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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 9:31:06 GMT -5
As someone who prefers strong vocalists and interpreters and who is a proponent of diversity in country music, that list is dire. On the other hand, if Thomas Rhett is destined to become a country A-lister (and I would agree that he is), I'm glad that it will be via a song whose lyrics and melody I can tolerate (this will be the first of his top-10 hits for which that will the case for me). You can really hear Rhett struggling to hit the low notes and sustain the melody on the verses, so his live performances of this will be...interesting. After reading via Billboard Midweek Country Update that Gary Allan would have liked to have cut this, it really is difficult for me not to think about how much more a stronger vocalist would have done with this. Basically, I would like to hand "Hangover Tonight" to James Otto and give Gary Allan this. I think he would have found a way to ground this more in country, too. Thanks :) KUFan for the information about the song's intro -- I thought that it sounded familiar, but hadn't placed it. As far as diversity goes, I don't think it gets any better than Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr right now. Both are releasing songs that are much more diverse than anything I hear from Cole Swindell. Voices are subjective. I like both Rhett and Farr vocally but can certainly see why some would not. This won't go over well here but I find Thomas Rhett to be equally as diverse as Eric Church and I think he's one of the best all around talents in the Genre right now. I absolutely agree with this. I actually like this song and to me it seems more acceptable to the genre than what Sam Hunt is doing, but they are close. I just wish that if artists wanted to release non-country songs they would have the stones to do it to the correct genre, instead of using country as an "easy" out for getting their songs to be successful. Anyway, I was listening to Canaan Smith's tune yesterday (which I do like a decent amount) thinking about how it sounds exactly like Thomas Rhett's songs from his first CD and some of Cole Swindell's songs and also a little bit like Chase Rice. And then it hit me: the fan base that these type of artists are bringing in typically want to hear the same type of music. No artist is going to make the same song over and over, so I think "these" fans are just going to go from artist to artist, listening to whoever is making the song that sounds exactly like this. I can't imagine what their iTunes libraries sound like going from "Ready Set Roll" to "Get Me Some of That" to "Hope You Get Lonely Tonight" to "Love You Like That" but to each their own. At least this is UNIQUE.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Apr 9, 2015 9:35:30 GMT -5
Crash And Burn NOT crashing and burning:
THOMAS RHETT Crash And Burn 47 466 BLAKE SHELTON Sangria 21 320 LUKE BRYAN Games 7 74 GEORGE STRAIT Let It Go 4 51 JASON ALDEAN Tonight Looks Good On You 2 32
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Kentucky25
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Post by Kentucky25 on Apr 9, 2015 10:26:42 GMT -5
As far as diversity goes, I don't think it gets any better than Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr right now. Both are releasing songs that are much more diverse than anything I hear from Cole Swindell. Voices are subjective. I like both Rhett and Farr vocally but can certainly see why some would not. This won't go over well here but I find Thomas Rhett to be equally as diverse as Eric Church and I think he's one of the best all around talents in the Genre right now. Rhett is just as diverse in his music (with a smaller selection of songs mind you) just that he has gone more of the Pop/R&B route while Church has gone more Rock and Roll in his steps outside of Country. I'd argue this is a whole lot better than "The Outsiders" (single-wise) if we're discussing non-country country songs. It's lyrically superior IMO, I found Outsiders to just be gibberish...of course I know others will disagree but that's their opinion and they're just as entitled to it as I am mine
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kanimal
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Post by kanimal on Apr 9, 2015 10:52:51 GMT -5
Wow, "Crash And Burn" is exploding out of the gate. It was sent to radio on Tuesday (although I think iHeartRadio may have gotten it on Monday - they did advertise it as an IHR world premiere), and in only 1-2 days (this doesn't yet include Wednesday airplay), it's gotten over 430 spins and 3.6 million (!!!) in MB audience, on almost 50 stations already. :O Adds date is still almost 3 weeks out, too. This song's acting almost like Clear Channel has selected it to be the next OTV selection (I don't think it will be - I'm just using OTV to show how fast of a start this one is off to). This is looking like an easy top 40 debut on Billboard, and it could even challenge for top 30 if all of these Clear Channel stations keep giving it a lot of airplay like they did the first couple days of this week. Here's a list of the stations that are playing it. I looked through the list and unless I missed one, every single one of these stations is owned by iHeartMedia (Clear Channel) with the exception of the very last one on the list, KFRG Riverside, which is a CBS station. www.allaccess.com/mediabase/q/report/starters/song/RHETCAB/format/C1"iHeartRadio World Premiere" typically signals an hourly first day airplay deal (Blake Shelton's "Neon Light" is a recent example), so I was actually a bit surprised this didn't appear in the Top 50 on Wednesday's rolling chart. As others have said, it's clear there was a deal -- but there must have been a lesser deal for this song. Not that there's any reason to worry. This song has hit all over it.
