The Country Music Media Podcast

It’s difficult to find Luke Combs’ equal. Not now, not 10 years ago, not 30 years ago. Maybe not ever. The no-nonsense country singer and songwriter with a ‘90s country bent has released 9 singles to radio. Every one has reached No. 1. All but one has stayed there for multiple weeks. Since May of 2017 he’s spent 26 weeks at the top of the country charts — that’s a half year! — and I’m talking about the more illusive airplay chart, not the Hot Country Chart which is a mix of airplay, sales, streaming and witchcraft.

A decade ago Florida Georgia Line went seven out of 8. In 1989 and ’90 Clint black went five of seven. Garth Brooks? He batted closer to 500 for his first 10 singles. Is what we’re experiencing real? Or is Luke Combs just a product of right time, right place? Is he what happens when the field narrows and country music radio shaves away all its rough edges? Is he a radio star who can’t really get it done elsewhere or worse ... is a poised for a big fall?

My guest this week may know the answer.
Chris Owen is a country chart expert who can recall just about every forgettable country song you throw at him, and the label, and how far it went on the Billboard or Mediabase country airplay chart. I like the way his mind works because he leans hard into stats and logic and not so much on emotion. Chris is an even hand in Twitter sea of screamers and criers and he’s uniquely capable of find perspective as we watch Combs go No. 1 with the frequency of a 9-year-old who sucked down too many Coca Colas.

Are we making too big a deal of what Luke Combs is quietly accomplishing? Is it fair to compare him to Garth or anyone? What is he doing that nobody else is? Let’s find out, during Ep. No. 4 of the Country Music Media Podcast.
Follow Chris Owen on Twitter.
After the interview, it's "Pick-A-Hit."
Chris' picks:
Robert Counts, "What Do I Know"
Larry Fleet, "Where I Find God"
Runway June, "We Were Rich"
Billy's Picks
Priscilla Block, "Just About Over You"
Cody Johnson, "Dear Rodeo"
Elvie Shane, "My Boy"
Finally, it's a postscript and this week's numbers.

This week on the Country Music Media Podcast: If I gave you $1 million to invest in a country singer’s career, who would you choose? You don’t have to put it all in one bucket. You could give 20 percent to Thomas Rhett, 20 percent to Maren Morris, 20 percent to Blake Shelton. He’s as big as it gets so that has to be a safe investment, right? What about Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert, or newer artists like Gabby Barrett, Carly Pearce and Morgan Wallen.

Remember, I told you to invest, not to bet. So you’re not using this money to predict is going to have a bigger year in 2021, you’re using it in hopes it will grow this year and beyond. Buy low, sell high — is Eric Church a good investment right now?
Billy Dukes delivers the first ever Country Music Stock Report. Who should you buy? Who should you hold? And Who Should you sell? Find the full list of artists below and react on Twitter @billydukes.
5:30 Luke Combs
6:47 Kelsea Ballerini
7:28 Luke Bryan
8:08 Thomas Rhett
9:02 Gabby Barrett
9:40 Jake Owen
10:23 Sam Hunt
12MIN Blake Shelton
12:50 Carly Pearce
13:38 Morgan Wallen
14:10 Eric Church
14:58 Miranda Lambert
15:56 Old Dominion
16:10 Brad Paisley
16:44 Keith Urban
17:38 Jason Aldean
18:44 Matt Stell
19:10 Carrie Underwood
20:25 3 Hot Picks for 2021

During the era of Bro Country, we were about one more “hey girl” away from a revolution, am I right? Actually, am I right? It was a trend for sure, but maybe we were a little hard on artists like Luke Bryan or Florida Georgia Line and songwriters like Dallas Davidson. Maybe, if we actually looked at all the songs played on country radio over a bro-y era, we’d see that this was an annoying niche more than a dominant style, one blamed for pushing women to the edges of the genre and beyond. Or maybe we’ll see that everything we think is true. My guest this week is Grady Smith and he’s particularly equipped to sort it all out.

Here are links to Grady’s most popular videos that we talk about, plus other articles discussed during this episode.

Every Country Song Has These Lyrics, Right?

Why Country Music Was Awful In 2013

This Beat Is Killing Country Music

How Much Do Instagram Influencers Make?

Find Grady Smith on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and at his personal website.

It's the ultimate country music insider podcast. Host Billy Dukes explores country music's hottest news stories, artists, songs, trends and events through the eyes of the journalists that covered them. It's the Country Music Media Podcast, a weekly dive into what's shaping country music.

This week on the Country Music Media Podcast: A mid-year diversity scorecard. Plus, country media showed rare patience in covering a charged story and two feel good stories to wrap Season 1 of the podcast.

Listen: Walker Hayes, “Fancy Like” on YouTube

Watch: Hardy Surprises a Soldier’s Family on Instagram

Read: The Police Report Summarizing the Kristy Lee and Heath Sanders Altercation on Taste of Country

Tweet: Find Billy Dukes on Twitter @billydukes