Christmas leftovers haunt the charts as well as your refrigerators. Billboard‘s first country albums chart for 2018 is still festooned with Christmas titles, and the only new song on the country airplay chart is an old Christmas carol.
However, there is a bit of ice-breaking going on. Garth Brooks’ The Anthology: Part 1, the First 5 Years moves into the No. 1 spot, elbowing aside Luke Bryan‘s What Makes You Country, last week’s chart-topper.
Brett Young‘s “Like I Loved You” is the most-played country song for the second week in a row.
Four albums return to action. They are Taylor Swift‘s Fearless (bouncing back in at No. 45), George Strait‘s 50 Number Ones (No. 48), Bryan’s Crash My Party (No. 49) and Florida Georgia Line‘s Here’s to the Good Times (No. 50).
Re-entering the songs chart are Brantley Gilbert‘s “Ones That Like Me” (No. 26) and Bryan’s “Most People Are Good” (No. 56).
Lest the tension becomes unbearable, I can now reveal that Bryan also has the only new song on the chart. It’s “O Holy Night,” arriving (and no doubt departing) at No. 60.
The No. 2 through No. 5 albums, in that order, are Chris Stapleton‘s From a Room: Volume 2, Bryan’s What Makes You Country, Thomas Rhett‘s Life Changes and Kane Brown‘s Kane Brown.
Stapleton fans will be cheered to know that his Traveller now ranks at a healthy No. 6 — in its 139th week on the charts — while his From a Room: Volume 1 checks in at No. 7.
Rounding out the Top 5 songs, we have Blake Shelton‘s “I’ll Name the Dogs,” Maren Morris‘ “I Could Use a Love Song,” Eric Church‘s “Round Here Buzz” and Russell Dickerson’s “Yours.”
OK, repeat after me, “It’s 2018 not 2017.”
Edward Morris
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.CMT.com
http://www.cmt.com/news/1789937/garth-brooks-anthology-is-countrys-first-top-album-of-new-year/
