Rascal Flatts - "Riot"

[Zazie]

Feb 19, 2015 21:37:13 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Big Machine is promoting this to the best of their ability. The problem was (and I pointed this out before this song even began its climb) that "Riot" was going to have a tough uphill battle, especially coming off the under performance of "Payback". Big Machine is only working two others at radio right now with Tim's latest and Waterloo Revival - so there's plenty of working the phones by their radio promotion department. The song itself, while I agree it's one of their better offerings the past few years, it still isn't exact conducive to a quick rise.

Right now "Riot" is up about 300k in audience since Sunday and it garnered 310k total in audience last week. I think a top 20 peak is the absolute best this song can do and I think their label is committed to getting it there. This slow chart run thus far is exactly what I expected and to be honest if it can keep going beyond the top 25, it exceeded my initial expectations.

Rascal Flatts will never be as big as what they were from 2003-2010 and no television appearance or Vegas stint will have a huge impact in "Riot's" momentum. A little spark perhaps but this song will have to do most of the work by itself.

I agree with you generally, with the additional thought that this song needs to triple its total audience to make the Billboard top 20. The song's currently in week 13 and its MB gains this week are fair -- nothing noteworthy -- so I'm having a hard time visualizing the song adding another 10 million impressions to its weekly performance. There is nothing about the pace Riot is on that suggests top 20 is its destination (though anything can happen).

[sabre14]

Feb 20, 2015 19:49:34 GMT -5 Zazie said:

Feb 19, 2015 21:37:13 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Big Machine is promoting this to the best of their ability. The problem was (and I pointed this out before this song even began its climb) that "Riot" was going to have a tough uphill battle, especially coming off the under performance of "Payback". Big Machine is only working two others at radio right now with Tim's latest and Waterloo Revival - so there's plenty of working the phones by their radio promotion department. The song itself, while I agree it's one of their better offerings the past few years, it still isn't exact conducive to a quick rise.

Right now "Riot" is up about 300k in audience since Sunday and it garnered 310k total in audience last week. I think a top 20 peak is the absolute best this song can do and I think their label is committed to getting it there. This slow chart run thus far is exactly what I expected and to be honest if it can keep going beyond the top 25, it exceeded my initial expectations.

Rascal Flatts will never be as big as what they were from 2003-2010 and no television appearance or Vegas stint will have a huge impact in "Riot's" momentum. A little spark perhaps but this song will have to do most of the work by itself.

I agree with you generally, with the additional thought that this song needs to triple its total audience to make the Billboard top 20. The song's currently in week 13 and its MB gains this week are fair -- nothing noteworthy -- so I'm having a hard time visualizing the song adding another 10 million impressions to its weekly performance. There is nothing about the pace Riot is on that suggests top 20 is its destination (though anything can happen).

Yeah, like I mentioned, Top 20 is the absolute max this song can achieve IMO, and I'm sure Big Machine knows the battle they are in for in order to get it there. I can still certainly see "Riot" missing that mark though since its audience gains have not been anything to write home about. - only up another 53k in audience today and 447k total for the week. Another thing is that its not really selling well either (#444 on the all-genre chart).

Anything can happen is right and right now I'm not overly confident in any peak prediction. If it stalls at #29, I wouldn't be shocked, but if it held on to peak at #16 I wouldn't be shocked either.

[Daryl the Beryl]

Took long enough, but this is finally top 30 on Billboard.

[hank0629]

"Riot" music video, premiering NOW on NashTV:

www.nashtv.com/

[Zazie]

No need to rush the video out. Give it another 20 weeks, see if you still feel like sending it out, no pressure.

At this point the song's at #31 on BB, as its one-week visit to the top 30 was apparently too much for it. On the other hand, instead of having to triple its audience, now it only has to double its audience to reach the neighborhood of the top 20. Slightly short of #20 bur very close.

But it's entering chart week 21 (BB) so it can't afford any slumps. I'd be surprised if it lasted more than another 5-6 weeks, but I guess it could pick up steam and make a top 15 run. Why not?

[sabre14]

While it does have to double it's total audience to achieve a Billboard top 20, "Riot" needs about 7-8 million more to get top 20 on MB (it sits with 13.4 million in audience). The chart is loaded with songs that have stayed on far too long ("Lonely Eyes", "A Guy Walks Into A Bar", "Hard To Be Cool") and even ones that might as well die just to free up space like "Lay Low" which is absolutely painful to say cause I adore the song.