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rsmatto
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Post by rsmatto on Apr 9, 2015 11:13:46 GMT -5
This will likely cross over to pop/ac radio too.
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Apr 9, 2015 12:22:19 GMT -5
As far as diversity goes, I don't think it gets any better than Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr right now. Both are releasing songs that are much more diverse than anything I hear from Cole Swindell. ...This won't go over well here but I find Thomas Rhett to be equally as diverse as Eric Church and I think he's one of the best all around talents in the Genre right now. For me, diversity is about themes, lyrical approach, and sound represented in the overall market as well as within the artist's own repertoire. Tyler Farr's current single is certainly a bit of a shift in lyrical voice in the context of his own work, but does it add something to the market that Jason Aldean didn't already have covered? In my view, no, in the same way that I don't hear Cole Swindell adding much to the market that Luke Bryan doesn't already have covered (and with better vocals). And I'm inclined to wait until his full sophomore album is released before declaring his catalog to be "diverse." I can agree that Thomas Rhett's work at least shows the potential to be diverse, though I'm inclined to agree with countrymusic20 that this comes as much from him not quite having figured out who he is as an artist as anything else. I suppose it's true that no one else in the country market is trying to be the "country Bruno Mars," but I would be more inclined to give Rhett credit for his vision if I felt like he had the ability to inhabit this role credibly. Eric Church is a good example of someone who has been able to impose his own stamp on the work he does, regardless of the sound (though I actually don't think he sounds as strong on his harder rockers as he appears to think he does). And as much as Sam Hunt's own music isn't country, it seems clear to me that he is creating and releasing music that best suits his abilities and interests and would not suit anyone else in the country market. Sam Hunt seems aware of his limitations, which is an underrated asset. Thomas Rhett, on the other hand, lacks that individual stamp. He is merely a vehicle for "Crash & Burn" -- anyone could be singing that song (actually, I can think of many who would bring some actual soul and a more distinctive character with their vocals), and I hear nothing in his performance that marks the song as essentially and indelibly his. He deserves credit for recognizing and cutting a hit song here, but the stars of the song are really the melody and the production. So when I agree that Thomas Rhett seems destined for the country A-list, it's more about my belief in his ear for hits than my belief in anything he's able to bring to them as an artist. I should also admit that my comment about diversity was partially a reference to the fact that all four artists you named are white males, with nary a woman in sight. But also, I don't think that the diversity shown so far by Rhett and Farr compares to the diversity of topic and sound on display on the first two albums from Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, for example, to say nothing of how the two ladies have expanded their musical and lyrical palates since their respective sophomore efforts. And I think that both women have, more often than not, achieved that diversity without sacrificing individual character of performance, not to mention quality (which is not to say that either's catalog is anywhere close to perfect).
