Oliver Anthony continues his reign at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. For the second consecutive week, Anthony is sitting at No. 1 on the all-genre chart with his viral hit, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” The Virginia native made history as the first artist to debut at No. 1 on the chart without having any prior songs on the Billboard charts. The song has also sat at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for two consecutive weeks.
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“Rich Men” rose to national attention after a video of Anthony performing it amidst a wooded setting went viral in August 2023 and has amassed more than 52 million views. The song lent itself as a question at the first Republican presidential debate in 2023 and earned Anthony an invitation to be on Joe Rogan’s podcast. The singer has said that he’s gotten messages from fans all over the world about the song that touches on such topics as capitalism, government taxes and welfare.
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“It was funny seeing my song at the presidential debate because I wrote that song about those people,” Anthony said in a video response to the song being used in the presidential debate. “So for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up. That song was written about the people on that stage, and a lot more, too. Not just them, but definitely them.”
Anthony also made a recent appearance at the Comedy Mothership, a comedy club Rogan owns in Austin, Texas. “It’s funny because the song [“Rich Men North of Richmond”] is not even in my top five,” Anthony explained on Rogan’s podcast. “I’ve written songs with similar messages, but as far as that sort of anthem format as people are calling it, that’s not something I would normally write… I had no idea that that song with have the reaction that it did.”
Anthony had shared several other songs on social media prior to “Rich Men” including “Doggon It” and “I Want to Go Home.”
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