Thompson Square - "Testing The Water"

[rbundy1987]

Thompson Square
"Testing The Water"
Album: Just Feels Good
Writers: Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Hillary Lindsey
Adds: 4/21/14 *Available PME 3/31/14 at 2 PM
Audio:

Source: Country Aircheck Issue- 3/25/14

[matty005]

Interesting choice. I felt like there were so many stronger single choices. I'll have to check this one out because I don't really remember it standing out. This album was very solid too.

[drummerman2009]

Are they giving up on "Everything I Shouldn't Be Thinking About"? I guess that since that they can't get past Dierks, Blake, Randy and now Jerrod they probably going to let it peak at #4.

I thought at the beginning that Shawna was going to do a Florida Georgia Line with that rap verse at the start of the song. Anyways it'll be another slow climber but probably not making Top 10 this time.

[sbp17]

With some of the imagery and the semi-rap, I started to get some bro-country vibe. Sonically, it feels quite different and Shawna's vocals, of course, help it not quite feel like even the female vocalists are jumping on the bandwagon. Still, I don't think it's anywhere near their strongest offering and I think some of the production takes away from Shawna's awesome Pam Tillis-esque tone but it's not bad.

[Markus Meyer]

Not bad, not my fave. I personally would have chosen either "Here's To Being Here" or "Here We Go Again".

[rbundy1987]

Mar 25, 2014 20:01:28 GMT -5 drummerman2009 said:

Are they giving up on "Everything I Shouldn't Be Thinking About"? I guess that since that they can't get past Dierks, Blake and Randy they probably going to let it peak at #4.

I thought at the beginning that Shawna was going to do a Florida Georgia Line with that rap verse at the start of the song. Anyways it'll be another slow climber but probably not making Top 10 this time.

Judging from today's update, YES, "Everything I Shouldn't Be Thinking About" is done and peaked at #4, it dropped over 100 spins and lost over a half million in audience and Jerrod passed them today.

[sabre14]

I'm thrilled that "Everything I Shouldn't Be Thinking About" weathered the storm while it was in the 30's and 40's and became a solid top 5 hit for them. 

That being said, this is a bit of a risky choice. But at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised to see this go big for them. To me it comes down to those talking verses by Shawna. The instrumentation and production I actually like and the vocals are as always solid, but I do have a hard time myself getting into those verses. Interesting to see it was penned by some veteran writers like Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsay, while the red hot Shane McAnally gets another single credit. Should be compelling to see how this one fares for them.

[jdbowman]

I want them to release "That's So Me And You" really, really badly.

[churchchoir]

This seems like radio candy to me, the way it kind of has that hip hop undertone. I think this will be a #1 hit. I'm just surprised Thompson Square would record something like this. It doesn't feel as authentic as some of their previous singles. Still enjoyable and catchy, though.

[.indulgecountry]

Love this one and am glad it's been chosen as a single. They're definitely making me very happy with all their single choices thus far in their career (they got it right last era, and so far they've done a good job with this one, too). "Testing the Water" does seem like a bit risky (compared to a number of "safe" singles they have on the album), but on the other hand, I really feel like it stands out in a good way and that'll help it do well and not just be another middling hit. I love the way the verses are done and nothing about this song strikes me as rappish or bro-country; if anything, it reminds me more of the reggae bridge on "Stuck Like Glue" or something to that affect.

[rjz]

Like Sabre, really glad radio stuck with their past single-I loved it.

This one is very interesting and I'll have to hear it on radio before getting a full feeling, but I think it could be big for them. It sounds different but still has the nice groove Thompson Sq. always brings to its melodies. It won't sound like anything else on radio and will stand out, for better or worse-hopefully better, IMO.

Its a fun summer song without Bro undertones, IMO-it doesn't sound rappish to me, more 'groovy' if that makes sense. And most artists do have to venture out of their comfort zone and typical sound at times.

If anything, I wish the tempo was a little faster to match the fun tone of the song. Although I thought the same thing about Pontoon, and that was a smash.

[Kentucky25]

I always got a swampy-funk sound to this song (could be aided by the lyrics). Really like it. I don't really think it is bro though. This song should get pretty big around summer time.

