Country artist Oliver Anthony, who is behind the viral release “Rich Men North of Richmond,” said it's been “really funny to watch” the debate and controversy surrounding his songs.
- Read more: Who is 'Richmen North of Richmond' singer Oliver Anthony and why is he so controversial?
Anthony rose to viral fame for a month after a video of him performing his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” was released on Aug. 8. Since then, the song has topped the iTunes Country chart and currently has over 50 million views on YouTube, and counting.
It also made chart history by debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Anthony became the first artist to debut at No. 1 with no previous chart experience.
However, the song's viral success was not without controversy. Some have interpreted the song as a working-class anthem, others have criticized it for being “fatphobic” and others have labeled it a “right-wing anthem.”
Anthony, a former factory worker and farmer, recently proclaimed that leftists “misunderstand my words,” while simultaneously criticizing Republicans for “weaponizing” the meaning behind lyrics.
The singer is now joe rogan experience A podcast discussing the song's alleged political overtones.
“The last few weeks I've been the star,” he said. “People just want to know who this guy Oliver Anthony is, where he works, who he voted for, what his family is like, and yada yada. For better or for worse, we want to build an image of everything the person behind the song represents.”
He went on to say, “It's really interesting to see on my side, because obviously we know what's true and what's not true.”
“Hundreds of hours of people's time have been wasted talking about little things that probably don't even exist. Someone made them up and put them on the internet. So they're just riding along. “I think that's great,” he continued. “I think for at least the last few weeks I've been able to entertain everyone and distract everyone from all the other horrible things going on in the world right now. At least everyone can have a good laugh.”
The musician also opened up about his background, revealing that the 31-year-old has been “playing the guitar and singing on and off since I was a child.”
“My grandmother had a band many years ago, and when I was about 5 years old, I used to sit with her and watch them.” Dukes of Hazzard “I saw Waylon Jennings playing that guitar and I just fell in love with it, even though I had no idea who Waylon Jennings was,” he said.
“I grew up listening to '70s country, but she loved all the old stuff from the '50s and '60s and even the '70s, so Janice too. [Joplin] And all of that. She really taught me a lot of music when I was little. I just kind of held on to it and never pursued it the way I should have. ”
Much of the controversy surrounding “The Rich Man North of Richmond” stems from the lyrics he sings:sell my soul” for “Bullshit payments”, But it also mentions “.”Obesity milking welfare“,sing:”If you are 5 feet 3 tall and weigh 300 pounds. / You shouldn't pay tax on a bag of fudge rounds.”
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson also praised Anthony and shared a message of support for him, telling him to “try your best.”
