Manager For Oliver Anthony Addresses Singer’s Sudden Success After “Rich Men North Of Richmond” Went Viral
Oliver Anthony became an overnight sensation following the release of his song “Rich Men North of Richmond.” YouTube channel radiowv uploaded a video of Anthony performing the song on August 8. That video went viral, and now has over 32 million views on YouTube alone. Not to mention the millions of other views it’s generated on various social media platforms.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” soared to the #1 spot on the iTunes chart. Several of Anthony’s other songs landed in the Top 10.
“Rich Men North Of Richmond” Becomes The #1 Song In All Genres
On Monday (August 21), Billboard announced that “Rich Men North of Richmond” claimed the #1 spots on the Hot Country Songs chart and the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. This was a history-making feat, as it made Anthony the first artist to reach #1 without any prior chart history of any kind.
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Citing data from Luminate, Billboard states that “Rich Men North of Richmond” generated 17.5 million streams in the week ending in August 17. It also earned 147,000 downloads. To top it off, the song earned over 500,000 impressions on country radio stations, despite the fact it was never promoted to radio.
Oliver’s Manager Shares Statement About His Newfound Fame
Anthony’s co-manager, Draven Riffe, spoke with Billboard about Anthony’s sudden rise to fame. He shared how he met Anthony…saying he just became aware of him within the past month.
Riffe said a friend of his sent him Anthony’s music. He knew right away that he would be the perfect fit for radiowv, which Riffe co-launched in 2018. The purpose of the YouTube channel is to highlight unsigned artists from the Virginia/West Virginia area.
“I listened to Oliver’s music and I just knew he was special,” Riffe said.
As Riffe recorded sessions with Anthony, he realized how much of an impact those recordings could have. He told Billboard:
“Personally, I feel like God had a hand in Oliver’s music. Me and him, we prayed before the session. Me and him together. We both prayed before we recorded ‘Rich Men North of Richmond.’ We both had an interesting experience the whole weekend. We just felt like it was for a purpose that was way bigger than us, just two old regular dudes, you know what I mean?”
Oliver Anthony’s Manager Says They’re Taking Things Slow When It Comes To Anything Big
After “Rich Men North of Richmond” took off, Riffe saw it as confirmation that his feelings about Anthony were right on the money. “In our opinion, God has chosen to speak through Oliver and to speak to all Americans through his music, all around the world,” he said.
As for what Anthony plans to do next, Riffe says they intend to take things slow:
“As far as taking things slow, people act as if it’s so complicated, but really, it doesn’t have to be, he said. “He could play a stadium show tomorrow, but it’s about the music and it’s about making sure it’s right…we just want to take things slow and we’ve built a tight-knit team.”
Anthony previously said he’s received thousands of messages and 8 million dollar offers. But so far, he’s brushed them all off. Time will tell what the future has in store for the singer.