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sgtoddball
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Post by sgtoddball on Apr 9, 2015 13:44:35 GMT -5
As far as diversity goes, I don't think it gets any better than Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr right now. Both are releasing songs that are much more diverse than anything I hear from Cole Swindell. ...This won't go over well here but I find Thomas Rhett to be equally as diverse as Eric Church and I think he's one of the best all around talents in the Genre right now. For me, diversity is about themes, lyrical approach, and sound represented in the overall market as well as within the artist's own repertoire. Tyler Farr's current single is certainly a bit of a shift in lyrical voice in the context of his own work, but does it add something to the market that Jason Aldean didn't already have covered? In my view, no, in the same way that I don't hear Cole Swindell adding much to the market that Luke Bryan doesn't already have covered (and with better vocals). And I'm inclined to wait until his full sophomore album is released before declaring his catalog to be "diverse." I can agree that Thomas Rhett's work at least shows the potential to be diverse, though I'm inclined to agree with countrymusic20 that this comes as much from him not quite having figured out who he is as an artist as anything else. I suppose it's true that no one else in the country market is trying to be the "country Bruno Mars," but I would be more inclined to give Rhett credit for his vision if I felt like he had the ability to inhabit this role credibly. Eric Church is a good example of someone who has been able to impose his own stamp on the work he does, regardless of the sound (though I actually don't think he sounds as strong on his harder rockers as he appears to think he does). And as much as Sam Hunt's own music isn't country, it seems clear to me that he is creating and releasing music that best suits his abilities and interests and would not suit anyone else in the country market. Sam Hunt seems aware of his limitations, which is an underrated asset. Thomas Rhett, on the other hand, lacks that individual stamp. He is merely a vehicle for "Crash & Burn" -- anyone be singing that song (actually, I can think of many who would bring some actual soul and a more distinctive character with their vocals), and I hear nothing in his performance that marks the song as essentially and indelibly his. He deserves credit for recognizing and cutting a hit song here, but the stars of the song are really the melody and the production. So when I agree that Thomas Rhett seems destined for the country A-list, it's more about my belief in his ear for hits than my belief in anything he's able to bring to them as an artist. I should also admit that my comment about diversity was partially a reference to the fact that all four artists you named are white males, with nary a woman in sight. But also, I don't think that the diversity shown so far by Rhett and Farr compares to the diversity of topic and sound on display on the first two albums from Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, for example, to say nothing of how the two ladies have expanded their musical and lyrical palates since their respective sophomore efforts. And I think that both women have, more often than not, achieved that diversity without sacrificing individual character of performance, not to mention quality (which is not to say that either's catalog is anywhere close to perfect). My comment naming 4 white men was simply to convey who I thought were going to be the next A-listers in the Genre for the Men only. I wasn't trying to exclude any women, but mainly felt these guys would be similiar to what we now have in Luke, Jason, Blake, Tim/Kenny. I am a huge fan of what Carrie and Miranda bring to the Genre and imo it is better than anything any of the men are doing with the exception of Tim McGraw. I have high hopes for Kacey Musgraves but while not bro, she is seemingly following a formulaic approach with her recent output and I'm not sure she's offered us anything really diverse either.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Apr 9, 2015 16:03:37 GMT -5
Boy I agree with 43dudleyvillas, Rhett sounds like he's really struggling with those low notes in the verses. The chorus' he sounds fine and it suits him well but those verses are a little brutal if you ask me.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 16:31:24 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 16:53:20 GMT -5
Thomas Rhett, on the other hand, lacks that individual stamp. He is merely a vehicle for "Crash & Burn" -- anyone could be singing that song (actually, I can think of many who would bring some actual soul and a more distinctive character with their vocals), and I hear nothing in his performance that marks the song as essentially and indelibly his. He deserves credit for recognizing and cutting a hit song here, but the stars of the song are really the melody and the production. So when I agree that Thomas Rhett seems destined for the country A-list, it's more about my belief in his ear for hits than my belief in anything he's able to bring to them as an artist. Wow, I couldn't agree more with this paragraph and I think this is the quintessential truth of being a musician. You are the one in the driver's seat of your music. I listen to song after song of people clearly trying to make songs for radio and for money. At the end of the day, what defines you as a musician is a far bigger question that seems to be falling by the wayside in the financial world we live. The more popular country music gets as a genre, the more its musical freedom teeters on the brink of oblivion. Who is Thomas Rhett? What type of music does he make? What about Cole Swindell? Chase Rice? David Fanning? Michael Ray? Dylan Scott? Canaan Smith? Florida Georgia Line? Kelsea Ballerini? Steven Lee Olsen? Dustin Lynch? New Eli Young Band? Austin Webb? None of these people have any personality in their music because it all sounds the same. Yeah it's going to sell you some tracks. Probably to people that are fickle enough to forget you even existed two years down the road. Who is George Straight? What type of music does he make? What about Reba? Brad Paisley? Alan Jackson? Carrie Underwood? Tim McGraw? Sara Evans? Garth Brooks? Craig Morgan? Darius Rucker? Keith Urban? Little Big Town? Garth Brooks? Kacey Musgraves? Eric Paslay? Kenny Chesney? I don't care how popular or unpopular any of those people are. If you hear a song from them, you know it's them. If Alan Jackson's singing something as serious as "Remember When" or something as light as "Good Time" you just damn well know it's Alan Jackson. That's why the artists in the first group are playing with fire and gasoline. They would prefer to be the next big thing instead of being themselves and being something. It's not about the music, it's about the personality you put into it. Make it your own.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Apr 9, 2015 17:02:27 GMT -5
Thomas Rhett, on the other hand, lacks that individual stamp. He is merely a vehicle for "Crash & Burn" -- anyone could be singing that song (actually, I can think of many who would bring some actual soul and a more distinctive character with their vocals), and I hear nothing in his performance that marks the song as essentially and indelibly his. He deserves credit for recognizing and cutting a hit song here, but the stars of the song are really the melody and the production. So when I agree that Thomas Rhett seems destined for the country A-list, it's more about my belief in his ear for hits than my belief in anything he's able to bring to them as an artist. Wow, I couldn't agree more with this paragraph and I think this is the quintessential truth of being a musician. You are the one in the driver's seat of your music. I listen to song after song of people clearly trying to make songs for radio and for money. At the end of the day, what defines you as a musician is a far bigger question that seems to be falling by the wayside in the financial world we live. The more popular country music gets as a genre, the more its musical freedom teeters on the brink of oblivion. Who is Thomas Rhett? What type of music does he make? What about Cole Swindell? Chase Rice? David Fanning? Michael Ray? Dylan Scott? Canaan Smith? Florida Georgia Line? Kelsea Ballerini? Steven Lee Olsen? Dustin Lynch? New Eli Young Band? Austin Webb? None of these people have any personality in their music because it all sounds the same. Yeah it's going to sell you some tracks. Probably to people that are fickle enough to forget you even existed two years down the road. Who is George Straight? What type of music does he make? What about Reba? Brad Paisley? Alan Jackson? Carrie Underwood? Tim McGraw? Sara Evans? Garth Brooks? Craig Morgan? Darius Rucker? Keith Urban? Little Big Town? Garth Brooks? Kacey Musgraves? Eric Paslay? Kenny Chesney? I don't care how popular or unpopular any of those people are. If you hear a song from them, you know it's them. If Alan Jackson's singing something as serious as "Remember When" or something as light as "Good Time" you just damn well know it's Alan Jackson. That's why the artists in the first group are playing with fire and gasoline. They would prefer to be the next big thing instead of being themselves and being something. It's not about the music, it's about the personality you put into it. Make it your own. Florida Georgia Line does not belong in the former group. In fact, you could argue that most bands/artists the past few years have simply been trying to recreate the sound that they made extremely popular. If you don't like Fla Ga Line's sound, that's fine, many don't like it. But I believe they own their sound. It's distinct, and people definitely know if it's them if they hear their song on the radio. There's a reason why their one of the best selling acts in all of music right now, and many of the other names in that same paragraph aren't.
