Oliver Anthony’s viral song “Rich Men North of Richmond” has officially made history.
The breakout hit debuted at No. 1 on Spotify, Apple Music and the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Anthony the first artist to reach this feat with no prior chart history ever. Anthony is also only the sixth artist ever to debut a first solo Hot 100 entry at No. 1, joining the small group of Zayn, Baauer, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia and Clay Aiken.
And if that wasn’t enough, “Rich Men North of Richmond” is also the first solo-written song to reach No.1 on the Billboard charts since Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” in 2020.
The country-folk artist’s song has reached an impressive 17.5 million streams in just under a week. Drawing praise from the right and critiques from the left, the song has caught the attention of seemingly everyone. With lyrics about high taxes, social welfare dynamics and more, Anthony’s song addresses numerous complex ideas of what it’s like to be an American in a tumultuous time.
Anthony spoke with Billboard about the message behind his hit song.
“The hopelessness and frustration of our times resonate in the response to this song,” Anthony said. “The song itself is not anything special, but the people who have supported it are incredible and deserve to be heard.”
