Breakthrough singer/songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny achieved country’s biggest new artist debut of 2018. On Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, Tenpenny made his first album entry by amassing 20,000 units of his Telling All My Secrets (Riser House/Columbia Nashville), the best first-week showing for a major label country debut album last year.
“What an incredible gift I received on Christmas Eve,” remarked Mitchell Tenpenny. “I was so pleasantly surprised with the news that Telling All My Secrets debuted on the Billboard album chart in such a huge way!
Tenpenny emphasized, “I can’t say this enough: What’s happening in my life right now is something I’ve always dreamed about! I have to thank the producers, co-writers, musicians, engineers and mixers on the album, as well as my incredible fans, friends, band members, management, booking agency, record label and publishing company team members.” He added, “I also send a special shout out to country radio, brand partners, music industry supporters, media critics and other artists who have embraced what I do.
“From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate you all for changing my life in 2018!”
Growing up on Music Row under the watchful eye of his grandmother, industry veteran and first female CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Donna Hilley, Tenpenny is no stranger to the Music Row houses where he crafted his Riser House/Columbia Nashville debut album. The soulful vocalist wrote 56 songs in preparation for the album narrowing it down to 11 strong tracks, which include his No.1 hit, “Drunk Me,” and the singer/songwriter’s next single, “Alcohol You Later,” due out in January. (See complete track listing below.)
Mitchell Tenpenny, who recently made Pandora’s Artists to Watch in 2019 list and became a MusicRow 2019 Next Big Thing honoree, co-produced “Drunk Me” with Jordan M. Schmidt and co-penned the song with Schmidt and Justin Wilson. Now totaling over 125 million streams, “Drunk Me” officially impacted country radio on March 26, garnering 60 combined Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase stations. With 52 Mediabase adds, this cinched Tenpenny’s impact add week total to be the best for a country debut single in two years. In fact, the last country artist to achieve this many impact week adds was Tenpenny’s label mate Maren Morris with her debut single, “My Church” in January 2016. Upon its release, “Drunk Me” also made chart history by achieving the highest entry ever for a new artist on Nielsen’s On Demand Audio Core Country Streaming chart. The single debuted at No. 39 with a total of 1.5 million streams.
Recently, Tenpenny announced taking the celebration of his album release to the people who have supported him all along: the fans. His “Telling All My Secrets Album Release Tour” launched December 8, in Rome, Georgia and continues through February 1 with stops in 11 cities with special guests, up-and-coming artists Adam Hambrick, Seaforth and Ross Ellis. (See tour dates below.)
Following the conclusion of his “Telling All My Secrets Album Release Tour,” Mitchell Tenpenny joins Old Dominion’s “Make It Sweet Tour” from February 27 through April 27 as a special guest.