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Apr 9, 2015 17:17:56 GMT -5
I have to admit this wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be ("It Goes Like This" and "Get Me Some of That" are probably still worse). That said, this is a pretty boring, flat song. It feels so lifeless to me, which is weird because it sounds like they really tried to remedy that with the production choices they made, but it doesn't help. All it does is distance it from country music, which seems to be something Thomas Rhett enjoys doing. Now if only he could distance himself from my radio, that'd be lovely. In all seriousness, I don't see the appeal in this guy at all. I cringe at people thinking this guy is seriously a good singer or a diverse artist just because he enjoys making all of his songs sound like dance tunes.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 17:28:40 GMT -5
Florida Georgia Line does not belong in the former group. In fact, you could argue that most bands/artists the past few years have simply been trying to recreate the sound that they made extremely popular. If you don't like Fla Ga Line's sound, that's fine, many don't like it. But I believe they own their sound. It's distinct, and people definitely know if it's them if they hear their song on the radio. There's a reason why their one of the best selling acts in all of music right now, and many of the other names in that same paragraph aren't. That's exactly the reason they do belong in the group! Because now I am able to make up a list of 15 other artists who have the exact same "personality" to their songs. That's an issue, regardless of who started it. I'm not here to play mom and dad. Trust me, for that sound, Florida Georgia Line does it best. They were the ones who turned me on to country music and I still jam out to their tunes all the time. I'll disagree about your last sentence, as the type of songs from artists in that group are the ones that tend to shoot up the digital charts.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Apr 9, 2015 17:43:00 GMT -5
Florida Georgia Line does not belong in the former group. In fact, you could argue that most bands/artists the past few years have simply been trying to recreate the sound that they made extremely popular. If you don't like Fla Ga Line's sound, that's fine, many don't like it. But I believe they own their sound. It's distinct, and people definitely know if it's them if they hear their song on the radio. There's a reason why their one of the best selling acts in all of music right now, and many of the other names in that same paragraph aren't. That's exactly the reason they do belong in the group! Because now I am able to make up a list of 15 other artists who have the exact same "personality" to their songs. That's an issue, regardless of who started it. I'm not here to play mom and dad. Trust me, for that sound, Florida Georgia Line does it best. They were the ones who turned me on to country music and I still jam out to their tunes all the time. I'll disagree about your last sentence, as the type of songs from artists in that group are the ones that tend to shoot up the digital charts. That doesn't make sense though. The Beatles are credited with starting the invasion of that sound (British Rock) over to the US. Does that mean they are no different than their peers? Fla Ga Line's success essentially led to all the wannabe's, much like The Beatles did. Same thing with Nirvana in the early 90's, after they hit it big with "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Soon followed lots of grunge bands who were trying to recreate that sound, and live off the coattails of Nirvana. As for the sales, sure digital sales were well for many bro type songs when they first came out, but look at the charts now. Look at the album sales moreso. Fla Ga Line's "Anything Goes" is certified Gold, still in the top 10 on Country charts, and it doesn't have the crossover song that their first album did with "Cruise". How is Dustin Lynch's new album selling compared to "Anything Goes" (Dustin noticeably went for the bro sound on most of his new album this time around). How is Chace Rice's album sales in comparison? A lot of the other names you mentioned can't even get an album out yet (David Fanning, Dlyan Scott, etc.).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 18:03:39 GMT -5
That doesn't make sense though. The Beatles are credited with starting the invasion of that sound (British Rock) over to the US. Does that mean they are no different than their peers? Fla Ga Line's success essentially led to all the wannabe's, much like The Beatles did. Same thing with Nirvana in the early 90's, after they hit it big with "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Soon followed lots of grunge bands who were trying to recreate that sound, and live off the coattails of Nirvana. As for the sales, sure digital sales were well for many bro type songs when they first came out, but look at the charts now. Look at the album sales moreso. Fla Ga Line's "Anything Goes" is certified Gold, still in the top 10 on Country charts, and it doesn't have the crossover song that their first album did with "Cruise". How is Dustin Lynch's new album selling compared to "Anything Goes" (Dustin noticeably went for the bro sound on most of his new album this time around). How is Chace Rice's album sales in comparison? A lot of the other names you mentioned can't even get an album out yet (David Fanning, Dlyan Scott, etc.). I think the difference between the examples you gave and this one is that country is in a volatile state right now and it's not quite sure which direction it is going