Lainey Wilson - "Hang Tight Honey"

[recordyear]

Artist: Lainey Wilson
Single: Hang Tight Honey
Album: Whirlwind
Label: Broken Bow Records
Impact Date: 20th May, 2024
Writers: Driver Williams, Jason Nix, Lainey Wilson, Paul Sikes

Local midnight release and will have radio deal tomorrow.

[Kanenrá:ke]

Will be interesting to see where this debuts on billboard. I feel like she can crack the top 20 on her first week.

[.indulgecountry]

Super excited for this release! It sounds like a bop and several people expressed not loving "Cool Again" so hopefully this one won't be so polarizing.

[recordyear]

This sounds like honky tonk version of Road Runner. I like this on first listen.

[.indulgecountry]

[recordyear]

[raylatch98]

Glad she has an uptempo but on first listen, I am not impressed. 

[christianlarson9]

Impact date will be 5/20 according to PlayMPE. I assume they want to avoid impacting the same day as Posty/Morgan.

[.indulgecountry]

This is good and I'm glad she's coming with something that has more tempo to radio to kick off the era, but I think "Country's Cool Again" is more of a bop and would've been the bigger hit of the two.

[abbeyjones11]

I like it. I also like that it's upbeat. 🙂

[zdm1998]

I enjoy it! I'm happy they went with this over "Country's Cool Again."

[austin]

Lainey has firmly crossed the line from underrated to being fully overrated, and this song is another song I just am not sure I "get". But, it's EASILY better than "Country's Cool Again" which sounds like it was written for a sitcom making fun of everything country. That one would have flopped really horrifically, even with her momentum I think. It's a joke song. This one just is kind of weird.

[dm2081]

This is pretty solid, gives me 90’s female rock vibes. Not sure if it’s going to be a big hit at country radio though. I’m starting to wonder if Lainey will have a career arc similar to Eric Church, where she’ll be a big name and draw, but radio success will constantly oscillate between hit song and peaking in the teens or twenties.

[zdm1998]

May 13, 2024 17:25:35 GMT -5 dm2081 said:

This is pretty solid, gives me 90’s female rock vibes. Not sure if it’s going to be a big hit at country radio though. I’m starting to wonder if Lainey will have a career arc similar to Eric Church, where she’ll be a big name and draw, but radio success will constantly oscillate between hit song and peaking in the teens or twenties.

Think we’ll have to see what the next 5 years hold for her career wise. I know many wouldn’t never thought Maren would’ve taken her career trajectory when she had her Hero/GIRL era hype.

[recordyear]

23 adds and total historic adds this week.

[ontheroadwith]

What’s wacky and wild about Lainey’s career thus far is that she doesn’t really sell/stream so well. If you look at all her solo singles, she doesn’t have a single one that has been certified platinum. Her albums too. And at some point, having so many collabs will make her live show weird. Seriously, at this point I think I have a collab with her that I don’t know about.

[recordyear]

May 13, 2024 21:59:00 GMT -5 ontheroadwith said:

What’s wacky and wild about Lainey’s career thus far is that she doesn’t really sell/stream so well. If you look at all her solo singles, she doesn’t have a single one that has been certified platinum. Her albums too. And at some point, having so many collabs will make her live show weird. Seriously, at this point I think I have a collab with her that I don’t know about.

The last sentence lol

But seriously, the certifications are more likely just not updated yet. Heart Like A Truck and Watermelon Moonshine have Platinum single tier performances.

[bboat11]

I'm surprised to see the hesitant reception so far for this one! This is easily the most infectious melody she has ever sent to radio! I predict this taking her the next huge step towards superstardom. This is going to be one of those hits where you go to see her in concert and you just know the show ain't over yet until she's performed this.

[g8erboi]

Yikes... I do not love this. At least it’s better than CCA. She needs to course correct and release "Two Story House" to radio asap. 😂

[daddy]

Another miss. Her success is mind-boggling to me.

[jasper0102]

Honestly after Wildflowers and Wild Horses it would’ve been very damn hard for Lainey to match or even surpass it with this. And yeah while this doesnt get there, it is still great, and im glad she’s delving more into the darker sound of Wildflowers and Wild Horses.

