Chapel Hart’s Love For Dolly Hits AGT’s Golden Buzzer
“You Can Have Him Jolene” tops iTunes Country Downloads chart
Just one day after the Tuesday, July 19 episode of "America's Got Talent" featuring Chapel Hart's performance of “You Can Have Him Jolene,” the country trio rose to the top of the iTunes Country downloads charts and received tweeted shout-outs from Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, plus an invitation from Darius Rucker to be featured on an upcoming song.
Prior to their performance, the trio – consisting of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle – told the AGT judges, “We’ve always been Country music fans and Dolly is by far our favorite,” adding, “Dolly for President!” As much as they loved Dolly’s song “Jolene,” they figured that, from 1973 to 2022, “We could not still be fighting over the same man! We decided to tell her, ‘you can just have him, Jolene’!”
Following a performance that brought the show to a riotous climax with the audience whoopin’ and hollerin’ in a deafening standing ovation as the crowd chanted ‘Golden Buzzer,’ an emotional Danica told Simon Cowell that they had been trying to break into Nashville for the last couple of years. “It’s been kinda hard,” she said, “When I think Country music doesn’t always look like us.”
“Sometimes, you’ve just got to break down that door,” said Cowell, “And you might just have broken down that door with that performance.” In a unanimous decision, Chapel Hart received a group Golden Buzzer, advancing them automatically to the next round.
Then just two days later, they were surprised with an invitation to make their Grand Ole Opry debut on September 17th, 2022 as they held on to the No. 1 spot on iTunes Top Country Albums chart (with The Girls Are Back In Town) and Top Songs charts.
On hearing Chapel Hart’s hit song “You Can Have Him Jolene,” @DollyParton tweeted: “What a fun new take on my song, @ChapelHartBand! Carl’s birthday is today so I think I’ll hang on to him.” @LorrettaLynn tweeted: “I love it, ladies. Now I’m wondering what you might be able to do with one of my songs!”
I first met Chapel Hart about two years ago. They were being interviewed in the office next to mine. From what I could hear, they sounded so vivacious and upbeat that I had to pop my head round the door and say ‘Hi.’
From just that brief meeting, I could tell they had that intangible ‘star’ quality along with the tenacity to make it happen. I had the opportunity to talk with them again in 2021 and they were a joy to interview with their bubbly personalities on the red carpet.
Chapel Hart is a trio on the rise. In 2021, they were inducted into CMT’s Next Women of Country, the institution that has already helped boost the careers of several up-and-coming female country artists including Kelsea Ballerini, Ashley McBride, and Gabby Barrett.
From the town of Hart’s Chapel, MS (hence the trio’s adopted name), they are steadily building a worldwide following, earning the title of “International Group of the Year” as well as “International Song of the Year” for the single “You Can Have Him Jolene” in Scotland. They have also been nominated in multiple categories by the British CMAs including “Group of the Year” and “Album of the Year” for their sophomore release The Girls Are Back In Town.
Their success on “America’s Got Talent” will help them find a growing army of fans here in the USA.
More about Chapel Hart on their website, on Facebook and on Twitter (@ChapelHartBand) and Instagram (@chapelhartband).
Watch their performance on NBC-TV’s “America’s Got Talent” at YouTube here. Listen/buy to their album The Girls Are Back in Town here.
About Preshias Harris
JournalistPreshias Harris is a music journalist who has interviewed everyone from Alabama to ZZ Top for articles and stories published in numerous music magazines. She is the author of longest-running monthly country music column in America and authored The College of Songology™ 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s ‘Need To Know’ Reference Handbook. As a music career development consultant with special emphasis on emerging and aspiring artists and songwriters, she focuses on ‘chasing the dream’ while understanding the realities of the music industry. She maintains a writers’ room on Music Row – named The Sangtuary – for her clients and their co-writers. She is a member of ASCAP (as a publisher), BMI, The Country Music Association (CMA), The Recording Academy, The National Association of Talent Directors (NATD) and a life member of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).
You can find out more about Preshias at https://www.collegeofsongology.com and find her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