I think this one will only last another 6-7 weeks or so and reach close to the top 20, similar to "Payback's" peak. This song has absolutely zero buzz surrounding it, and it's sales have been mediocre. The music video won't be enough to save this and right now I expect Big Machine to try for a top 20 peak and let this one go. It's also likely to be the final single from Rewind, no matter what it's peak is from here on in.

[.indulgecountry]

Good video. Glad they put one out for this song -- I wasn't sure if they would or not. Hopefully "Riot" can hang in there and find a way to reach the Top 20. I really, really love this one, so I wanna see it happen.

[trebor]

Official Video to "Riot"

[Deleted]

I don't care for the video at all, but I'm glad to hear they will be giving this song some well-deserved attention at the ACM's.

The performance with Christina should build buzz, and I'm really interested to see how they plan on changing up the song.

Cross-genre collaborations always seem to get more traction than other performances, so this is a smart way to give "Riot" some momentum.

[Deleted]

Congrats yesterday for Riot sneaking in a Top 20 on MB. Now let this song die.

[someguy]

I was surprised to see this jump 26-22* this week and pass a few songs. While I think it's probably more of a lazy gasp than anything else, this week should secure it at least a couple more on the chart.

[sabre14]

I believe "Riot" is coming to the end of the road here. Its broke even in audience the past three days on MB and has lost 14 spins the past two days. This week is its 30 week mark on the singles charts and has now reached #20 on both MB and Billboard. I expect Big Machine to let this go shortly now as its numbers have leveled off at the start of this week and to me there's no shot "Riot" will be able to double its audience to make the top 10, simply because the time and effort it would take to get there. It should also mark the end of the Rewind era as well.

This song has grown on me immensely over its chart and I find it to be one of Rascal Flatts best singles over the past decade (though "I Have Never Been To Memphis" is my favorite song on the album). "Payback" was horrid though and really had no business being released, especially when there were other upbeats available for single options. I think radio found the vocal arrangement grating and its stall wasn't surprising. Rascal Flatts intrigues me since I agree their radio hay day is all but over and their sales and airplay struggles leave me with doubt about where they go after "Riot" is over. I definitely think they will be able to score some more hits but not on a consistent basis anymore.

[.indulgecountry]

Shame that this is about done, but I'm thrilled that this was able to slip into the Top 20 at least. That's really all I was hoping for at this point and I'm fairly content with how "Riot" has done.

[Deleted]

I'm absolutely stunned that "Riot" made it to the top 20, but it's a solid song, and I'm happy about the chart run.

I think "Payback" really damaged this era for them in terms of momentum, so I'm interested to see what they'll do next.

I don't see them being a radio force anymore, but it seems they still have a lot of success with touring, which would more than make up for dismal album sales/chart runs.

Going back to the album, though, I can't see Big Machine releasing another single from "Rewind," considering that both singles released after the title track really struggled, and did next to nothing for their momentum.

I don't love the album, and I actually wish they'd get back to more tunes like the title track, and not "Payback."

That said, I'm so incredibly disappointed the gem that is "I Have Never Been To Memphis" won't see a release now. IMO, one of the best songs they've ever recorded.

[rsmatto]

At this point a Top 20 from Rascal Flatts is all they need to keep relevant enough to tour for another year. At this point in their career, that's all they need. That being said, their days of Top 10s and Top 5s (or better) aren't over if they get the right material and avoid songs like "Payback" and rock producers. Just let Jay produce or go with Jay Joyce or Shane McAnally or Ross Copperman as the next producer/co-producer.

[rbundy1987]

No more "Riot" on Billboard, it's gone and sent recurrent!!!

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Jay Joyce producing RF would be… interesting.

[hosssulpizio]

I'm just glad "Riot" reached the top 20. Hope someone like Frank Rodgers produces the next album.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Giving Huff the boot was probably the best thing they've done in their career. I think all three singles off this album have managed to play up RF's strengths while adding a few different tweaks here and there. I thought "Payback" was one of their better songs, but apparently most thought it was too far removed from their strengths.

This song I thought sounded more like the ballads off their Mark Bright-era albums: no string section, no screaming guitars, no screaming Gary. However, I found the lyrics a bit lacking, so that and being slotted after their lowest-peaking single to date may have doomed this one. Still, #20 is better than I thought this would do.

[.indulgecountry]

Kind of glad this is gone. I loved it so, so much and would've been thrilled to see it find a way to keep going higher, but I am thankful that it snuck into the Top 20 and has now freed up some chart space for other songs. I would rather this go now than hang around like "She Don't Love You" (i.e.) did going basically nowhere for weeks and weeks.