Oliver Anthony took the nation by storm when he dropped his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” on YouTube. It went viral and put the singer-songwriter on the map, and most recently, landed the previously-unknown singer on the Billboard Artist 100 list.
On the list dated Aug. 26, Anthony is in the third position ahead of both Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs. The two country artists each dropped a chart position — to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively — to accommodate the YouTube sensation.
Ahead of Anthony are Taylor Swift at the summit, with Travis Scott taking the No. 2 spot. Swift extends her record for the most weeks at No. 1 notching her 77th week on top.
The Artist 100 list is another first for Anthony, who made history when “Rich Men North of Richmond” topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart. He is the first to put a song on top of that chart without ever appearing on it previously.
An anthem for the working man, the song continues to amass downloads and streams, with 147,000 downloads coming in just one week. The track has also been streamed more than 17.5 million times.
He’s also piqued the interest of other artists: Anthony’s co-manager Draven Riffe says quite a few singer have reached out, including Jelly Roll, Randy Travis and John Rich. Jamey Johnson also shared a stage with Anthony in North Carolina to sing his song “In Color,” which bolstered some of his growth.
Although no plans for a collaboration have been set, Rife says, “We’re literally open to working with everybody.”