Can I get an amen? Brantley Gilbert has a No. 1 country album debut this week with Fire & Brimstone, and Matt Stell holds on to the most-played single spot for a second week with “Prayed for You.”
With a moody title track offering biblical imagery and guest spots from Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss, Fire & Brimstone is Gilbert’s fifth studio album and the third in a row to bow at No. 1. He released his first album, Modern Day Prodigal Son, in 2009. Two of his albums have been certified gold and one platinum.
There are no other new albums in the Top 25, but we announce with appropriate glee that there are three new songs. Sam Hunt’s “Kinfolks” comes aboard at No. 18, Carly Pearce and Lee Brice’s “I Hope You’re Happy Now” at No. 53 and George Strait’s “The Weight of the Badge” at No. 56. Eli Young Band’s “Break It In” returns to the charts at No. 58.
Rounding out the Top 5 albums in descending order are Luke Combs’ This One’s for You, the self-titled Dan + Shay, Combs’ The Prequel EP and Sturgill Simpson’s Sound & Fury.
Following “Prayed for You,” the No. 2 through No. 5 songs are Chris Janson’s “Good Vibes,” Dierks Bentley’s “Living,” Cole Swindell’s “Love You Too Late” and Russell Dickerson’s “Every Little Thing.”
It will be interesting, maybe even instructive, to see how well Strait’s “Weight of the Badge” fares given the recent unprovoked police shootings in Texas. Stay tuned.
