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Canaan Smith Goes No. 1 as 'Billboard' Reconfigures Charts

Easton Corbin Dwells in Top Album Berth for Second Week

During the week in which Billboard is recalibrating its charts to accommodate the new worldwide release day for albums -- Fridays instead of the traditional Tuesdays -- Canaan Smith scores his first No. 1 on the country airplay chart with “Love You Like That”and Easton Corbin holds on to the top tier in the albums rankings for the second week with About to Get Real.

Otherwise, it’s slim pickings -- statistically speaking. Only one new album to acknowledge and just three new singles.

The Sound of Today: Country!, a multi-artist collection, enters the albums chart at No. 50.

The freshmen singles are Alan Jackson’s “Jim and Jack and Hank” (arriving at No. 56), Tyler Farr’s “Withdrawals” (No. 58) and Lucy Angel’s “Crazy Too” (No. 59).

Mo Pitney’s “Country” makes a solid comeback at No. 37.

Trooping in directly behind About to Get Real, in descending order, are Kacey MusgravesPageant Material (last week’s No. 1), Sam Hunt’s Montevallo, the Zac Brown Band’s Jekyll + Hyde and the various artists assemblage Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8.

The No. 2 through No. 5 songs are Jason Aldean’s “Tonight Looks Good on You,” Blake Shelton’s “Sangria” (last week’s No. 1), Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Brantley Gilbert’s “One Hell of an Amen.”

What is it with these triad titles? Keith Urban’s got “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” and now comes Alan Jackson with “Jim and Jack and Hank.”

Some of you may remember all the way back to the dawn of history -- 2005 -- when a bluegrass group, the Grascals, scored big with “Me and John and Paul.” In fact, it was the International Bluegrass Music Association’s top song that year.

I guess the theory behind such concoctions is that the more iconic names you cite the more fans you’ll draw. If so, how about “Jimmie, Jimmy, Jim, Jim Ed and James” -- in tribute, respectively, to Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Dickens, Jim Reeves, Jim Ed Brown and James Taylor?

Or “Hank, Hank, Hank and Hank Too” (for Williams, Thompson, Snow and Williams)?

Or how about we forget the whole damn thing and jettison the gimmicks entirely?

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