Oliver Anthony‘s meteoric rise continues.
The Virginia native burst onto the scene with his original song “Rich Men North of Richmond” earlier this summer, and quickly went viral as the song racked up over 100 million views on YouTube and nearly 130 million streams on Spotify.
Of course the song wasn’t without controversy: Many on the political left were upset with the “fudge rounds” line that they say makes fun of welfare recipients, and artists like Maren Morris and Jason Isbell spoke out against the song, with Isbell saying that Anthony should have “thrown it out” and written something else.
But it hasn’t slowed down the momentum for Oliver Anthony (whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford), and last night the viral sensation stepped into the iconic circle and made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry.
Of course Anthony performed his mega-hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
@melanie_sue92 #debut #grandoleopry #olivoranthony #richmennorthofrichmond #vacation #tennessee #fyp @Oliver Anthony ♬ original sound – Melanie Stanish
And he also joined Opry member and his mentor Jamey Johnson for a performance of “In Color.”
@olemissdad1731 #oliveranthony #jameyjohnson #grandoleopry #nashville #thesouth ♬ original sound – KW
Pretty cool moment for the viral country star, who announced that he will be heading into the studio early next year to record his debut album.