‘Dirty Jobs’ Star Mike Rowe Just Trumped Adele in a Surprising Way

Mike Rowe and John Rich joined forces recently apart from their Fox News homes for some musical joy to spread around the nation. And it seems to have paid off quite a bit, with the song blasting to the top of the charts and even chipping a piece of Adele’s success along the way.

Rowe, current executive producer and narrator for How America Works and the Big & Rich member, joined forces to record “Santa’s Gotta Dirty Job” just in time for the holidays. They got help from the Oak Ridge Boys on the tune, telling Fox & Friends Weekend on Sunday that the song has outperformed Adele’s “Easy On Me” on iTunes.

“This is one of those songs you cannot not smile when you listen to it,” Rowe told the weekend Fox hosts. “And our country right now, man, we need to smile… and hopefully this song’s doing it.” Rich then goes on to explain a bit about how the song came about and how it connects to Rowe’s past work on Dirty Jobs.

“I was interviewing Mike for my show… and I said, hey, Mike, you know somebody who’s got a dirty job that you probably never thought about? And he said, who’s that? I said Santa Claus,” Rich said Sunday.

The song was released a week before the Christmas holiday, giving it plenty of time to gain some traction. It is available on Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music, where it blew past Adele for the top spot. They also released a music video for the song, featuring Rowe and Rich in the studio, with help from the Oak Ridge Boys singing backing vocals.

Another reason the song is finding success is due to its positive message and goal. Proceeds from the purchase of the song go to Folds of Honor to provide scholarships to military families, then the mikeroweWORKS foundation, promoting trades and apprenticeships, according to Fox News.

Fans and viewers of the video were quick to chime in on the song, giving Rowe and Rich plenty of praise. “I knew Mike Rowe could sing, but have only heard him sing opera and barbershop quartet. He nails the country sound,” one fan wrote. “The Oak Ridge Boys have always been a favorite of mine. Haven’t listened to much of John Rich. No matter.This song is awesome! Now, if Mike would just release a full album, I’d be happy. Love that the proceeds are going to two worthy charities.”