For Lady Antebellum the year is shaping up to be a royally good one.  Half way through the year “Need You Now”, the second album from the country group, is 2010’s top seller to date.  According to data from Nielsen SoundScan over 2,355,00 copes have been sold so far.  The album is still selling strong and this week is in the No. 10 spot on Billboard’s 200 chart, 23 weeks following its release.

According to Billboard, the No. 1 digital track is “Hope for Haiti,” the charity all-star sing-along, although sales figures weren’t released.

However neither set was sufficient for stopping the slide in sales.  U.S. album sales during the first part of 2010 dropped 8.2% to 213.7 million copies, compared to 2009’s first six months.

Track sales were down as well compared to the same time frame.  The drop was only 0.2% to 597.4 million.  However, it is a more daunting message.  The music industry, until recently, were hoping digital sales could save their business.  Many pundits, trying to put a positive spin on things, say the decrease could be due to temporary reactions to the increase in prices from iTunes from 30 cents up to $1.29 for downloading hit singles.

In news that was slightly brighter, although physical album sales have continued to decrease (dropping 17.9%), there was an increase of digital album sales by 12.7%.  Although the number continues to decrease, physical CDs still make up approximate 60% for album sales overall.

Last April when I saw Lady Antebellum in concert, I fell completely in love with them. They put on a really great show and stole the hearts of the audience. Right after the concert, I bought “Lady Antebellum,” their first CD. I absolutely love that album. The members of Lady Antebellum are Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley, singers, and Dave Haywood, who performs background vocals as well as playing the mandolin, piano and guitar. On January 26 the band released their second album, “Need You Now.”

The first single from the new album, “Need You Now,” was released by Lady Antebellum quite some time ago. I consider it to be one of the album’s best songs. It has a catchy tune and hits you hard when you listen to it carefully. The music in the very beginning, before Hillary and Charles start to sing, is very beautiful. Weeks ago I bought the single on iTunes. Lady Antebellum has also released a music video which is quite good. In fact’s it’s my favorite music video by them.

“Stars Tonight” is another song that stands out. The melody is once again amazing. However what makes this a great song instead of just a good one, are the lyrics. They give insight into just how Haywood, Scott and Kelley really feel about being musicians. I think for people aspiring to be professional musicians this song would be very inspiring to them. It would also make a great music video.

The song “Our Kind of Love” has a completely different sound to it than the song “Stars Tonight.” The song is a lot slower. It’s a nice song and very enjoyable to listen to.

On “If I Knew Then” the voices of Hillary and Charles really shine through. It’s a really special song. I usually don’t go for overly romantic songs, however this one does really move me.

Some musicians hit what’s called the sophomore slump. That’s when their second album doesn’t turn out to be as good as their first. However, Lady Antebellum most definitely avoided the sophomore slump. “Need You Now” is a great second album.

Collectively, Lady Antebellum has only been making music together for two years. However the country sound of the trio is already hit laden, heart torn and road worn.

Straight from the gate, the twenty-something band members, comprised of Hillary Scott, lead vocalist, Charles Kelley, lead singer, and Dave Haywood, multi-instrumentalist, hit the No. 3 spot on Billboard’s country charts with “Love Don’t Live Here,” the first single from their debut self-titled album on Capitol Records.

The 11 track set was released April 2008 and got off to a fast start. It debuted on country album charts at No. 1 and on the pop charts of Billboard at No. 4. Paul Worley, industry veteran producer, and Victoria Shaw, highly respected performer and songwriter as well as a musical mentor for Scott, were Lady Antebellum’s producers. Since it was released, the album has sold around 5,000 copes per week according to Haywood.

“Looking For a Good Time,” the second single of the album, a bar-prowlin’, upbeat tune hit Billboard’s country charts at No. 10 for the week ending on September 27, 2008, climbing five spots in one week.

Haywood, in response to the single’s jump in the rankings said we are excited we broke into the top 20. It’s tough to compete against Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney, and nowadays album sales are weird. With iTunes you are able to buy one song only instead of the whole album. That has changed the industry. Now it’s a whole different ballgame. However, we’re excited to have one of the country singles chart’s fastest movers.

They have moved. All the way up to the top. Lady Antebellum, with their debut album out in stores for just a month, beat out Carolina Rain and The Wreckers, securing the Academy of Country Music’s award Top New Vocal Duo or Group at the 43 annual awards ceremony that took place on May 18, 2008 in Las Vegas. However just listening to the Lady Antebellum album with their vocal harmonies and driving guitar rhythms that are kismet, it’s not hard to understand the radio success or quicksilver win at the Academy of Country Music awards show.

Lady Antebellum, inspired by Southern and ’70s rock, including bob Seger and the Allman Brothers, along with R&B, soul, and classic country, delivers a contemporary and robust sound that has turned country fans by the thousands into recruits for Lady Antebellum. “Lookin For A Good Time” and “Love Don’t Live Here” have an evergreen appeal, and the players have been able to establish themselves as artists who need to be reckoned with. They also got to skip years worth of paying their dues by playing in honky tonks and VFW halls.

They co-wrote 10 of the tracks on their album. On “I Run To You” the trio visits Kelley’s high end range with Scott in tow on the vocals. Haywood instead of being on his usual acoustic guitar plays electric, boasting an easy groove great for sunset gazing or highway driving.

Scott shines brightest on the tune “Can’t Take My Eyes off You.” She evokes a vulnerability through her vocals on the song that doesn’t get much play anywhere else on the album. The track gives listeners a greater appreciation for the talents of Scott as being a lot more than merely a good harmony or duet singer. She is front and center here in a slow, unrushed dance that ends too soon undoubtedly for some of the fans.

The guitar work is mesmerizing on “Long Gone” from the very first acoustic strains. The voice of Scott kicks in, leading the song into its catchy bridge.

“Slow Down Sister” is another great cut on the album. Haywood, Georgia son, is the only member of Lady Antebellum on the writing credits. However Kelley, childhood friend turned band mate, on this toe tapping tune leads the charge on vocals, with warm guitar tones that are delicious and trickle just like honey.

Maybe it’s beginners luck, however Lady Antebellum deserves this ride. The debut of the trio, like the pre-Civil War time period they are named after, is a symbol of romance for revolution, although it’s an uprising that is filled with melody.