2013 Observations/2014 Predictions

[onebuffalo]

1. The biggest observation I see with the year end charts is that Cruise finished first in Hot Country Songs, last in Country Airplay.

2. The streaks are over. For the first time since 2000, Kenny Chesney did not land a #1 in 2013. The same for Carrie Underwood. Just change the year to 2005. Her top two streak remains intact (from Jesus, Take The Wheel in 2006-#1 to See You Again in 2013-#2).

3. Garth Brooks will be saving country music in the year 2014. His three year tour will prove that. He will also land his 20th chart topping hit, the first since the history making More Than A Memory.

4. Will Toby Keith EVER have a top ten hit again?

5. Will Reba McEntire release a third CD on Valory?

6. We had 29 #1 hits in Billboard, 2013 (December, 2012-November, 2013). How many will we have for 2014? I say just about the same (28-30).

7. Taylor Swift will officially abandon country for CD #5. She may record a 'token country' number though for the CD.

8. In the sad but true department, George Strait will not have a top ten hit in 2014. The greatest chart streak in all music will be broken.

9. Carrie Underwood's top two streak will end and Blake Shelton's #1 streak will end as well.

10. Will Billboard get rid of the mongrel chart in 2014?

11. Any others I think of, I will edit my post.

12. Enjoy and please comment.

[Markus Meyer]

For the first time since 2008, Jason Aldean did not hit the top 2 ("1994").

Tyler Farr, Brett Eldredge, Thomas Rhett and Parmalee all scored breakout #1 hits.

Predictions:

FGL will go with a more serious approach with their sophomore album and will remain dominant with that as well.

Garth Brooks' comeback will be wildly successful.

Dallas Smith, Chase Rice, Charlie Worsham, Joel Crouse and The Swon Brothers will all break out.

Jake Owen will become an A-List artist.

Joe Nichols will become a consistent hitmaker.



ETA

Taylor Swift will go nearly full time pop.

Bro-country will start to fade.

Jason Aldean will start to lean more pop-country than country-rock.

Brad Paisley will return to his older style with a new lead single.

Luke Bryan will become the biggest star of the genre.

Kacey will continue to bring in critical acclaim, and score a top-5 hit.

TBP will become the next superstar group.

[Deleted]

Predictions...
1. Garth Brooks will make waves with his first single, most likely making it to at the least the top 5. His second single will make it into the top 15, and subsequent singles may struggle. Sorry, I just see it that way.
2. FGL, will continue to hit with Bro-Country.
3. Taylor will stray farther from country and will still be recognized within the genre's award shows, Carrie on the other hand will continue to be successful in country music and will still be snubbed for Entertainer of the Year.
4. Bro-Country will still be the leading form of music in the genre, but it may start to fade.
5. Luke Bryan will continue to dominate, and be the top artist of the year.
6. By year's end I think we will see a fifth album from Miranda, and Carrie. Also, Tim McGraw will put out another mediocre album and score #1 hits.
7. Toby Keith will probably put out bro-country, but probably will not be successful with it, while George Strait continues to decline, but he may still score one top 20 hit.
8. Reba may announce a new album, but she too will most likely have limited success.
9. Women will still struggle on the charts, with the exception of the obvious prominent women.
10. There will be between 27 and 32 number one hits.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Serious

1: George Strait will ride away and no longer have hits
2: "Bro country" will fade out. As a result, Florida Georgia Line's second album will have the first single pull an "All Jacked Up" and the next singles fail to make Top 20
3: Danielle Bradbery and Cassadee Pope will heat up, getting at least two Top 10 hits each
4: Scotty McCreery will finally get at least one Top 10 hit
5: Kenny Chesney releases a new album whose lead single fails to go Top 20
6: Frankie Ballard goes #1 with "Helluva Life"
7: Kacey Musgraves manages to worm her way back into Top 10 somehow
8: Sugarland breaks up; "That Girl" peaks at #31 but Jennifer's next single goes Top 10
9: Dan + Shay goes #1 with "19 You + Me", gains serious traction after that
10: Toby misses Top 40 with "Shut Up and Hold On" and finally goes on hiatus
11: LoCash Cowboys get a dark horse Top 5 hit with "Best Seat in the House"
12: Some act that I'm a big fan of will finally release a song that I don't like
13: In relation to #2, Cole Swindell is quickly relegated to one-hit wonderland
14: Kip Moore rises to super-stardom with his second album
15: Based on the success of "Jump Right In" and "Everybody's Got Somebody but Me", Jason Mraz will try to go country by himself

Not so serious

1: "Chris DeStefano" is revealed to actually be a disgruntled 90's songwriter trolling the country community with "bro country" songs
2: "Drunk Last Night" is followed by two more #1 hits, but Universal still fails to release a new Eli Young Band album becuase they "forgot"
3: "Ready Set Roll" zooms up to #20 in five weeks, before every station on the panel drops it at once, due to said stations being mobbed by irate listeners brandishing torches and pitchforks
4: Craig Morgan abandons country and starts singing death metal, thus allowing him to do all the screaming he wants
5: Gary LeVox finally gets surgery to remove his vocal cords from his nose
6: The Robertsons put out a re-write of Tim McGraw's "Truck Yeah" called "Duck Yeah", with half the song performed on duck calls
7: Darryl Worley signs with Black River Entertainment; they close four months into the chart run of his first single for them. Darryl is finally blacklisted from Nashville for causing the closure of every label he signs with
8: The long-awaited comeback of Michael Peterson!
9: EMI releases Kelleigh Bannen's "Sorry on the Rocks" as a new single only because they forgot they already released it; it ends up going Top 5
10: Hank III releases a 40-minute-long "cowpunk" song, consisting of atonal screaming, heavily overdriven guitar, and about four thousand F-bombs and references to marijuana; at least three people spontaneously combust after a Michigan station plays it by accident

[14887fan]

Ah, I always love these! I'll add to my lists as I think of more.

Serious
1. David Nail will become the breakout artist of 2013, and deservingly so.
2. Little Big Town's next album will spawn another #1 lead single and a Top 10 follow-up. They'll continue their reign as Vocal Group of the Year at both the ACMs and the CMAs.
3. The Band Perry will achieve another crossover hit, alike to "If I Die Young."
4. Kellie Pickler will achieve a Top 20 hit with "Bonnie and Clyde," the evident breakout smash of her career.
5. Carrie Underwood will be silent...and still manage a Female Vocalist of the Year nomination at the CMAs. Oh, and her and Brad will co-host (as if there was ever any other option).
6. Martina McBride will re-enter the Female Vocalist races with an obligatory nomination at the shows, but still won't see the Top 10 with a magnifying glass for any radio release. Her covers album will eclipse the Top 5.
7. Miranda Lambert's fifth release will be her first release to top the Billboard 200 and will see her biggest opening sales week to date. She'll score a #1 and a Top 5 hit, but not two #1s in a row.
8. Taylor Swift will release her fifth album and sell slightly below 1 million but still make an impressive debut. Not sure what sound will come of this album, but seeing as she went Pop/dubstep with Red and still managed to get the CMA Pinnacle Award this year, I have a feeling she'll take a bit too much advantage of her always having Country as her original home and alienate some hardcore fans of hers. She'll still sell out stadiums, though, so does it really matter anyways?
9. Luke Bryan will release one too many radio terrors and get "1994"'d (yes, I'm making this a verb -- thanks, Aldean!). Speaking of...
10. Jason Aldean will have a quiet year with one collaborative release that scrapes the Top 10.

