Oliver Anthony: Who Is This New Music Sensation?
There is a new name in country music and in music in general. Oliver Anthony has topped not only Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, but Billboard’s Top 100 Chart with his song “Rich Men North Of Richmond.” According to Billboard, he is the firt act to open at No. 1 on the Hot 100.He’s beating out songs from Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen and he’s doing it without a record label or even a management team. As a matter of fact, you can email him directly at [email protected]. He says he’s been combing through over 50,00 emails but will try to answer everyone.
His song, “Rich Men Nort Of Richmond,” describes how the world is today. Oliver sings in the first verse, “I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day / Overtime hours for bulls— pay / So I can sit out here and waste my life away / Drag back home and drown my troubles away / It’s a damn shame what the world’s gotten to / For people like me and people like you / Wish I could just wake up and it not be true / But it is, oh, it is.”
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The song came out on Radio WV, a local YouTube channel dedicated to local talent, on August 8, 2023. The video already has over 33 million views.
No one knew much about Oliver, so on August 17, he formally introduced himself through a lengthy Facebook post. He said in part, “I never wanted to be a full-time musician, much less sit at the top of the iTunes charts. Draven from RadioWv and I filmed these tunes on my land with the hope that it may hit 300k views. I still don’t quite believe what has gone on since we uploaded that. It’s just strange to me.”
He added that being a country superstar is not something he is interested in being. He said in the post, “People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers. I don’t want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor-trailers, and a jet. I don’t want to play stadium shows; I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression.”
Oliver said of himself, “My legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. My grandfather was Oliver Anthony, and “Oliver Anthony Music” is a dedication not only to him but to 1930s Appalachia, where he was born and raised. Dirt floors, seven kids, hard times. At this point, I’ll gladly go by Oliver because everyone knows me as such. But my friends and family still call me Chris. You can decide for yourself; either is fine.”
He also stated in the post that he owes about $60,000 on it his land and is currently “living in a 27′ camper with a tarp on the roof” that he got off of Craigslist for $750.
As for his fame, he is currently setting up several free shows for fans to come to see him. Anthony promises that he will hang around till the very last person has met him and shakes his hand.
Oliver has almost two million followers on TikTok and nearly a million on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, respectively.
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