Categories: Music News

Thomas Rhett’s “Die A Happy Man” Apparently Won’t Receive Pop Push

Republic recently announced that Thomas Rhett’s country smash “Die A Happy Man” would impact pop radio on April 26.

It subsequently issued a new mix featuring Tori Kelly, presumably with the intent of creating more intrigue, enthusiasm, and accessibility in advance of the pop radio launch.

Plans for such a push have apparently been nixed. Republic’s radio promotions team longer lists “Die A Happy Man” on its pop radio briefing.

Rhett’s tune has also been removed from the hot adult contemporary briefing; the song, which had received a formal push at the format, had hit an apparent wall at #22. It was down to #28 — following a massive loss in weekly airplay — on the most recent Mediabase Hot AC airplay chart.

Combined with a lack of early programmer excitement and the fact that a Nelly cover had already been pushed (and had already stalled) at mainstream radio, the slowdown at Hot AC likely fueled Republic’s decision to nix plans for a pop impact.

Frequently compared to Ed Sheeran’s mainstream radio smash “Thinking Out Loud,” Rhett’s tune seemed like a reasonably safe bet for crossover success.

That success is unlikely to be achieved. But insofar as the song achieved incredible things within the country genre — including 17 weeks atop Billboard Hot Country Songs and 6 weeks atop Country Airplay — it is likely Rhett is still a very happy man.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor