Females lead Mid Year Country chart

Image: Country chart topper Jasmine Rae

As part of theinaugural Singles & Market Share Mid Year Report,TMNenlistedRob Potts, CEO of Rob Potts Entertainment Edge to write about the Mid Year Country Musicchart.

At a time when there is a lot of discussion about how hard it is for female artists to establish themselves in the genre in the US, it’s gratifying to see the young female artists who are making a big impact on this chart – from Jasmine Rae (with the highest scoring track over this period When I Found You) to female fronted duo Kaylens Rain, and rising stars Kaylee Bell, Melanie Dyer and Caitlyn Shadbolt.

Two of the biggest international success stories of the year have also been women. Maren Morris shot straight to the top on the TMN chart with her breakout single My Church, which spent a whopping six weeks at #1. Any artist would be stoked with that achievement, but for the first single she’s ever released in this market, it’s huge. I expect we’ll be seeing a lot more of her on the chart as the year progresses.

2016 MID YEAR COUNTRY MUSICCHART TOP 10

US country’s ‘it girl’ Kelsea Ballerini has had three #1s on the chart: Love Me Like You Mean It, Dibs and multi-week chart topper Peter Pan, her current single. In the US, she’s the first female artist to come out of the box with back-to-back #1s since Jamie O’Neal back in 2001.

Ballerini, along with artists like Cam, Kip Moore, Lee Brice and many others, saw an increased chart profile around their visits to Australia this March. The CMC Music Awards and CMC Rocks QLD festival have become a highlight week for country music in Australia, and the local charts mirrored that hype accordingly with many international acts appearing in both the Country Music and ARIA charts.

Looking ahead to the next half of 2016, I’d expect to see H.O.L.Y., from this year’s CMC Rocks headliners Florida Georgia Line, make a big impact. The song has already become a #1 in the States, and the duo have a massive fanbase here in Australia. Expect to see a great balance between international and local artists on the chart, with the best of our homegrown country music competing with superstars from the US, Canada, NZ and the UK.

Aussie artists can vie for chart success with Nashville’s finest; this should inspire new local performers and songwriters to keep upping their game and shooting for the top. Our own Morgan Evans has already caught the attention of Nashville’s biggest songwriters and industry figures, and the buzz around his new music over there suggests that he will be impacting on the chart later this year – and maybe the US charts too!

A free version of theSingles & Market Share Mid Year Report, with charts, analysis, interviews and market shares can be downloadedhere.