Marv
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Post by Marv on Dec 9, 2014 15:31:53 GMT -5
23 weeks to reach #1 is a very commendable and noteworthy accomplishment all things considered, and that makes it certainly among the very biggest debut singles of the past 10-15 years.
Definitely among the very best singles of the year in a sea of stale and unimaginative bro-country mediocrity.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 16:51:58 GMT -5
This is the part of the chart trajectory that always annoys me - and always exposes the country radio genre. The part where it just immediately loses spins after hitting #1 with a big bullet the week before. You're telling me that everyone was NUTS about this song last week and suddenly hates it this week? Wish the format would handle #1s with a bit more credibility. You don't really see this happen on the other formats - certainly not as often. It's not at all uncommon for a song to lose 100+ spins a day during its first drop week. It's not that everyone suddenly hates this song or even that it has burned fast. This is just the way the country charts work. Every week, there is a general consensus among country radio and labels as to whose "turn" it is for #1, and all the stations know to give the song maximum rotation that week. The next week, everyone understands that the song is done and therefore it gets taken out of heavy rotation on most stations. I agree with you and nickv1025 that this is pretty unnatural and doesn't happen in other formats, but unfortunately country radio is structured kind of like a big family, where PDs want as many acts as possible to get a turn at #1 and they hate having to leave someone out in the cold. If the charts were as natural as the top 40 charts, I think there would be a few multi-week #1 songs and a lot of top 5 peaks, but a top 5 peak would be seen as a big accomplishment, not an under-performance. However, with the now pretty low iTunes sales for this single I can't say I'm sure that under "natural" circumstances this song would been one of the ones to go to #1 at all.
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kanimal
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Post by kanimal on Dec 9, 2014 17:21:44 GMT -5
This is the part of the chart trajectory that always annoys me - and always exposes the country radio genre. The part where it just immediately loses spins after hitting #1 with a big bullet the week before. You're telling me that everyone was NUTS about this song last week and suddenly hates it this week? Wish the format would handle #1s with a bit more credibility. You don't really see this happen on the other formats - certainly not as often. It's not at all uncommon for a song to lose 100+ spins a day during its first drop week. It's not that everyone suddenly hates this song or even that it has burned fast. This is just the way the country charts work. Every week, there is a general consensus among country radio and labels as to whose "turn" it is for #1, and all the stations know to give the song maximum rotation that week. The next week, everyone understands that the song is done and therefore it gets taken out of heavy rotation on most stations. I agree with you and nickv1025 that this is pretty unnatural and doesn't happen in other formats, but unfortunately country radio is structured kind of like a big family, where PDs want as many acts as possible to get a turn at #1 and they hate having to leave someone out in the cold. If the charts were as natural as the top 40 charts, I think there would be a few multi-week #1 songs and a lot of top 5 peaks, but a top 5 peak would be seen as a big accomplishment, not an under-performance. However, with the now pretty low iTunes sales for this single I can't say I'm sure that under "natural" circumstances this song would been one of the ones to go to #1 at all. Wasn't disagreeing with the fact that it's common practice; I was saying that I a) don't like it and b) think it makes the lobbying/manipulation element so obvious. It's not like shenanigans don't occur at all radio formats, but they're masked better elsewhere. I also think you hit on something great regarding how the frequency of rotation at the top of the chart dilutes the achievement.
