Country star Eric Church’s “The Outsiders” proves to be the ultimate insider this week as it tops the Billboard 200 with a resounding 288,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The tally is the highest opening frame since Beyonce’s self-titled album bowed in mid-December with sales of 617,000. Even more impressive, it’s nearly double the 145,000 copies that Church’s last album, 2011’s “Chief,” sold in its first week.
In an era when individual song downloads often trump album sales, Church, 36, says his fans buck the trend. “The fans trust that we’re going to make the best possible album that we can make,” he says, “and if you’re going to buy a complete project and not just download a song or two, this is the one to buy. Our fans have always consumed the music that way.”
“Chief” spawned Church’s first two No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, “Drink in My Hand” and “Springsteen.” “The Outsiders,” however, stalled at No. 25 on Country Airplay. Second single “Give Me Back My Hometown” is bulleted at No. 14 for a second week.
“Sometimes people think we’ve done it without radio, and that’s not true,” says Church. “We’ve had people who are fans at radio who have [gone] to the wall for us.”
Jonathan Henseler, morning show host/PD at WBFM Sheboygan, Mich., is one such programmer, who proudly notes his station has supported Church since 2007’s “Guys Like Me.” With “The Outsiders”‘ big first-week sales, Henseler says he now considers Church “to be an automatic add, like Kenny Chesney or Carrie Underwood.”
Fielding Logan, director of touring for Q Prime South, which manages Church, hopes the increased album sales will be accompanied by a jump in ticket sales. He says Church’s first arena headlining tour in 2012 averaged 8,000 people per show. On Church’s 2014 arena outing, however, which will be announced this spring, “there will be less tertiary market buildings that max out at 6,000 or 7,000. It will be more premier NHL, NBA buildings. I’d like to see us at 14,000, 15,000 a night. It’s all kind of gone hand in hand.”