"One can hope!" and/or "Headlines I wouldn't rule out."
1. There will be a legitimate cheating scandal within the realms of the genre.
2. "Duck Dynasty" crashes and burns and the entire gimmick of a show will be dead and gone. The Robertsons will return to hiding in swamps without cameras following them around. And they'll shave.
3. Florida Georgia Line will run out of steam and collapse. And then lose their record deal. And then never get picked up by anyone ever again. And go get a desk job somewhere. And wear shirts with sleeves. And wash their hair so it doesn't look so greasy.
4. Married and then pregnant 3 weeks later? In that case, Kelly Clarkson will be pregnant with her second baby at around Christmas time because she just doesn't seem to ever want to waste time after one milestone in her life. Speaking of which...
5. Kelly Clarkson will release a Country album that will A) piss off her Pop fans, B) make a decent dent in Country music, C) get critical acclaim, and D) become her lowest-selling album to date.
6. There will be a major divorce between a couple in the genre -- perhaps in relation to prediction #1 on this list.
7. Blake Shelton's #1 streak will break and he'll realize that he actually has to make -- wait for it -- DECENT music to keep his credibility in tact (even though he's sold his soul to that messfest that is The Voice.
8. Danielle Bradbery will see virtually no career lift despite having a (corny and mediocre) song represent the 2014 Winter Olympics. Sorry, but that song is no "Home" by Phillip Phillips.
9. Lady Antebellum will go on hiatus after their tour.
10. Eric Church will become the male diva of the genre, a la Justin Bieber and Pop music (only not to such an immature extent), leading to a slow 2014 for him.

[sabre14]

Dec 14, 2013 18:29:54 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

Not so serious

1: "Chris DeStefano" is revealed to actually be a disgruntled 90's songwriter trolling the country community with "bro country" songs
2: "Drunk Last Night" is followed by two more #1 hits, but Universal still fails to release a new Eli Young Band album becuase they "forgot"
3: "Ready Set Roll" zooms up to #20 in five weeks, before every station on the panel drops it at once, due to said stations being mobbed by irate listeners brandishing torches and pitchforks
4: Craig Morgan abandons country and starts singing death metal, thus allowing him to do all the screaming he wants
5: Gary LeVox finally gets surgery to remove his vocal cords from his nose
6: The Robertsons put out a re-write of Tim McGraw's "Truck Yeah" called "Duck Yeah", with half the song performed on duck calls
7: Darryl Worley signs with Black River Entertainment; they close four months into the chart run of his first single for them. Darryl is finally blacklisted from Nashville for causing the closure of every label he signs with
8: The long-awaited comeback of Michael Peterson!
9: EMI releases Kelleigh Bannen's "Sorry on the Rocks" as a new single only because they forgot they already released it; it ends up going Top 5
10: Hank III releases a 40-minute-long "cowpunk" song, consisting of atonal screaming, heavily overdriven guitar, and about four thousand F-bombs and references to marijuana; at least three people spontaneously combust after a Michigan station plays it by accident

^ This made my bad day a good one instantly. "Ready, Set Roll" and Craig Morgan's predictions were hilarious. And I TPH was kidding, but I could invision a "Duck Yeah" version of "Truck Yeah"... I mean country radio took "Red Solo Cup" to the top 10, so why not right. ;)

Regarding the serious. "Best Seat In The House" being a hit and FGL pulling a Gretchen would be a dream come true.

[drummerman2009]

Predictions:

1. Dottie West, Ronnie Milsap, The Judds and Johnny Horton are all inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
2. George Strait ends his 32 year run of Top 10 hits.
3. Sugarland breaks up as does The Dixie Chicks.
4. Believe it or not, Brooks and Dunn will reunite.
5. Parmalee and The Eli Young Band go on tour together.
6. Lady Antebellum struggles with their singles in 2014.
7. Toby Keith sells his interest in Show Dog Nashville as his career is fading fast away.
8. Parmalee becomes the surprise group with at least 2 more #1's from Feels Like Carolina and winning Best New Artist
9. The Band Perry and Jake Owen becomes less popular.
10. Taylor Swift does something in the vein of Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga that will shock everyone.
11. Garth Brooks' singles will struggle with airplay while his tours will definitely set records.
12. Little Big Town comes back to #1 in a big way with a lead single from their new album.
13. Florida Georgia Line will release an album that will be full of ballads and less of the summertime stuff and will remain very popular.
14. Billy Currington becomes a headlining act.
15. The Eli Young Band will release their new album in early spring with a cover of Kings of Leon's Supersoaker as their next single after Drunk Last Night.
16. Zac Brown Band will not win Vocal Group of the Year.
17. RFD-TV drops all country music from their lineup.
18. Dan + Shay becomes a one-hit wonder.
19. Jerrod Niemann's "Drink To That All Night" takes 55 weeks to go #1.
20. George Strait's son Bubba releases his first album.
21. Jason Aldean and his former wife reunite and remarry.
22. Rodney Atkins becomes a father again.
23. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert announce that they're expecting a baby.
24. Brad Paisley releases a Greatest Hits album which lead single brings him back to #1 again.
25. Randy Travis recovers from his stroke and performs for the first time at the 2014 CMA Awards.
26. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "You Can't Make Old Friends" wins a Grammy and is re-released to country radio resulting in the song going Top 20.
27. Zac Brown Band and The Foo Fighters tour together. This will cause Luke Bryan to call Zac a hypocrite for him saying that his song "That's My Kind of Night" was too rock for country.
28. Luke Bryan gets involved when a statement about ZBB and TFF touring together results in a controversy (see #27 prediction)
29. Eric Church's singles will struggle to get radio airplay after a couple more singles from his new album does better than The Outsiders but doesn't put him back in the Top 10. An image change will result from this as he will look like a heavy metal singer.
30. An electronically produced duet with Ray Price and Blake Shelton is released and makes Top 40.
31. The new American Idol winner will be a country singer.
32. Luke Bryan's "Drink A Beer" wins Single and Song of the Year at both the ACM's and CMA's.
33. An album containing George Jones songs with other artists as electronically created duets is released (think about Jim Reeves and Deborah Allen).
34. Jason Aldean's band releases their own album.
35. An attempt to revive Hee Haw is planned.