Love the lyric in the chorus "If we're gonna fall, let's cannonball, Make a few waves and swim out a little bit, Farther in the holler, You and me baby, testing the water"

Something bout the way Shawna says that "fall/cannonball" line I love.

[countryqueen]

I like the chorus but cannot stand that talking thing...I also agree that it's borderline rap and seems like Thompson Square is trying to jump on the "bro" bandwagon, which should be interesting since Shawna is the one singing those lines.

[jonathanalan]

Re-listened to this one today because it definitely wasn't a standout track for me on the album. I definitely agree that I enjoy the chorus but the talking is so awkward and slightly embarrassing - lyric wise.

[14887fan]

I think this'll surprise everyone and do extremely well. It's springtime and, if it pans out like anything like their other singles, it'll pick up its stride plenty more in the summer, which'll be the most ideal time for a song like this.

It's catchy. The lyrics aren't great and I'm not big on spoken verses, but the rhythm to this song makes up for it a bit for me. I'm not necessarily a big fan of this song, but I'm certainly not against it being released to radio.

[rsmatto]

Official Single Art.

[zjames]

I'm expecting this to do huge things and be a major game-changer for Thompson Square. Unlike others, I don't mind the talking parts by Shawna. I feel like they make sense with the groove of the song.

[Deleted]

Apr 13, 2014 13:50:24 GMT -5 zjames said:

I'm expecting this to do huge things and be a major game-changer for Thompson Square. Unlike others, I don't mind the talking parts by Shawna. I feel like they make sense with the groove of the song.

I'm not as convinced. I guess I could see this going either way...being a really big (top 3) hit and selling quite well, or just kinda flying under the radar and limping to a top 20 peak. I can't really see it falling anywhere between.

[matty005]

Apr 13, 2014 19:27:59 GMT -5 jhomes87 said:

Apr 13, 2014 13:50:24 GMT -5 zjames said:

I'm expecting this to do huge things and be a major game-changer for Thompson Square. Unlike others, I don't mind the talking parts by Shawna. I feel like they make sense with the groove of the song.

I'm not as convinced. I guess I could see this going either way...being a really big (top 3) hit and selling quite well, or just kinda flying under the radar and limping to a top 20 peak. I can't really see it falling anywhere between.

I hate to say this because I love their album, but I can also see this flopping pretty hard.

[kml567]

This will be a big test for whether "bra country" actually works on country radio or not. Maybe this is the blue-print for females getting radio airplay? This could be a popular song with the all-important male 18-34 demo. Perhaps Shawna Thompson is the one to crack the barrier with this "bra country" song?

Shawna & Keifer did tour with Luke and FGL for an entire year, so they may know first-hand which of their songs are well-received by bro-country fans.

[rjz]

Apr 13, 2014 22:54:02 GMT -5 kml567 said:

This will be a big test for whether "bra country" actually works on country radio or not. Maybe this is the blue-print for females getting radio airplay? This could be a popular song with the all-important male 18-34 demo. Perhaps Shawna Thompson is the one to crack the barrier with this "bra country" song?

Shawna & Keifer did tour with Luke and FGL for an entire year, so they may know first-hand which of their songs are well-received by bro-country fans.

Do you mean it's "Testing The Water"

[kw9461]

Yikes, this is a train wreck. I don't what effect their going for with the distorted sound of the verses, but it doesn't work at all. I loved their last song, and have liked most of their others, but this one is clunker in my book. The chorus is semi-catcthy, so maybe it will catch on, but I think a 10-20 peak is much more likely for this one.

[bluedog6]

First listen, one time through, and I like it. Don't mind the spoken part at all. Wish the production was a little less, well, just a little less, but I almost always feel that way. I've been nothing but impressed by this duo ever since I saw them live in 2012. Somebody (Please somebody!) has to win the duo category on the award shows other than FGL. I would love for it to be T2.

[.indulgecountry]

Apr 14, 2014 20:07:53 GMT -5 bluedog6 said:

First listen, one time through, and I like it. Don't mind the spoken part at all. Wish the production was a little less, well, just a little less, but I almost always feel that way. I've been nothing but impressed by this duo ever since I saw them live in 2012. Somebody (Please somebody!) has to win the duo category on the award shows other than FGL. I would love for it to be T2.

