Thomas Rhett ‘Center Point Road’ makes streaming history

Album is the top streaming country debut ever and marks first country album to debut on Billboard 200 in 2019

As critics laud “few singers have played a larger role in defining the sound of country music over the past half-dozen years than Thomas Rhett” (Rolling Stone), the reigning ACM Awards Male Artist of the Year has earned his second consecutive No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart in less than two years with Center Point Road (The Valory Music Co). It also makes history with over 33 million on-demand audio streams for its songs, claiming the biggest streaming debut week ever for a country album.

“The reception for this new music has been mind-blowing from the start,” Rhett states. “In these last two years of life, a lot has happened that gave me a lot to write about. When I didn’t think I could get more personal, I did. And I attribute so much of that to the songwriters that really went with me into deeper territory and to the producers that had a great vision for the sound of this album. I just feel super honored and super blessed that we got to make this record with such an incredible team. Huge shout out to the fans for listening to it and supporting every release along the way. It has been such a whirlwind, for the album to finally be out and to see this kind of response is just mind-blowing.”

In celebration of the new album, Thomas Rhett brought the album to Bridgestone Arena this past weekend where more than 7,000 fans were treated to an up-close-and-personal set in the round from the singer/songwriter revealing stories behind the new music, while also delivering the smash hits and fan-favorites that shaped him into the artist he is today. Featuring special surprise guests Jon Pardi and father/singer/songwrtier Rhett Akins, the sold out special event was rounded out with a $100,000 donation to music education through the CMA Foundation.

The in-demand entertainer has been introducing new “larger-than-life summer jams and and blockbuster love songs” (Paste) spanning several national television appearances. Thomas Rhett debuted the album’s Top 10 lead single “Look What God Gave Her” on Saturday Night Live. He performed “Remember You Young” and a stripped down version of the “poignant” (Newsday) “That Old Truck” on NBC TODAY’s 2019 Citi Concert Series. Most recently, the star opened the CMT Music Awards with Little Big Town and Trombone Shorty for an “infectious” (Billboard) performance of their “high-spirited” (NPR) track “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time.” Next up, Thomas Rhett handles co-host and performance duty on CMA Fest airing Sunday, August 4th on ABC.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com