[Markus Meyer]

A couple more:

Brantley Gilbert will hit the top of the charts, followed by 2 top-10's.

Cole Swindell's follow up will the top-20, and dissapear after that.

Thomas Rhett and Brett Eldredge will continue to establish themselves as stars.

Autumn Hill will sign with an American record label.

David Nail will get back-to-back #1's.

[someguy]

2013 Observations:

1. Overall, I'd say this was a real year of transition. A lot of reliable hitmakers of the past had noticeably slower years at radio, either by underperforming (Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Dierks Bentley, Toby Keith, Taylor Swift - but that's most likely for different reasons), or just by not being present at all (Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts). I think this was really a year of the genre redefining itself, and unfortunately, I just don't really like where it seems to be headed.

2. Women continue to be underplayed and under-represented. Even the big female 'breakthrough' artist barely scraped the top 10. I'm hopeful that will change (see predictions/wishful thinking below), but I don't know. This drought has been going on for way too long. Even the only women to top the Billboard chart this year (Taylor & Miranda) did so with a collaboration with a male artist.

3. Despite crossover sounds, country acts aren't having hits cross over to other formats. "Cruise" is the obvious exception, but even that needed a remix with a rapper to get played on pop radio. Taylor released separate singles to the formats, although "Red" could have easily been released to pop, and "Everything Has Changed" could have gone to country. Despite having poppy sounds, The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, Hunter Hayes, Keith Urban, etc. haven't tried to send anything to pop, which I found a little strange.

4. Enough with trucks, being redneck, being countrier than someone else, generic pickup lines, and partying all the time songs. I actually have liked some of the songs that are really disliked here ("Boys Round Here" and "That's My Kind Of Night" for example), but country needs a year-long break from songs with these subject matters. I really don't know if I've ever seen a worse, more generic year end top 10 than the Billboard Airplay year end chart. There are a couple of songs I like there, but for the most part, I think one look at it sums up what's wrong with the genre right now.

2014 Predictions:

1. This will be the year of the comeback. Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire will all score at least one major hit this year.

2. "Female Vocalist of the Year" will look like the 90s again, with both Trisha and Reba scoring nominations. Someone other than the current 'big three' will win it.

3. Sugarland will officially announce their break up. Jennifer Nettles will score a string of hits, though likely not with "That Girl".

4. Nothing from Love Is Everything makes the top 40, but George Strait will release a new lead single and it will peak in the top 20 by the end of the year.

5. Kelly Clarkson and Sheryl Crow each score a solo top 10. Kelly releases a country album that gets embraced by the country music community. She talks of releasing a pop album, but only the country album gets released.

6. Someone unexpected will die young.

7. Carrie Underwood takes the year off to start a family.

8. Luke Bryan will win Male Vocalist at the CMAs, but lose Entertainer to a veteran again (Garth this time).

9. For at least one week, there will be more females in the top 10 than males.

10. Florida Georgia Line become the first artist to score 6 #1s from one album. Since one of the #1s will come from one of the new songs on the re-release, Pulse will heatedly debate the legitimacy of this 'record' all year, which will result in at least one banning and one 'boardaciding'.

[Deleted]

Dec 14, 2013 19:39:03 GMT -5 someguy said:

2013 Observations:

1. Overall, I'd say this was a real year of transition. A lot of reliable hitmakers of the past had noticeably slower years at radio, either by underperforming (Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Dierks Bentley, Toby Keith, Taylor Swift - but that's most likely for different reasons), or just by not being present at all (Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts). I think this was really a year of the genre redefining itself, and unfortunately, I just don't really like where it seems to be headed.

2. Women continue to be underplayed and under-represented. Even the big female 'breakthrough' artist barely scraped the top 10. I'm hopeful that will change (see predictions/wishful thinking below), but I don't know. This drought has been going on for way too long. Even the only women to top the Billboard chart this year (Taylor & Miranda) did so with a collaboration with a male artist.

3. Despite crossover sounds, country acts aren't having hits cross over to other formats. "Cruise" is the obvious exception, but even that needed a remix with a rapper to get played on pop radio. Taylor released separate singles to the formats, although "Red" could have easily been released to pop, and "Everything Has Changed" could have gone to country. Despite having poppy sounds, The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, Hunter Hayes, Keith Urban, etc. haven't tried to send anything to pop, which I found a little strange.

4. Enough with trucks, being redneck, being countrier than someone else, generic pickup lines, and partying all the time songs. I actually have liked some of the songs that are really disliked here ("Boys Round Here" and "That's My Kind Of Night" for example), but country needs a year-long break from songs with these subject matters. I really don't know if I've ever seen a worse, more generic year end top 10 than the Billboard Airplay year end chart. There are a couple of songs I like there, but for the most part, I think one look at it sums up what's wrong with the genre right now.

2014 Predictions:

1. This will be the year of the comeback. Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire will all score at least one major hit this year.

2. "Female Vocalist of the Year" will look like the 90s again, with both Trisha and Reba scoring nominations. Someone other than the current 'big three' will win it.

3. Sugarland will officially announce their break up. Jennifer Nettles will score a string of hits, though likely not with "That Girl".

4. Nothing from Love Is Everything makes the top 40, but George Strait will release a new lead single and it will peak in the top 20 by the end of the year.

5. Kelly Clarkson and Sheryl Crow each score a solo top 10. Kelly releases a country album that gets embraced by the country music community. She talks of releasing a pop album, but only the country album gets released.

6. Someone unexpected will die young.

7. Carrie Underwood takes the year off to start a family.

8. Luke Bryan will win Male Vocalist at the CMAs, but lose Entertainer to a veteran again (Garth this time).

9. For at least one week, there will be more females in the top 10 than males.

10. Florida Georgia Line become the first artist to score 6 #1s from one album. Since one of the #1s will come from one of the new songs on the re-release, Pulse will heatedly debate the legitimacy of this 'record' all year, which will result in at least one banning and one 'boardaciding'.

I really hope that you are right about the veterans making big comebacks, (Garth, Trisha, and Reba) I would love this, especially if they get nominations in FVOTY and could win it.

[ky24941]

2014 Predictions:

1. Garth Brooks' tour will be the highest grossing tour in country music history. He will have at least one huge hit.
2. Taylor Swift will continue to stray from country music and miss the top 10 with the lead single of her next album.
3. Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood will return with new albums. Reba will get a top 10 single, Trisha Yearwood will miss the top 40.
4. Kelly Clarkson will release her long-awaited country album. It will be loved by her fans but ignored by country radio.
5. Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradberry will hit the top 10 with their current singles. However, their 2nd will both miss the top 20 and their 3rd will miss the top 40.
6. Lady Antebellum announce a hiatus after Hillary Scott announces she's pregnant with her second child.
7. Country music will mourn the loss of a legend.
8. Ronnie Milsap will finally be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
9. Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, and Rascal Flatts will struggle on the charts. George Strait, Martina McBride and Toby Keith will have no hit singles.
10. Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line will continue to dominate the charts, with one of the two winning Entertainer of the Year at the CMAs.
11. Alan Jackson, Vince Gill or Patty Loveless will make a return to #1 when a current A-list country star features him/her on a duet. The song will win Vocal Event of the Year at the CMAs.
12. Dan + Shay, Charlie Worsham, The Swon Brothers, and Parmalee will be the breakout stars of the year.
13. Kellie Pickler and Kacey Musgraves will continue to release critically acclaimed music that will be ignored by country radio.
14. A famous country music couple will file for divorce.
15. Lauren Alaina, Sara Evans and LeAnn Rimes will depart their record labels.
16. ABC will cancel Nashville. One of the cast members will sign with Big Machine Records.
17. Someone will do something that becomes a huge scandal (like Dixie Chicks and LeAnn Rimes)

[zjames]

2014 Predictions:
1. Jake Owen will not score a #1 off Days of Gold.
2. Taylor Swift's next album is more country than Red.
3. Charlie Worsham, Cole Swindell, and Dan + Shay break out
4. Kenny Chesney's lead single from his new album goes Top 10, but his next singles miss the Top 20.
5. See You Tonight goes #1 and establishes Scotty McCreery's presence at country radio.
6. Joe Nichols scores one or two more hits off Crickets.
7. Eric Church gets two consecutive number ones after The Outsiders.
8. Brad Paisley gets two Top 5 hits.
9. Zac Brown Band's next album will stray from their established country sound.
10. Kip Moore gets three #1s off his new album.
11. Blake Shelton's number one streak ends.
12. Garth Brooks' tour becomes the most successful country tour of all time, The Call goes #1.

Wishful Thinking:
1. Bourbon in Kentucky is re-released, becomes a Top 10 hit and garners award consideration.
2. FGL releases This Is How We Roll, which gets shunned by country radio and leads to their demise.
3. Chris Stapleton breaks out.

[tvoss20]

-Love all the DNail optimism! :)
-I hope Kip Moore's sophomore album is a smash!
-I love Cole Swindell, but can totally see him being a 1 hit wonder :/

[sapphire]

Some of my 2014 Predictions:

Luke Bryan and FGL will have an even bigger year.
Taylor Swift will have another country hit, but most of her new songs will do better on Pop.
Dan + Shay and David Nail will break out.
Kacey will have a Top 10 hit, but not on FYA.
Danielle Bradbery and Cassadee Pope will have back to back Top 20 songs, but third single will struggle. The Swon Brothers will break out. Rae Lynn will part ways with BMLG.
Scotty McCreery will finally have a Top 10 hit, and will be followed by a decent size hit. Lauren will continue to struggle with radio, but will have atleast Top 30.
Someone other than the Big 3 will get a Female Vocalist win.
Blake Shelton will continue his success on radio, but not on the awards. It will be Luke Bryan's.
Miranda will have a bigger year, compared to 2013 and will receive critical acclaim on her next album.

[sabre14]

2014 Predictions:

1. Cole Swindell will score a top 15 hit with his second single, but that will be all.
2. Dan + Shay will score another hit single with "Stop, Drop Roll", or "Show You Off", and cause a discussion for how pop is too much pop for country radio.
3. Luke will win ACM Entertainer for the second straight year and notch two more #1's ("Roller Coaster", "Play It Again")
4. Taylor Swift will only score one top 20 country single and focus more on the AC/Pop charts.
5. Craig Morgan will get back into the top 20, but it wont be with "Wake Uo Lovin You". ("We'll Come Back Around")
6. Eric Paslay, Dustin Lynch, and Jana Kramer will not have any single reach top 30.
7. "Yeah" will go #1 for Joe Nichols
8. Scott Borchetta will open a strictly Rock division of Big Machine Label Group.
9. Shania Twain will make a return by the end of 2014 with a full new studio album and release a single that will go top 20.
10. "Slip On By" from Austin Webb will go on a 40 week chart run and peak somewhere between 16 and 21.

Want to happen (Fantasy World) :)

1. FGL's "This Is How We Roll" will have a high debut, but only spends 6 weeks on the chart once radio PD's notice it has the worst ryhmes in country music history.

"Windows tinted hard to see though,
How fresh my baby is in the shotgun seat oh,
Those kisses are for me though, automatic like a free throw
This life I live might not be for you but it's for me though
Lets roll"

2. There will be at least seven singles in the top 20 on the 2014 year end chart that are sung by females.
3. Kix Brooks will be replaced as American Country Countdown host.
4. "Drink To That All Night", "Ready Set Roll" and "Shut Up And Hold On" will all go recurrent in January.
5. I will enjoy terrestrial radio again.
6. George Stait's "I Got A Car" will go top 10.
7. Autumn Hill will get an American Record deal and re-release both "Fire" and "Anything At All" to country radio.
8. Blake Shelton decides to record "If I Don't Make It Back" and takes it to #1.
9. All other labels will get to hold an expansion draft for Curb recording artists because of the label going under. (Lee Brice goes #1, American Young goes #2, and Morgan Frazier goes #3, Steve Holy goes #4, and Dylan Scott goes #5)
10. Garth goes back to selling every venue out in the world, and releasing the music he used to put out, and they all go top 5. While taking home CMA Entertainer of the year.

[jamesmckee]

David Nail finally breaking through (ie multiple top 10 singles from one album).
Dan + Shay having a big breakthrough with multiple top 10 singles from their debut.

[dajire4]

2014 wish list

- Blake Shelton will be chased out of the country by Kacey Musgraves riding a horse.
- Florida Georgia Line will join the Red Cross and go to a small village in Djibouti to never come back.
- Reba will return as strong as ever.
- Luke Bryan & Jason Aldean will hook up.
- Brantley Gilbert will be kidnapped while on safari in Africa. Jana Kramer suspected of the hit.
- Hunter Hayes will be arrested on drug charges.
- Taylor Swift will finally go back to her roots and release an album countrier than Alan Jackson's Thirty Miles West.
- Miranda Lambert will quit her solo career to become a full-time member of the Pistol Annies, who will become constant hit-makers.
- Martina McBride & Jennifer Nettles will form Kansas Georgia Line.
- A horde of angry Carrie Underwood stans will set fire to the CMA's for constantly snubbing Carrie.
- Thomas Rhett will admit that it was all a joke and join a cult.
- Kellie Pickler will replace Miranda Lambert.
- Ashley Monroe will be the most played artist of the year.
- After the success of Cassadee's Wasting All These Tears, Avril Lavigne will release a banjo-remix of Here's To Never Growing Up, topping the country charts the whole year and parent album being nominated for Album Of The Year in all the major awards.
- Curb will finally get it right with Dylan Scott.
- Naked pics of Tim McGraw will be leaked by an anonimous soource, aka Curb.
- The Band Perry & The Henningsens will become a sixtet.
- Reunited Edens Edge will breakthrough.

I'm sure most of this will actually become true

[churchchoir]

We've gone a whole year without a female hitting #1 on Billboard and it doesn't look like anyone will be breaking this drought too soon. Cassadee Pope's single will likely be a top 5 hit, but I can't see it going all the way to #1 on both charts, and I feel the same about Danielle Bradbery's current single.

As for next year, I predict Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney will continue to fade and I think Rascal Flatts will try one more radio era that will end in a non-top 20 single. Toby Keith's career is obviously over and even his sales aren't too great, but I do think there is hope for Show-Dog with Josh Thompson. I do expect next year to involve a lot more new artists having success, and more of the bigger names under-performing. Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, and Carrie Underwood should definitely get some more hits, but I think there will generally be more new artists getting to #1 and fewer older artists scoring hit after hit, and I expect to see more songs pulling off 40+ -week runs to #1. I also think the charts are going to continue to be very slow. Right now, it seems there are maybe five songs in the whole top 60 that are moving up moderately to quickly. This is starting to get a bit silly, but I don't think this will stop until the record labels start becoming less aggressive, which they have no reason to do.

[shainabotwin]

2014 Prediction:

Something is telling me that Brandy Clark is about to get a whoooole lot more recognition. Maybe even an opening tour slot?

Hopefully I'm right!

[McCreerian]

I am predicting a Scotty McCreery hit radio career breaking out and him having at least 2 more singles in the top 10 after SYT by the end of the year, those being "Feelin It" and "Forget to Forget You" and his "See You Tonight" goes Platinum by Summer and 1.5 Million by Christmas. He will finally be nominated and win CMA New Artist of the Year and actually get a full performance slot!

[countryfan4life]

I've enjoyed reading all of your predictions! I hope some come true, and then others not so much. Anyway I'm not the best at making predictions, but I will give it a try.

1. The industry will finally take Luke Bryan seriously after the success of "Drink A Beer." "Roller Coaster" will be the next single, and he will end Blake's reign as CMA Male Vocalist of the year and maybe grab CMA EOTY (unless Garth is up for it, like someone else pointed out). He will take both at the ACMs as well.
2. Speaking of Garth he will break records and will have a lot of radio success for him. I'm optimistic and I am beyond excited for his comeback!
3. FGL will win me back over if they start showing a more sensitive and softer side to their lyrics and music. This is both a prediction and a wish.
4. Kellie Pickler will be the next Opry member. I predicted Rascal Flatts Opry membership a month before it happened so this might come true. Carrie will also be the one to surprise her with the news.
5. Brett Eldredge will have even more success and Scotty McCreery and Cole Swindell will be the break out stars. Scotty will finally get his first number 1 and a CMA New Artist nomination. Brett will definitely be in the first round for ACM New Artist of the Year along will Cole possibly.
6. More girl power in the genre in all areas. Another prediction and wish! Hopefully Lauren Alaina and Kellie Pickler will be involved with this.
7. Rascal Flatts' new music will remind people that they are still around and awesome. Please let this one come true!
8. Dan and Shay will continue rise but probably won't break out like the artists in #5.
9. Carrie Underwood will be snubbed by the CMAs and ACMs as usual, but this time it won't be Miranda beating her. I'm guessing Kacey based on how well she does in 2014.
10. I agree with most of you about Taylor going completely pop, but I'm ales predicting that she'll pull a Shania Twain and make a country and pop versions of her 5th album.
11. Shania's long awaited and long overdo comeback will finally happen.
12. The ACM special the day after the awards will honor Alabama and all of the artists on their tribute album will perform on the special. This needs to happen so I can see Alabama and Rascal Flatts perform together!
13. Kenny Chesney will pull a Tim McGraw and will make a strong comeback on radio.

Now for some non music related ones.

1. I like the idea of Blake and Miranda having a baby
2. I know this probably won't happen since they have said that 2 is enough, but Luke and Caroline Bryan will have a daughter. Seeing how cute Luke was with the little girl that sang with him on stage and the little girl on the Christmas special, imagine how adorable he would be with his own daughter! Again probably unlikely.
3. Blake will kiss Luke (probably on the lips) at some point during the ACMs
4. I also like the idea of Jason Aldean and his wife getting back together.

Personal Prediction 
After failing miserably this year I will finally see Luke Bryan in 2014.

Between all of the comebacks, breakout stars, up and coming artists, and stars that will continue their hot streak, it should make for a very interesting 2014.

[Deleted]

Here's my bid at predicting the future...

*Garth Brooks will not hit #1, but he will release a studio album sometime in 2014 and he will get at least two top 20 hits over the course of the year.

*Radio will largely turn its back on George Strait :( Gary Allan will not see much success, either. "It Ain't The Whiskey" will go top 40 but not top 30. Josh Turner will return with a big #1 hit, and Kip Moore will score at least two #1's during the year. David Nail will go to #1 with "Whatever She's Got" and will follow that up with another big hit, which will go top 10 at least.

*The 2nd single from Jennifer Nettles' solo album will get into the top 20. Billy Currington's "We Are Tonight" will climb slowly but it will eventually get to #1 and wind up as a bigger hit than "Hey Girl". Scotty McCreery will score his first top 10 hit, but he will not get all the way to #1 with any song in 2014. Easton Corbin will stick to the traditional sound and will get back to the top 10 with his next single.

*Kacey Musgraves will release a new, critically-acclaimed album late in the year (October or later), but nothing else from her current album will go top 20. Lauren Alaina will finally release another single but it will not be a big hit, and Mercury will drop her by the end of the year. Chris Stapleton will score a top 20 hit by the end of the year and will release an incredibly well-received album.

*Keith Urban will hit #1 with both "Cop Car" and "Good Thing". Lady Antebellum will upset me by not releasing any more singles from Golden. Luke Bryan will have a colossally huge year...his album will fly past 2 million sold and he will score at least three #1 hits. Dierks Bentley will reach the top 5 with "I Hold On", and the follow-up will also go top 10. Little Big Town's next single (after "Sober") will be a big #1 hit, but Darius Rucker will not see the top 10 again in 2014 after "Radio" drops off the chart.

*Eric Church's The Outsiders album will open with more than 400k sold and it will feature a diverse blend of sounds. At least 1 of his songs will go #1. Kelleigh Bannen will make the top 40 with "Famous", but it will not go any higher. Eric Paslay will have a pretty nice year. "Friday Night" will peak in the top 3 and he'll score another top 20 by year's end. Alan Jackson will unfortunately remain absent from mainstream country radio (they'll play his old tunes, but nothing new from him).

*Carrie Underwood will take nearly half the year off, but she'll come back with a big #1 in the fall (probably released in the summer, peaking in the fall). Brad Paisley will only score one top 10 hit all year, and despite mild success with "Drink To That All Night", Jerrod Niemann will continue to struggle. The Henningsens will change up their sound in an effort to score a radio hit, and this will result in a top 20 hit and an album release by the end of the year. The album will include "American Beautiful" but not "I Miss You" or any of the other songs they've been doing.

*Kenny Chesney will release a very strong album and the lead single will return him to #1. Tyler Farr will have one of the big hits of the year with "Whiskey In My Water", but its follow-up will struggle. Casey James' sophomore album will be pretty solid but radio's response to his new music will be lukewarm.

*Miranda Lambert will release her next single in either February or March, and it will be a big hit. She will have another very big 2014, and with Carrie taking the early half of the year off, that means more Female Vocalist wins for Miranda at both the ACM's and CMA's, unless either organization decides to push Kacey into the spotlight. If Kacey scores a top 15 hit I could see her winning at the CMA's, but I don't think that big hit will come soon enough for her to win in 2014, so therefore, I see Miranda's reign continuing.

*Jake Owen will return to #1 with "Ghost Town". Sara Evans will go top 20 with "Slow Me Down", but the follow-up will stall out in the 21-30 range. Chris Young will not hit #1 but he will see a pair of top 10's. Dee Jay Silver's brand of 'country' will start getting a good deal of exposure on Friday and Saturday nights--syndicated late night type of shows (unfortunately).

*Blake Shelton will finally start to cool off. "Doin' What She Likes" will go #1, but The Voice's ratings will continue to slowly decline, and Blake will not release enough quality music for him to keep regularly going to #1. Basically, I think Luke Bryan and some of the newer guys will be the new 'hot' items, so it would really take a musical 'shake-up' for Blake to remain as one of the top two guys. Gloriana will score a big hit but its follow-up will struggle. Charlie Worsham will go #1 with "Want Me Too".

*Frankie Ballard will go top 5 with "Helluva Life" and Cole Swindell will hit #1 with "Chillin' It". Cole will see a very big year, but Frankie's next single will not be as big of a hit. Dan + Shay will have a big year, but they will be criticized for being a pop duo in a country market. Two new Warner artists will see their first top 20 hits, and Jana Kramer will return to the top 20. Hunter Hayes' next single will take him back to the top 5.

*Taylor Swift will release "All Too Well" as the final single from Red, and it will go top 10 with ease. Her 5th album will be more 'rootsy' in sound...not necessarily more country, but definitely nothing like "I Knew You Were Trouble", "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "22", etc. Tim McGraw will score a big #1 with his next single, and the follow-up will go at least top 10. Danielle Bradbery will make the top 10 with "The Heart Of Dixie", but her 2nd single will stall out shy of the top 20.

*Justin Moore will remain rather under-the-radar, with "Lettin' The Night Roll" taking 30+ weeks to hit #1. Thomas Rhett will score another big #1 hit with "Get Me Some Of That" and Brantley Gilbert will also score a big #1 with "Bottoms Up".

*The Band Perry will release "Forever Mine Nevermind" as their next single and it will be a bigger hit than "Don't Let Me Be Lonely". Eli Young Band will have their biggest year yet, with their next single going #1 and a pretty popular album (no bro-country!) Florida Georgia Line will release their sophomore album late in the year, but their next single (after "Stay") will miss #1. Still, their year will be huge and they'll be red hot again by the end of 2014. Cassadee Pope will peak at #7 with "Wasting All These Tears", and the follow-up will go top 5.

*Neither Dallas Smith nor Chase Rice will see any substantial success. At this point, there are too many artists making this style of music (bro-country) for any new artists to really break onto the scene (after Cole Swindell, that is). Lee Brice will have a really big year--no bro-country from him either--and Rodney Atkins will get a song back into the top 20, but it won't be "Doin' It Right". Curb/Sidewalk will not see any major success with anyone besides Lee Brice.

*Jason Aldean will release a brand new single in spring or early summer, with an album by late summer. It'll be a little more like My Kinda Party, and his new single will be a much bigger hit than "Take A Little Ride" or "The Only Way I Know". Dustin Lynch will return to the top 20 with a brand new single, and Thompson Square will go #1 with "Everything I Shouldn't Be Thinking About". Their next single, however, will barely scrape the top 20.

*Lindsay Ell will reach the top 30 with "Trippin' On Us", but James Wesley and Kristy Lee Cook will remain mostly on the sidelines and unable to break into the top 40 on the charts. Parmalee's next single will go top 10 and Randy Houser will score a 3rd straight #1 with "Goodnight Kiss". He'll have a great chance for 4 in a row after the label decides to release "Like A Cowboy" as the final release from his CD. Joe Nichols will score another #1 with "Yeah", but Rachel Farley will not reach the top 40 in 2014.

*Toby Keith will not hit the top 20 all year. Josh Thompson and JT Hodges will each see a top 20 hit, but Joel Crouse will not. Show Dog-Universal will continue to struggle, for the most part. Craig Campbell will see another slow climb into the top 20 with "Keep Them Kisses Comin'", but Bigger Picture will struggle with their other artists. Chris Cagle will finally score another top 30 hit by late in the year.

*Jamie Lynn Spears will be picked up by a big label sometime this winter/spring and she will score a top 30 hit. Craig Morgan will eek out a top 30 peak with "Wake Up Lovin' You", but his next single will peak lower. Kellie Pickler will score two top 40 hits, and Maggie Rose will score one more top 40 hit, but it will be from her next album.

*Zac Brown Band will get further away from country music, and as a result, they will only hit the top 10 once this year. Ronnie Dunn will release a solid album but he will not see a top 40 hit. Aaron Lewis will come back with another impressive country album, and it will produce a top 40 hit.

Finally...

*Country Music's Identity Crisis will continue to get worse, as more and more artists release funky-sounding singles with hip-hop beats or bro-country lyrics. This will not change until a big star, such as Blake, Carrie, Brad, etc, releases a really good, throwback, traditional, honkytonk country album. Will that be in 2014, though? I have my doubts.

The way I see it, Charlie Worsham will be one of the year's few bright spots in terms of what I personally enjoy on country radio. Josh Turner, Kip Moore, David Nail, Easton Corbin, Keith Urban, and many others will also have good music out, but the industry/radio will continue to champion the least-country-sounding stuff, such as the stuff from Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, Dan + Shay, etc, as the "best" and "biggest" of all the hits.

[bboat11]

My turn to give it a try!
-Kellie Pickler would indeed be a great pick for the Opry! I like that suggestion. She will continue to struggle with radio, since there is very little momentum for her album at this point, but she will manage to get at least one more single on the charts after "Little Bit Gypsy". It will most likely barely crack the top 40. She will start planning her next album in late fall, but we won't get a lead single until 2015.

