No. 1 as Oliver Anthony Makes Billboard Chart History

variety.com:

Ethan Shanfeld Oliver Anthony’s viral breakout hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making the singer-songwriter the first artist ever to notch the achievement with no prior chart history in any form.

He is the sixth artist in Billboard chart history to debut a first solo Hot 100 entry at No. 1, following Zayn, Baauer, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia and Clay Aiken.

And “Rich Men North of Richmond” is the first solo-written Hot 100 No. 1 since 2020’s “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, which topped the chart for five weeks in March and April 2022. “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which was widely shared online along with a video of the bearded country-folk singer singing with an acoustic guitar in the woods, drew 17.5 million streams and sold 147,000 downloads in the tracking week ending Aug.

17, per Luminate. A YouTube video of the song has 30 million views to date. With lyrics referencing high taxes and “the obese milkin’ welfare,” the song drew praise from the right and criticism from the left, with many deeming the Virginia-based singer, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, an “industry plant.” In a statement posted to Facebook after “Rich Men North of Richmond” blew up, Anthony (whose legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford) wrote that he isn’t rushing into a record deal. “People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off eight million dollar offers.