Oliver Anthony, the nation artist behind the viral launch ‘Wealthy Males North of Richmond’, has stated that it’s been “actually humorous to look at” the talk and controversy surrounding his track.
- READ MORE: Who’s viral ‘Wealthy Males North Of Richmond’ singer Oliver Anthony and why is he controversial?
Anthony has skilled a month of viral fame after a video of him performing his track ‘Wealthy Males North of Richmond’ went dwell on August 8. It has since reached Quantity One on the iTunes Nation Charts and is at present on 50million YouTube views and counting.
It additionally made chart historical past by debuting at Quantity One on the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart, making Anthony the primary artist to take action with none prior chart historical past.
However the track’s viral success hasn’t been with out controversy. Whereas some have interpreted it as a working class anthem, it’s been criticised by others for being “fatphobic”, whereas others labelled it a “right-wing anthem”.
Anthony – a former manufacturing facility employee and farmer – just lately got here out to say that left-wingers “misunderstood my phrases”, whereas on the identical time criticised Republicans for “weaponising” the which means behind the lyrics.
The singer has now appeared on the Joe Rogan Expertise podcast to debate the discourse across the suspected political leanings of the track.
“I’m the subject material the final couple of weeks,” he stated. “Persons are simply looking for out who’s this Oliver Anthony man, and the place does he work, and who did he vote for, and what’s his household like and yada yada. They need to construct this picture of no matter it’s that the individual behind the track represents, for higher or for worse.”
He continued that it’s “actually humorous to look at on my finish, as a result of clearly, I do know what’s true and what’s not.”
“There’s been a whole bunch of hours of individuals’s time wasted in all probability speaking about all these little like issues that don’t even exist. Any individual made them up, put them on the web. So, I’m simply letting it journey. I simply assume it’s nice,” he continued. “A minimum of the final couple of weeks, I feel I’ve been capable of entertain everybody and get everybody’s thoughts off all of the all the opposite horrible stuff that’s happening on the earth proper now. Like, not less than everyone can have an excellent giggle.”
The musician additionally opened up about his background, sharing that he’s 31 and has been “enjoying guitar and singing on and off since I used to be a child”.
“My grandma was in a band years in the past and, I used to be like 5 and I used to take a seat with my grandma and we’d watch The Dukes of Hazzard and watch Waylon Jennings choose that guitar – I had no concept who Waylon Jennings was, however I simply fell in love with that,” he shared.
“I grew up listening to that ’70s nation and she or he liked all of the previous stuff, just like the ’50s and ’60s and even within the ’70s, even, you realize, Janice [Joplin] and all that. She actually launched me so much into music once I was a little bit child. I simply sort of held on to it, however by no means pursued it the way in which I ought to.”
A lot of the controversy surrounding ‘Wealthy Males North of Richmond’ stemmed from the lyrics, wherein he sings of “sellin’ my soul” for “bullshit pay”, but additionally makes reference to the “overweight milkin’ welfare“, singing: “For those who’re 5-foot-3 and also you’re 300 kilos / Taxes ought to not pay in your baggage of fudge rounds.”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is amongst those that have praised the singer, who shared a message of help for Anthony wherein he advised him to “preserve kicking ass”.