in. It's never dealt with this much popularity or financial success and on top of that, all genres are trying to figure out how best to recognize the pitfalls and possibilities of streaming and digital sales outlets. The Beatles and Nirvana were such big trend-setters that nobody was going to match their personalities. Florida Georgia Line, aside from really changing the entire genre almost single-handedly (as other artists have done in the past, see: George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Luke Bryan), are not at the same level as someone like The Beatles. This is still country music, not mainstream. It's still got a bad reputation with people who dislike it. The thing is, these "copycat" sounds are actually seeing success and that's what is scary about it. To address the point about album sales, I agree. Album sales to me are more of something attributable to passion level in fans. Conversely, single track sales may see increases or decreases on a whim. A fan of hip hop may buy a Kenny Chensey song, but chances are they won't buy the entire album. I'm not sure if you meant to say "the other names haven't gotten an album out yet" but I'm going to assume you meant what you said, can't. This is my point exactly! Why can't they? Because they sound JUST like Florida Georgia Line. It doesn't matter who does it better. It just matters that they sound the same. I'm not arguing about the state of country music or the sounds or anything like that. I'm saying, these FGL copycats (or better yet, the "bro-cats") aren't going to see long-term success because they aren't putting personality in their songs. They are putting Florida Georgia Line's personality in their songs, which is watering down the style and is actually hurting FGL (albeit not substantially as of yet). I mean, it's no coincidence that "Dirt" (for as well as it debuted) has only barely passed the track sales total of 2 of the 5 first album tracks. "Sun Daze" will take over a year to reach that mark, if it even does. "Sippin' on Fire" probably won't go platinum. They may be a victim of their own success, by no fault of their own.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Apr 9, 2015 18:22:50 GMT -5
That doesn't make sense though. The Beatles are credited with starting the invasion of that sound (British Rock) over to the US. Does that mean they are no different than their peers? Fla Ga Line's success essentially led to all the wannabe's, much like The Beatles did. Same thing with Nirvana in the early 90's, after they hit it big with "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Soon followed lots of grunge bands who were trying to recreate that sound, and live off the coattails of Nirvana. As for the sales, sure digital sales were well for many bro type songs when they first came out, but look at the charts now. Look at the album sales moreso. Fla Ga Line's "Anything Goes" is certified Gold, still in the top 10 on Country charts, and it doesn't have the crossover song that their first album did with "Cruise". How is Dustin Lynch's new album selling compared to "Anything Goes" (Dustin noticeably went for the bro sound on most of his new album this time around). How is Chace Rice's album sales in comparison? A lot of the other names you mentioned can't even get an album out yet (David Fanning, Dlyan Scott, etc.). I think the difference between the examples you gave and this one is that country is in a volatile state right now and it's not quite sure which direction it is going in. It's never dealt with this much popularity or financial success and on top of that, all genres are trying to figure out how best to recognize the pitfalls and possibilities of streaming and digital sales outlets. The Beatles and Nirvana were such big trend-setters that nobody was going to match their personalities. Florida Georgia Line, aside from really changing the entire genre almost single-handedly (as other artists have done in the past, see: George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Luke Bryan), are not at the same level as someone like The Beatles. This is still country music, not mainstream. It's still got a bad reputation with people who dislike it. The thing is, these "copycat" sounds are actually seeing success and that's what is scary about it. To address the point about album sales, I agree. Album sales to me are more of something attributable to passion level in fans. Conversely, single track sales may see increases or decreases on a whim. A fan of hip hop may buy a Kenny Chensey song, but chances are they won't buy the entire album. I'm not sure if you meant to say "the other names haven't gotten an album out yet" but I'm going to assume you meant what you said, can't. This is my point exactly! Why can't they? Because they sound JUST like Florida Georgia Line. It doesn't matter who does it better. It just matters that they sound the same. I'm not arguing about the state of country music or the sounds or anything like that. I'm saying, these FGL copycats (or better yet, the "bro-cats") aren't going to see long-term success because they aren't putting personality in their songs. They are putting Florida Georgia Line's personality in their songs, which is watering down the style and is actually hurting FGL (albeit not substantially as of yet). I mean, it's no coincidence that "Dirt" (for as well as it debuted) has only barely passed the track sales total of 2 of the 5 first album tracks. "Sun Daze" will take over a year to reach that mark, if it even does. "Sippin' on Fire" probably won't go platinum. They may be a victim of their own success, by no fault of their own. Alright, I think I understand your original post