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brian69
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Post by brian69 on Dec 9, 2014 22:20:43 GMT -5
It's not at all uncommon for a song to lose 100+ spins a day during its first drop week. It's not that everyone suddenly hates this song or even that it has burned fast. This is just the way the country charts work. Every week, there is a general consensus among country radio and labels as to whose "turn" it is for #1, and all the stations know to give the song maximum rotation that week. The next week, everyone understands that the song is done and therefore it gets taken out of heavy rotation on most stations. I agree with you and nickv1025 that this is pretty unnatural and doesn't happen in other formats, but unfortunately country radio is structured kind of like a big family, where PDs want as many acts as possible to get a turn at #1 and they hate having to leave someone out in the cold. If the charts were as natural as the top 40 charts, I think there would be a few multi-week #1 songs and a lot of top 5 peaks, but a top 5 peak would be seen as a big accomplishment, not an under-performance. However, with the now pretty low iTunes sales for this single I can't say I'm sure that under "natural" circumstances this song would been one of the ones to go to #1 at all. Wasn't disagreeing with the fact that it's common practice; I was saying that I a) don't like it and b) think it makes the lobbying/manipulation element so obvious. It's not like shenanigans don't occur at all radio formats, but they're masked better elsewhere. I also think you hit on something great regarding how the frequency of rotation at the top of the chart dilutes the achievement. Here's a list of the sales of the current T10 according to the latest update at roughstock.com: 2 1 MADDIE & TAE Girl In A Country So... - 423K 3 2 TIM MCGRAW Shotgun Rider - 293K 4 3 BRAD PAISLEY Perfect Storm - 215K 1 4 KEITH URBAN Somewhere In My Car - 340K 6 5 PARMALEE Close Your Eyes - 218K 8 6 KENNY CHESNEY Til It's Gone - no sales #'s yet 9 7 CARRIE UNDERWOOD Something In The Wat... - 501K 7 8 BIG & RICH Look At You - 286K 10 9 ERIC CHURCH Talladega - 206K 11 10 SCOTTY MCCREERY Feelin' It - 241K
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Ten Pound Hammer
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Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Dec 12, 2014 3:10:31 GMT -5
So why is this not even close to Top 40 on the Hot 100? I thought it was downloading decently and getting a whole lot of buzz. Usually #1 hits on Country Airplay are at least close to Top 40 on the hot 100 more often than not.
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.indulgecountry
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"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on Dec 12, 2014 3:36:33 GMT -5
So why is this not even close to Top 40 on the Hot 100? I thought it was downloading decently and getting a whole lot of buzz. Usually #1 hits on Country Airplay are at least close to Top 40 on the hot 100 more often than not. Because it's sales were front-loaded and have since tapered off. It's been slowly decreasing in sales for awhile now and for the past few weeks, it's been hovering around the 120s on iTunes.
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brian69
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Post by brian69 on Dec 12, 2014 9:47:33 GMT -5
They were #11 last week on Roughstock's sales list, with a song from The Voice in the T10. It's deceiving, because they have two copies of the song on itunes - one from the EP and the originally released single. Looks like they're edging up some this week, which is to be expected with the buzz. Back when they were barely charting, they were consistently in the T10-20. Sales of this song are about the same as Neon Light, which was also a #1. Not bad for a pair of 19 yr olds that nobody had ever heard of until a few months ago.
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Dec 12, 2014 21:57:08 GMT -5
With respect to the "natural" airplay peak of this one, I always look at the smaller market Billboard Country Indicator and Country Aircheck Activator stations chart, which aren't subject to the kind of choreography the main charts are and thus don't feature the same revolving door that the main charts do, as signs of where a single would peak on an unmanipulated chart. I don't know if that's why female-led singles have been faring better on those charts over the past several years (Carrie's "Two Black Cadillacs" and "See You Again" were both two-week #1s on Indicator, though "Two Black Cadillacs" was only a single-week #1 on Activator and "See You Again" missed #1 on Activator, while Miranda's "Automatic" was a five week #1 on Indicator and Activator), but "Girl in a Country Song" was a two-week #1 on both the Indicator and Activator charts too. Moreover, it seems to me that "Girl in a Country Song" has seen a smooth enough run up the charts that the #1 peak feels like a natural one. I also think that "Girl in a Country Song"'s drop this week is being accelerated by the fact that its successor is from a fellow Big Machine Label Group artist. I think what we're seeing is country radio transferring spins from this song to "Shotgun Rider" at BMLG's behest, to ensure that "Shotgun Rider" has a big enough lead to ensure a multi-week #1 through the holiday chart slowdown. The Country Countdown USA co-hosting schedule suggests that Sony Nashville (which has the three next #1 contenders lined up) will cooperate: Tim is co-hosting the countdown this weekend and again (partially) two weeks from now, then Brad Paisley will co-host 2015's first countdown show (3-4 January), followed by Kenny Chesney (10-11 January).
