"Draw Me a Map" Rebounds

In its 7th week on the charts, Dierks Bentley's latest single "Draw Me a Map" rebounded some on the charts, moving up 5 spots on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart to #36! Unfortunately, even though it gained in both spins AND audience, it fell 1 spot to #40 on the Mediabase chart (it was leap-frogged by the latest single from Toby Keith).

You might remember that last week I mentioned how few stations it was receiving airplay on, and there is good news on that front this week, as well: On Billboard, it received "Breaker" status, meaning that it is now on 60% or more of the reporting panel's stations. Not only that, but it also made Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 countdown on Sunday evening (after the chart run), which resulted in a substantial boost in spins, audience, and stations playing! This week, Kix Brooks' American Country Countdown will pick up the song, as well (it's one week behind Bob Kingsley's CT40 Countdown). As of today, "Draw Me a Map" has been picked up on 150 of 228 stations -- amazing what a countdown show can do! I think the best thing about the countdowns is they are often played in markets where a new song hasn't been picked up for regular rotation yet, so it helps introduce newer music to new audiences as well.

I actually had an interesting email exchange with one of the local DJs in Charlotte, NC after I wrote my blog last week. I emailed him to ask when "Map" would be added to voting for the local countdown. He responded to say he didn't know, and he wasn't sure who else in the country was playing it. I thought that was really interesting, because at that point, it was only on about 90 of the stations (3 of which are in NC) -- but now that it's on 150, it should be on there soon. He did say he was passing the information on to the Music Director so ... *fingers crossed!*

I do have a couple of links for you guys, as well, which you might have already seen on Facebook or Twitter, but it doesn't hurt to post them again, right? Click here to vote on US 99.5 in Chicago's New Music Challenge -- it's Dierks vs. Jerrod Neimann! And click here to vote on 20 new songs -- "Map" included -- on Nashville Country Club's site. (Hint: When you get to "Map" make sure you say you love it and you don't hear it enough!)

Next week, I expect more positive movement, if only due to songs moving to recurrent status nearer the top of the charts. That opens up audience, and hopefully with our continued Congress efforts, we'll be able to get some of that audience to "Map!" The following week should be even better, with the addition of at least one new countdown show. Keep calling, voting, tweeting, and emailing!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)