-Sara Evans is going to have a great year, by her standards. She will continue to have low sales, but her album will once again debut at #1 when it is released on March 4th. "Slow Me Down" will take off once the holidays are over and the album release draws nearer, and will manage to crack the top 15 by the week the album comes out. She will get to perform on the ACMs and CMAs again. "Slow Me Down" will be her 6th #1 around May. The subsequent singles will see more success than the "Stronger" era, with the 2nd and 3rd entering the top 20, although I doubt it will do well enough to end her drought of never having gotten 3 top-10 singles in a row. Speaking of people who might be inducted into the Opry, I think this year feels like it is just about time for Sara to FINALLY be inducted! Also, if Martina does not resume her automatic veteran nomination for female vocalist of the year at the CMAs, Sara will definitely be nominated.

-Martina McBride will also do significantly better than in 2013, although that is not saying much. Her new album will be stuck at a #2 debut, since it is released on the same day as Sara's. Her debut sales will be comparable to "Eleven" (around 40,000 if I recall), but they will hold up much better over time due to the buzz that will surround her project. Martina singing R&B and Soul covers should definitely appeal to a larger, more cross-genre audience than her standard releases, which will help drive sales. (This is of course assuming that the album is listed on the country albums charts. If it is not even marketed as a country release, then I have no idea how the charts will look...) Regardless of that, radio will not touch it. There may be one or two very low-charting singles. (Unless there is non-country radio-play? We just have no way of knowing how that is going to play out!) She will not quite make it into the top 50 artists on Jonsolo's list, unfortunately, with Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts likely to pass her. She will, however, finally release the new Christmas album she has been talking about for awhile once the holidays come around next year! And she will continue to remain a very hot touring act. Also, I predict that while the album will not be touched by radio, it may very well win her her long-awaited Grammy come January of 2015 :)

-Reba will reappear. Now that "Malibu County" was cancelled, she is bound to have some new project up her sleeve. Hopefully it will be a new album, out next fall! If so, the lead single will come out in late Spring/early Summer, and make it into the top 15.

-Terri Clark will release a new album in late Summer/Fall. It will be very enjoyable and well-done, but nobody will know about it unless they actually follow her career, since she is mostly only famous in Canada now. She will continue to do very well in Canada. In fact, I predict this album is going to be her best one since 2005's "Pain To Kill"!

-George Strait will have a HUGE start to the year, with his farewell tour. After the holidays, "I Got A Car" will pick back up and eventually meander its way into the top 20. MCA will want the song to do somewhat well, since it will be on the radio alongside his farewell tour, so they will not let it die yet. "When The Credits Roll" will see a release around the time the tour ends, and will also make it into the top 20 on its own merits. In the fall, we will see a release of a live CD/DVD of "The Cowboy Rides Away" tour. He will not rest long, however, with a new debut single ready to go in the late fall off a compilation album that will be released in early 2015.

-Josh Turner will come back in 2014! He will announce a debut single in the early spring, which will climb the charts extremely slowly but eventually become his 5th #1. The album will be released in the summer/fall, and the second single will be knocking on the door of the top 20 once the year comes to an end.

-Garth's comeback will be completely unreal. He will shatter records, generate infinite buzz, the whole nine yards. He will have a new album ready for release by summer, with the lead single hitting the charts in the Spring. His buzz will mostly surround the tour, however, with his age and refusal to release music digitally playing majorly against him when it comes to the charts. He will manage to get a single to #1 and at least another into the top 10, but from there I doubt he will just pick up where he left off and zoom straight to the top 10 every time.

That's enough for now; maybe I'll do more later!

[tim]

Dec 18, 2013 0:40:19 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

-Terri Clark will release a new album in late Summer/Fall. It will be very enjoyable and well-done, but nobody will know about it unless they actually follow her career, since she is mostly only famous in Canada now. She will continue to do very well in Canada. In fact, I predict this album is going to be her best one since 2005's "Pain To Kill"!

Not just a month ago I passed by someone with a Terri Clark shirt on from one of her tour's back in the 90's and commented "Hey, another Terri Clark fan!" She looked stunned and replied, "No one ever knows who this is!" I've been a fan of Terri's since When Boy Meets Girl and would love to see her make a comeback in the States. Like you said she remains highly popular in Canada and whatever she releases will do very well there. Maybe it's just my opinion, but it would have been great to see George invite some of the acts that he used to tour with back in the day for his final concert in Dallas, such as Terri Clark and Clay Walker.

Dec 18, 2013 0:40:19 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

-George Strait will have a HUGE start to the year, with his farewell tour. After the holidays, "I Got A Car" will pick back up and eventually meander its way into the top 20. MCA will want the song to do somewhat well, since it will be on the radio alongside his farewell tour, so they will not let it die yet. "When The Credits Roll" will see a release around the time the tour ends, and will also make it into the top 20 on its own merits. In the fall, we will see a release of a live CD/DVD of "The Cowboy Rides Away" tour. He will not rest long, however, with a new debut single ready to go in the late fall off a compilation album that will be released in early 2015.

Agree with mostly everything here. I don't think MCA is going to let I Got a Car off so easily and will put more muscle behind it come the new year. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is a possible Opry induction for George. After all these years it would just seem to make sense, especially considering George has said he will only be doing a select few dates a year.

Thanks for all the predictions everyone! I'm not really one to make a list of them, but I do enjoy reading the thread.

[samsager3]

Predictions:

1. Brett eldredge doesn't score big with best of the music and ends the album on that moving on to a new single in July

2. Jake Owen has florida Georgia line success with a summer song

3. Luke bryan finally becomes the biggest star in the genre

4. Danielle bradbery has a breakout hit but it's not heart of Dixie that song goes out in top 15

5. Florida Georgia line have another 4 hits and become superstars

6. Brad paisley goes back to produce frank Rogers and has big success

7. Garth Brooks finds his comeback album hindered by the fact he refuses to use itunes and thus fails to see the top of the charts at all

8. Jerrod nieman has two singles go to number 1 and finally gets break out status

9. Justin moore has 3 consecutive number 1 hits and get male vocalist nominations at awards shows for old habits

10. Geroge straight releases a new single and it tanks so as a result his next album is geared less toward radio and more traditional like previous work of his

[onebuffalo]

Observation: Ray Price started 2013 with his feud with Blake Shelton and ends it by dying. I know that is morbid, but it is the truth.

[churchchoir]

I loved reading these! They are so fun, but I just don't know where to start with mine. I guess I'll put down a few things for now.