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mus1cr0w
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Post by mus1cr0w on Dec 12, 2014 22:17:15 GMT -5
With respect to the "natural" airplay peak of this one, I always look at the smaller market Billboard Country Indicator and Country Aircheck Activator stations chart, which aren't subject to the kind of choreography the main charts are and thus don't feature the same revolving door that the main charts do, as signs of where a single would peak on an unmanipulated chart. I don't know if that's why female-led singles have been faring better on those charts over the past several years (Carrie's "Two Black Cadillacs" and "See You Again" were both two-week #1s on Indicator, though "Two Black Cadillacs" was only a single-week #1 on Activator and "See You Again" missed #1 on Activator, while Miranda's "Automatic" was a five week #1 on Indicator and Activator), but "Girl in a Country Song" was a two-week #1 on both the Indicator and Activator charts too. Moreover, it seems to me that "Girl in a Country Song" has seen a smooth enough run up the charts that the #1 peak feels like a natural one. I also think that "Girl in a Country Song"'s drop this week is being accelerated by the fact that its successor is from a fellow Big Machine Label Group artist. I think what we're seeing is country radio transferring spins from this song to "Shotgun Rider" at BMLG's behest, to ensure that "Shotgun Rider" has a big enough lead to ensure a multi-week #1 through the holiday chart slowdown. The Country Countdown USA co-hosting schedule suggests that Sony Nashville (which has the three next #1 contenders lined up) will cooperate: Tim is co-hosting the countdown this weekend and again (partially) two weeks from now, then Brad Paisley will co-host 2015's first countdown show (3-4 January), followed by Kenny Chesney (10-11 January). Slow clap. Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner! Nice post MR
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2014 22:25:35 GMT -5
I agree with 43donkeyvillas' comments about the Indicator and Activator charts showing true radio enthusiasm for this song. I'm not quite sure how much power Big Machine has to transfer spins from a song that's already falling to another song still being promoted, but I do agree that a two-week #1 on the smaller market charts shows that, even if sales trends resemble that of a novelty song (a lot of buzz and high sales at first that taper off by the time the song has climbed into the top 5), radio has a lot of genuine enthusiasm for this duo and this single and there likely wasn't much "behind-the-scenes" manipulation involved in working "Girl in a Country Song" to #1.
I do feel that "Fly" is a wise choice for a second single. It may not be particularly radio-friendly and could end up missing the top 10, but this will still show that Maddie & Tae aren't just a "one-trick pony" and can do different styles of music. These girls' selection for CRS New Faces 2015 makes me confident radio people feel they are one of the next big things. I'll still be interested to see how album sales turn out, though, since "Fly" doesn't particularly strike me as a song that will gather as much commercial attention as "Girl in a Country Song."
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brian69
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Post by brian69 on Dec 13, 2014 11:05:27 GMT -5
A pretty significant jump on itunes this morning... #70 overall, #13 country. Obviously because of the buzz from topping the charts, but I expect this will be a decent seller for quite some time.
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Arabella21
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Post by Arabella21 on Dec 13, 2014 18:17:03 GMT -5
A pretty significant jump on itunes this morning... #70 overall, #13 country. Obviously because of the buzz from topping the charts, but I expect this will be a decent seller for quite some time. I saw a segment about it on Weekend Today this morning.
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Dec 25, 2014 0:15:55 GMT -5
Another point regarding that 23-week journey to #1 is that that methodical march up the charts should be more than sufficient for this wonderful song to wind up on the various year-end countdowns out there, certainly including Bob Kingsley's, who utilizes his own unique methodology which almost always results in a dramatically different countdown as opposed to either Billboard or Mediabase.
I believe that Bob's top 50 year-end countdown airs this weekend, starting with the first airing that I know of; the countdown begins this Friday @ 6 PM (EST) on CHFX/101.9 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and accessible on Tunein.
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