[.indulgecountry]

I'm just as mystified as many of y'all are at her success... that there are so many people who find her so overrated. To each their own, but her rise to success just makes total sense because she seems so universally-appealing. Like I've always seen a mix of positive and negative comments on social media about most female artists, but Lainey always reads from my perspective the most overwhelmingly favorable female we've had break in a long, long time. She has a very unique identity as an artist that is uniquely rooted in the roots of country, absolutely worked her dump truck off to get to where she is at now, and just seems like such an honest and likable person.

Obviously everyone's taste varies, but to me it feels like maybe the disdain is coming from the way country radio focuses so narrowly on just a select 1 or 2 females at a time so maybe since Lainey isn't everyone's favorite, it feels like she's being propped up at the expense of other women. That angle I do get.

That said, it seems like a lot of the females right now are eliciting similar mixed reactions though, as Megan Moroney is far from everyone's cup of tea, Carly Pearce is getting stale, Gabby Barrett and her husband has her fair share of dissenters, Maren fell off...

[Elusive Chanteuse]

Just heard this and I’m honestly not sure how to feel about it. If Lainey wanted to release an uptempo, they could’ve done Hold My Halo or even Live Off. This falls flat in comparison to all of the singles she released (and to the two aforementioned album tracks).

At least it’s a little (?) better than Country’s Cool Again. That one is awful.

In other news, Wildflowers and Wild Horses just had a huge jump on Apple Music which is interesting. A part of me wishes they were promoting it a bit more and pushed back this album because these two tracks aren’t it so far.

[daddy]

May 15, 2024 17:46:09 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

I'm just as mystified as many of y'all are at her success... that there are so many people who find her so overrated. To each their own, but her rise to success just makes total sense because she seems so universally-appealing. Like I've always seen a mix of positive and negative comments on social media about most female artists, but Lainey always reads from my perspective the most overwhelmingly favorable female we've had break in a long, long time. She has a very unique identity as an artist that is uniquely rooted in the roots of country, absolutely worked her dump truck off to get to where she is at now, and just seems like such an honest and likable person.

Obviously everyone's taste varies, but to me it feels like maybe the disdain is coming from the way country radio focuses so narrowly on just a select 1 or 2 females at a time so maybe since Lainey isn't everyone's favorite, it feels like she's being propped up at the expense of other women. That angle I do get.

That said, it seems like a lot of the females right now are eliciting similar mixed reactions though, as Megan Moroney is far from everyone's cup of tea, Carly Pearce is getting stale, Gabby Barrett and her husband has her fair share of dissenters, Maren fell off...

I can't speak for others, but to me, she comes across as corny, and her singing and speaking voice are just... annoying. It sounds exaggerated and fake, even if it's not. I know this might sound mean, but I don't know how else to explain it.

I've tried hard to get into her music. "Watermelon Moonshine" was one of my most-played songs in the last couple of years, and "Heart Like A Truck" was nice. So I'm open to changing my mind if she puts out material I like more, but aside from these two, I just don't enjoy her catalog. 

As an avid listener to so many other popular female country/country-adjacent artists, the disconnect I feel with her surprises me. Some of my straight male friends rave about her, and I've never heard them speak so positively about other female artists in the genre. So maybe she's just not for me. Regardless, as a fan of many other women in the genre, I wish they could see even a fraction of the success she's having, as I much prefer their music.

Living overseas and being aware of the backwards politics has made me grow increasingly disenchanted with the genre I used to be so obsessed with. Seeing some of my favorites being phased out for an artist I really don't like feels like the final nail in the coffin for me.

Oh well. At least I can stream the other ladies any time 

[kluen]

May 15, 2024 17:46:09 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

To each their own, but her rise to success just makes total sense because she seems so universally-appealing. 

Lainey Wilson was embraced by the industry faster than any other female artist and that was her appeal.



This could not be achieved by intended behaviors.

It was a surprise but it also made perfect sense.

I agree the word "universally-appealing'',well at least industry-wise.

