The instant popularity of "Rich Men North of Richmond," the latest blue-collar anthem by a previously unknown Virginia artist that went viral in the past few days, has shot up to No. 1 overall on iTunes.
Oliver Anthony played it before a jam-packed crowd at the Morris Farm Market in Barco, North Carolina, on Sunday, Outkick reported.
Barco has a population of less than 600 people, but there appeared to be many hundreds more than that who came to the performance.
This came shortly after his song went viral, and Anthony announced a few days ago that he would be playing the song at the venue.
The original video of the song has now surpassed well over 10 million views combined on Instagram and YouTube, with Anthony's Instagram account picking up at least 430,000 followers in less than a week, according to Outkick.
Anthony had announced that this would be the first of many more shows to follow as he goes on tour with the song, the Washington Examiner reported.
The title of the song apparently refers to politicians in Washington, D.C., who Anthony claims want to suck Americans dry and "have total control," the New York Daily News reported.
The song also rails against high taxes and how difficult it is to make ends meet, as well as harshly criticizing welfare.
The song had earlier supplanted Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" by catapulting to No.1 on the iTunes Country chart, according to Billboard.
Anthony stated that "the universal thing I see is no matter how much effort [the working class] put into whatever it is they're doing, they can't quite get ahead because the dollar's not worth enough, they are being over-taxed. … I want to be a voice for those people. And not just them, but humans in general," according to Billboard.
Thousands of people have reacted to the song, including commentator Matt Walsh, who posted on social media site X that "the main reason this song resonates with so many people isn't political. It's because the song is raw and authentic. We are suffocated by artificiality."
Another listener said "this is not a song. It's an anthem for 80+ million Americans who have been smeared, ignored, mocked, slandered, and robbed by their own government," the New York Daily News reported.
Someone else explained that "it's exactly how all of us are feeling! God bless the hard-working, middle-class Americans, and God bless this great country!"
The song has also received praise from Republican Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote in a tweet that "this is the anthem of the forgotten Americans who truly support this nation and unfortunately the world with their hard earned tax dollars and incredibly hard work.
"This song represents my district and the people of America I know and love. I will fight for the forgotten American every damn day."