Well they did win the Top Vocal Duo award at the ACMs the past two years, and Top Vocal Duo at the 2012 CMAs, before FGL blew up big. At this rate though, it looks like FGL is going to dominate that category for at least the next few years like Sugarland and Brooks & Dunn did in their primes. There's really little competition in that field, and T2 is going to need to become huge to turn the tides back in their favor.

[Kanenrá:ke]

Apr 14, 2014 21:04:21 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Apr 14, 2014 20:07:53 GMT -5 bluedog6 said:

First listen, one time through, and I like it. Don't mind the spoken part at all. Wish the production was a little less, well, just a little less, but I almost always feel that way. I've been nothing but impressed by this duo ever since I saw them live in 2012. Somebody (Please somebody!) has to win the duo category on the award shows other than FGL. I would love for it to be T2.

Well they did win the Top Vocal Duo award at the ACMs the past two years, and Top Vocal Duo at the 2012 CMAs, before FGL blew up big. At this rate though, it looks like FGL is going to dominate that category for at least the next few years like Sugarland and Brooks & Dunn did in their primes. There's really little competition in that field, and T2 is going to need to become huge to turn the tides back in their favor.

Or Florida Georgia Line need to pull a Gretchen Wilson and flop with their second album. Either senario would work well for me personally. :)

[.indulgecountry]

Apr 14, 2014 21:13:15 GMT -5 Kanenrá:ke said:

Apr 14, 2014 21:04:21 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Well they did win the Top Vocal Duo award at the ACMs the past two years, and Top Vocal Duo at the 2012 CMAs, before FGL blew up big. At this rate though, it looks like FGL is going to dominate that category for at least the next few years like Sugarland and Brooks & Dunn did in their primes. There's really little competition in that field, and T2 is going to need to become huge to turn the tides back in their favor.

Or Florida Georgia Line need to pull a Gretchen Wilson and flop with their second album. Either senario would work well for me personally. :)

That would certainly suffice, too. Sadly, I can't see them taking such a tumble anytime in the near future. I'm sure they'll taper off eventually, but I'd be surprised if their sophomore album didn't do just as well as their first at this point.

As an aside, I'm still miffed that Gretchen Wilson's career played out like it did. I really think poor single choices were to blame (I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today and Politically Uncorrect were so wrong for radio) and then her third album didn't have a hit single (it was a great record, but it was devoid of radio potential), because I think she had huge potential as far as her marketability (she appealed to both the male and female audiences pretty evenly, i.e.). Such a shame.

[Deleted]

Chart run so far of 60-56-55.

Only 3 weeks, but still, this one is already at a standstill, gaining just 22k in audience this week along with only 18 spins. I know their last 2 singles were pretty big at radio, but other than that there's just no buzz about this duo. Very low album and single sales, and the early signs for TTW are not good. Stoney Creek can insist all they want in their promo ads that "the water is warm", but things don't look so good for this. Either it's in for another painstakingly slow climb up the charts, or it's likely to fizzle out like Darius Rucker's latest did.

Two top 5 hits is nothing to sneeze at, though. They've certainly done pretty well for an act that isn't one of the most regular visitors to the top 10. But I fear that a 3rd top 10 might not be in the cards.

[Deleted]

This lost its bullet and fell out of the top 60 tonight...

It's not looking like this will do anything, not even top 40. I'm sure it could re-enter in the near future if enough songs drop off the chart, but it just doesn't look like it's going to be able to go anywhere. It only got 1 add on Mediabase this week as well.

[Deleted]

It looks to me like Stoney Creek may have pulled this (although we can't know for sure). Every week Stoney Creek advertises all of its current singles in the daily Aircheck emails, so for the last few weeks now it's been a 3-columned ad with Parmalee's "Close Your Eyes", Thompson Square's "Testing The Water", and Randy Houser's "Like A Cowboy". Yesterday "Testing The Water" was still included in the ad but today it just shows Parmalee on the left half and Randy Houser on the right half.

I really do think that could be an indicator that this has been pulled, but I guess we'll have to wait a bit and see.