[.indulgecountry]

May 16, 2024 4:24:26 GMT -5 daddy said:

As an avid listener to so many other popular female country/country-adjacent artists, the disconnect I feel with her surprises me. Some of my straight male friends rave about her, and I've never heard them speak so positively about other female artists in the genre. So maybe she's just not for me. Regardless, as a fan of many other women in the genre, I wish they could see even a fraction of the success she's having, as I much prefer their music.

Ironic since they share a last name, but she feels like the long-lost answer to Gretchen Wilson being phased out way too early. She definitely fills that niche of being a female artist that's "one of the guys" in a way that appeals to the str8 male demographic in a way that few female hitmakers can. I was always surprised that there was such a void for that archetype of female artist at the genre for so long.

[.indulgecountry]

May 16, 2024 20:45:40 GMT -5 kluen said:

May 15, 2024 17:46:09 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

To each their own, but her rise to success just makes total sense because she seems so universally-appealing. 

Lainey Wilson was embraced by the industry faster than any other female artist and that was her appeal.



This could not be achieved by intended behaviors.

It was a surprise but it also made perfect sense.

I agree the word "universally-appealing'',well at least industry-wise.

Speaking from a social media standpoint as well. When CMT posts about her i.e., all the comments are just people lauding praise her way, and I hear more country music fans IRL talk about her than the likes of Maren, Kelsea, etc. She's country to the core and doesn't have the crossover appeal that makes people question her authenticity. She doesn't dress in a way that elicits strong reactions from Conservative women. She doesn't turn men off by only singing "girly" tunes. There's just a lot of checkboxes that she fills that make her appeal to a broad group in the genre.

And she wasn't embraced *that* fast, I mean it still took many years for her to become the 'it girl.' "Heart Like a Truck" still literally took an entire year to climb the charts, and that was only a year ago this month that it peaked. And "Things a Man Oughta Know" was looking like a flop till OTV got ahold of it. A lot has happened in the past year for Lainey, but she was not an overnight success, and it's not like she didn't work hard for it and grind for a long time (many years) before she made any headway.

[kluen]

May 16, 2024 21:03:17 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

May 16, 2024 20:45:40 GMT -5 kluen said:

Lainey Wilson was embraced by the industry faster than any other female artist and that was her appeal.



This could not be achieved by intended behaviors.

It was a surprise but it also made perfect sense.

I agree the word "universally-appealing'',well at least industry-wise.

Speaking from a social media standpoint as well. When CMT posts about her i.e., all the comments are just people lauding praise her way, and I hear more country music fans IRL talk about her than the likes of Maren, Kelsea, etc. She's country to the core and doesn't have the crossover appeal that makes people question her authenticity. She doesn't dress in a way that elicits strong reactions from Conservative women. She doesn't turn men off by only singing "girly" tunes. There's just a lot of checkboxes that she fills that make her appeal to a broad group in the genre.

And she wasn't embraced *that* fast, I mean it still took many years for her to become the 'it girl.' "Heart Like a Truck" still literally took an entire year to climb the charts, and that was only a year ago this month that it peaked. And "Things a Man Oughta Know" was looking like a flop till OTV got ahold of it. A lot has happened in the past year for Lainey, but she was not an overnight success, and it's not like she didn't work hard for it and grind for a long time (many years) before she made any headway.

Your first part just sayin' what I'm thinkin'

By fast I mean awards-wise,which I think could show how the wind vane of country music industry.
After the breakthrough of ''Things a Man Oughta Know''
She has won 2 ACM and 2 CMA
And the second year,she has already won CMA Entertainer of the Year
And now just won ACM Entertainer of the Year
This is just so fast,even faster than Taylor 

[ontheroadwith]

Of course, there is no such thing as an overnight success. Everyone pounds the pavement and pays their dues, but she is winning some huge awards on the strength of just 5 solo singles. It does feel like too much too fast. Maybe take a little bit of her radio love and spread it to some other female artists. That’s all.

[zdm1998]

Just feels a little forced on the award front. FVOTY has been deserved for the most part (even though I think Kelsea probably should've won this year.)

Love him or hate him, if we are taking out veteran artists who haven't won EOTY (mainly at the CMAs) and strictly going on new talent. Wallen should've been the one winning this year, as well as the past few years. Something is just a little weird about an opener beating out people they were opening for. And the shows she has been solo headlining have been small theatre type venues.