Singer Oliver Anthony claims he's turned down $8 million offers after going viral
After gong viral with 'Rich Men North of Richmond', Oliver Anthony claims he's turned down offers from labels in the region of $8 million.
Sometimes going viral can go to an individual's head, but that is certainly not the case for singer Oliver Anthony.
The US superstar reached viral status last month thanks to his 'Rich Men North of Richmond' track that was recorded on his Virginia farmland.
The song has been viewed more than 17 million times on YouTube, winning over a bunch of conservative fans online, while others described it as 'ring-wing' despite being about the working class.
In all the excitement surrounding his rise to fame, many of his fans don't even know who Anthony is as everyone has been so focused on his track.
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Well, Anthony's real name is actually Christopher Anthony Lunsford; Oliver Anthony was his grandfather, with his stage name of 'Oliver Anthony Music' a tribute towards him.
And in a lengthy Facebook post, Anthony has claimed he turned down seven-figure offers from music reps as he has no interest in becoming famous.
Anthony began the post by addressing his name though: "At this point, I'll gladly go by Oliver because everyone knows me as such. But my friends and family still call me Chris. You can decide for yourself, either is fine."
In the past week alone, Anthony recalls reading more than 50,000 messages and emails that 'paint a brutally honest picture' of the problems surrounding addiction, unemployment, anxiety and hopelessness.
He continued: "I'm sitting in such a weird place in my life right now. I never wanted to be a full time musician, much less sit at the top of the iTunes charts.
"Draven from RadioWv and I filmed these tunes on my land with the hope that it may hit 300k views. I still don't quite believe what has went on since we uploaded that. It's just strange to me."
Anthony then spoke about the large sums he has been offered since his rise to stardom, a quite frankly eye-watering amount indeed.
"People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers," he added on Facebook.
"I don't want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don't want to play stadium shows, I don't want to be in the spotlight. I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression.
"These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they're being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung.
"No editing, no agent, no bulls**t. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place."
Elsewhere in the lengthy Facebook post, Anthony spoke about his 'hate' for the internet as it has 'divided all of us'.
I think we can all relate to that.
Callum Jones