This week’s Billboard charts are absolutely chaotic and I love it.
First things first, one of the best country acts out there right now just scored their first-ever single on the Billboard charts.
The Red Clay Strays, with their southern rock and blues-infused country sound, have absolutely blown up over the past few months. The Mobile, Alabama-based group made their Grand Ole Opry debut this summer, spent some time opening for Eric Church on his recent Outsiders Revival Tour, and recently extended their Way Too Long tour after overwhelming demand.
And now, they’ve got their first song on the Billboard charts.
The band released their single “Wondering Why” back in March of 2022, but the song has been blowing up thanks to TikTok and the success of their debut album, Moment of Truth, along with the release of a music video for the song live from Red Rocks a couple of months ago.
And all of their hard work (and their killer sound) is paying off, with “Wondering Why” entering the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Chart at #31, after an insane 2 million streams over the past week.
But I have a feeling they never expected to be on the charts alongside…Travis and Jason Kelce.
The NFL superstar siblings also made their first appearance on the charts this week with their new holiday collaboration, “Fairytale of Philadelphia,” which will appear on Jason Kelce’s Christmas album A Philly Special Christmas Special.
The star center for the Philadelphia Eagles teamed up with teammates Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson to cover 10 Christmas songs, and brought in his brother to reimagine the Christmas classic “Fairytale of New York” originally recorded by The Pogues back in 1987.
The single managed to debut at #2 on the Rock Digital Song Sales and #5 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales, marking both of the brothers’ first appearance on the Billboard charts.
Of course it probably has a lot to do with the Taylor Swift effect: While Travis Kelce was already a superstar as one of the best tight ends in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs standout has been getting a lot more attention lately for his relationship with Taylor Swift. So you gotta think Swifties were downloading his new song like crazy to support Taylor’s man.
Now I think I speak for everybody when I say the next logical step is for the Red Clay Strays and the Kelce brothers to bring their talents and their Billboard success together for the most unexpected collaboration, maybe of all time.
What do you say, guys? Combine those streaming numbers and give Taylor a run for her money.