*FGL may start to become a bit polarizing, especially if they release "This is How We Roll," although I think they will still continue getting hits on the charts, even if a few end up needing to be pushed to #1.
*Greg Bates will make a comeback similar to Frankie Ballard's and the song will either get him all the way into the top 10 and put his album out, or it will fizzle out before the top 10 and his deal with Republic Nashville will end shortly thereafter.
*Gloriana will get to #1 with "Best Night Ever" and then get another hit or two off their new album, but they won't get back to #1.
*Blake Shelton will lose his #1 streak with the second or third single off his next album.
*Eli Young Band will have a big year and get at least one more #1 off their forthcoming album, which will open to great sales and critical acclaim.
*Dan + Shay, Cole Swindell, Eric Paslay, Frankie Ballard, and Tyler Farr will get their first #1 singles.
*Josh Thompson and Craig Morgan will surprise us and get their current singles into the top 15, but not all the way to #1. Black River and Show-Dog Universal will continue to struggle for success. Toby Keith will not get another top 25 single and possibly not even another top 40.
*Brad Paisley will get back into the top 5 with "The Mona Lisa," but continue to fade with his next era.
*Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood will get back to the top of the charts, while Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery will go top 10 but miss #1 and not release another top 15 single off their albums.
*Jerrod Niemann, Brett Eldredge, Randy Houser, Justin Moore, and Thomas Rhett will all go to #1 with their current singles and continue to experience climbs into the top 10 that last between 20 and 30 weeks.
*Kip Moore will go to #1 at least twice during his next era, including with "Young Love" and he will eventually become one of the top artists in the format.
*Brantley Gilbert and Eric Church will have really strong sales with their new albums and both will get back to #1 albeit 30-week climbs.
*Dierks Bentley will get back into the top 10 with "I Hold On" but fall short of #1 and continue to have slow climbs to the top 10 with his new album.
*Jon Pardi will get his single "Up All Night" into the top 10 around late January but not go all the way to #1 and he will not get another top 10 single next year.
*Dustin Lynch and Jana Kramer will take some time off and both will come back with singles that climb slowly into the top 20. Dustin may get his first #1. 
*Joe Nichols and Parmalee will get to #1 with their next singles and both will maintain B-list status.

[blueguitar]

Dec 18, 2013 0:36:40 GMT -5 jhomes87 said:

Here's my bid at predicting the future...

Casey James' sophomore album will be pretty solid but radio's response to his new music will be lukewarm.

I hope you are wrong about this one! I agree that the album should be solid as long as he doesn't let Chris Lindsey over produce this one. I think he is pretty aware of the mistakes on the production on the first album. They need to make better single choices. The best song by far on his debut album "Drive" never saw the light of day. I know they pitched songs to radio stations in Denver and at least one PD picked Drive, then they went with "The Good Life" which tanked. I also think they gave up on "Crying on a Suitcase" too soon. There's a strong possibility the first single could be "A Woman's Touch" which is a ballad. Not sure how I feel about that. He's got great rockin' tunes with "Get on a Roll" and Get it Over With". Or "Nothing Like You" is a great summer time up tempo song. I just hope he can break through, but I don't really trust that Sony will do the right thing with him.

[.indulgecountry]

Dec 18, 2013 11:30:38 GMT -5 churchchoir said:

*Greg Bates will make a comeback similar to Frankie Ballard's and the song will either get him all the way into the top 10 and put his album out, or it will fizzle out before the top 10 and his deal with Republic Nashville will end shortly thereafter.

Too late.

[carriekins]

churchchoir, Greg Bates has already been released from Republic. :(


It's hard to do predictions that are truly realistic and not entirely a wishlist, ha. But, for the first time ever, I'll give it a go.

- Luke will continue to have great success - Drink a Beer will be a massive hit and ultimately a Song of the Year nominee. It's follow up, Roller Coaster, will also serve him very well. He'll take 4th quarter off in 2014 to work on his new album, which will come out in 2015 and *gasp* have a more mature sound that hearkens back to his first two albums. Luke will be the big winner at the 2014 award ceremonies.

- Blake will start to cool off a bit in 2014. His new album will be more critically acclaimed than his past few efforts, but sales will ultimately fall short of expectations. Musically, his songs will lean more traditional, with strong storytelling, ultimately starting to steer the genre back to the story song. (Yes, yes I did just say that Blake will be the one to steer us back. I don't know who I am, either.)

- FGL will have a white-hot start to 2014 before releasing their follow up album. Though they'll try a more mature sound with more serious lyrics and be more widely respected for trying, their rabid fanbase will be turned off and ultimately their album will post disappointing sales.

- Miranda's new album will be another critically acclaimed set, with a sound somewhere between Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Revolution. She'll rack up 3 #1 singles off the project, and garner Album of the Year nominations. She'll be pregnant by year end. ;)

- Dierks will hit the top 5 in late February with I Hold On, and Riser will be released in late February/March. It will open to numbers in line with Home, but be his most critically acclaimed album and end up being a grower, not unlike Eric Church's Chief. He'll see Male Vocalist and Album of the Year nominations, possibly Song of the Year. And he will FINALLY WIN SOMETHING. Ahem. Along with Blake, Dierks will be looked upon to usher more lyrical depth back into the genre.

- Eric Church's follow up to The Outsiders will fare better at radio, and return him to the Top 10. The album will open with over 100k in first-week sales, though will prove to be more polarizing. Still, he will be a force in 2014 and ultimately nab an Entertainer of the Year nod (as well as Album of the Year).

- Jake Owen will score back-to-back #1s with Ghost Town and Beachin' (ugh) but his tour numbers will fall short of expectations. Ultimately, Jake won't really grow in 2014 - he'll pretty much keep the status quo.

- Easton Corbin will release a new single in January. The single will take the better part of the first half of the year to peak, but will go to #1, and coincide with the death of bro-country and the returning popularity of a more traditional sound. (See Blake above.) His new album will be released in June, and open to numbers higher than All Over the Road.

- Greg Bates will be picked up by a new label, and like Easton, will capitalize on the returning popularity of a traditional sound. He'll see a fairly large second half of the year.

- Kellie Pickler will be asked to join the Opry (yes, I stole this but I really think it's plausible). Though she'll only get to the Top 20 with any singles from The Woman I Am, she will still nab a Female Vocalist nod.

- Carrie Underwood will have a fairly quiet year, as she spends much of the year working on her new album. Released in Q4, it will be a rootsier sound for Carrie, though still with pop flavorings. The lead single will be a multi-week #1.

- Taylor will pull a Shania and release a pop album and a country album (though not of the same songs) late in 2014. The country album will be extremely well-received and help put Taylor back in the good graces of many fans. She'll embark on an unprecedented tour: two nights in each location - a pop night and a country night.

- Eli Young Band will finally release their new album in February. Though ultimately not as great of an album as Life at Best, the follow up single to Drunk Last Night will go to #1. They'll continue to have Gold singles, but nothing will smash quite like Even if it Breaks Your Heart and Crazy Girl did.

- Brandy Clark will have a breakout year as Stripes gets a push to mainstream radio. (Please please please.)

- Kacey Musgraves will get back to the Top 20 with Follow Your Arrow, and then release Silver Lining, which will FINALLY connect with mainstream listeners and get her a Top 5 hit. Based on that momentum, the follow up album will be released late in the year, with more critical acclaim and strong opening numbers. Though it will be a more radio-friendly sound, the lyrics will still hold up to scrutiny and remain true to Kacey and her group of songwriters (Brandy Clark included).

My brain hurts.