Singer Oliver Anthony responded critically to the use of his hit song “Richmen North of Richmond” at the start of the broadcast on Wednesday. Republican Presidential Debate In Milwaukee, Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked the first question.
“What bothers me is seeing people bring politics into this,” Anthony said in the 10-minute video posted on YouTube.
The song, which explores the deep divide between rich and poor in America, rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week, making him the first artist to reach No. 1 without ever having been on the charts before. The 31-year-old country singer, who lives in Farmville, Virginia, saw his music career take off after a video of him performing on YouTube for WV Radio, a radio show featuring Appalachian country, bluegrass and folk musicians, went viral.
Mike Caudill (Billboard via Getty Images)
“It was fun to see my song performed at the presidential debate,” Anthony says in the video, “because those are the people I wrote that song about.”
During the debate, McCollum addressed the No. 1 hit during his first question, saying Anthony's lyrics “speak of alienation, of deep frustration with the government and the state of the country,” adding that “Washington, D.C. is about 100 miles north of Richmond,” before playing a clip of the chart-topper's chorus. McCollum then asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, “Why is this song touching such a nerve in this country right now?”
“Our country is in decline. This decline is not inevitable, it's a choice,” DeSantis countered, adding that the US needs to “reverse” this decline, and that starts with reversing “Biden economics.”
But Anthony denied this message in the video, saying the song “has nothing to do with Joe Biden” and that he “hates” his lyrics being “weaponized.”
In a recorded video titled “Nice to Meet You – Part 2,” Anthony sits in the back of a truck and speaks directly to the camera, discussing his frustration with the increased use of his songs on debate platforms and in conservative media.
“It's infuriating to see people on conservative news shows trying to identify with me as if I'm one of them,” he says. “It's infuriating to see certain musicians and politicians acting as if we're allies, that we're fighting the same battle.”
One example comes from Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. I wrote to X(formerly known as Twitter) claimed the song was a “forgotten American song” and represented her constituency.
“The right is trying to treat me like one of their own and the left is trying to degrade me… That bullshit has to stop.”
YouTube/Oliver Anthony Music
About halfway through the video, which was posted on Friday and was the No. 8 trending video on Saturday, he begins to address “leftists” who have described his songs as “attacks on the poor.” He counters that his songs about class, like “Doggonit,” are actually “defending the poor.”
Despite his anger in the video, Anthony said he's “not too worried about the future” and that he plans to continue writing because he has “a lot of words to put down” and is “living in the present.”
Also on Friday, Anthony I wrote on my X account He said he wasn't supporting “either side politically” and was just supporting people and his community, adding, “Now, get some fresh air and relax, please? 🙂 I'm not worth obsessing over, I promise. Spend time with the people you love.”