a little better now. Trust me, I'm not trying to compare Fla Ga Line to The Beatles or Nirvana, but I merely brought up those situations as a way to describe what I felt was a similar occurrence in country music. As for the sales part, yeah Fla Ga Line sales have been down this album cycle, but so has everyone else's. In this instance, I think it's best we compare their sales now to other current hit songs, and not their past work. When you do that, "Sun Daze" seems like it was actually a pretty big seller/hit. It was tied for the 5th best selling song of the first quarter of 2015, which is pretty good considering more than half of it's charting weeks were in 2014. But you do have a point, as I think many are seeing through this trend, and that's why some of the similar sounding songs charting right now are struggling sales wise (Kiss You In The Morning, Hell Of A Night).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 18:41:30 GMT -5
Alright, I think I understand your original post a little better now. Trust me, I'm not trying to compare Fla Ga Line to The Beatles or Nirvana, but I merely brought up those situations as a way to describe what I felt was a similar occurrence in country music. As for the sales part, yeah Fla Ga Line sales have been down this album cycle, but so has everyone else's. In this instance, I think it's best we compare their sales now to other current hit songs, and not their past work. When you do that, "Sun Daze" seems like it was actually a pretty big seller/hit. It was tied for the 5th best selling song of the first quarter of 2015, which is pretty good considering more than half of it's charting weeks were in 2014. But you do have a point, as I think many are seeing through this trend, and that's why some of the similar sounding songs charting right now are struggling sales wise (Kiss You In The Morning, Hell Of A Night). Definitely. I think FGL was so big because they got both the passionate following due to their personality and they got the fickle bandwagon fans. They may be losing some of the latter group, but the former is still pretty strong (myself included). Copycats are struggling. Best examples I can think of are Dustin Lynch smashing with a bro song and then faltering with another bro song ("Hell of a Night" is equally as strong musically as "Where It's At"). Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum both tried to hop on the bro-wagon with Payback and Freestyle, respectively, and both are suffering the consequences right now. Look at Eli Young and their DEBUT single--judging by it's current chart activity, it might not even stand a chance. Fickle fans deliver fickle results. Fortunately, I think once FGL cools down they will still have a passionate enough fanbase because of their personality. I for one am very excited about seeing them live next month, because the first time was awesome. To bring it back to Mr. Rhett, this song will do anything but "Crash and Burn" as it is catchy as hell and produced perfectly for the style of it. I just think if he wants any longevity in THIS genre, he may need to go a different route. But to each his own.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 18:54:55 GMT -5
^Not to get too off-topic here, but there have always been copycat bro country songs that don't sell. Bro country isn't for everyone, and some bro country songs simply don't sound good ("Payback" and "Freestyle" being two really strong examples of this imo), so that's not really a new development in my opinion. Sales are down for country songs across the board, too, so you kind of have to adjust sales for deflation when comparing to the sales of bro country songs a year ago. I also find it highly unlikely that FGL's sophomore album could have had one of the strongest opening weeks of all country albums released last year because of their personality and I would be shocked if this had any sort of significant influence on their sales. But if anything, I'd say sales are going down because of the artists who are attempting to release more middle-of-the-road stuff, not because bro country is losing popularity among listeners. I've heard very few who were originally fans of bro country say that they are now tired of it. The fatigue really lies among the labels (namely Sony and Big Machine) from what I can tell.
I did hear on my local IHM station that this was world premiered this week, so there probably was some bi-hourly world premiere event Tuesday that explains the strong start for this. I'd prefer this over a "full-blown" IHM deal as now the chart run feels a bit more natural and steady.
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rsmatto
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Post by rsmatto on Apr 10, 2015 12:12:12 GMT -5
As someone who prefers strong vocalists and interpreters and who is a proponent of diversity in country music, that list is dire. On the other hand, if Thomas Rhett is destined to become a country A-lister (and I would agree that he is), I'm glad that it will be via a song whose lyrics and melody I can tolerate (this will be the first of his top-10 hits for which that will the case for me). You can really hear Rhett struggling to hit the low notes and sustain the melody on the verses, so his live performances of this will be...interesting. After reading via Billboard Midweek Country Update that Gary Allan would have liked to have cut this, it really is difficult for me not to think about how much more a stronger vocalist would have done with this. Basically, I would like to hand "Hangover Tonight" to James Otto and give Gary Allan this. I think he would have found a way to ground this more in country, too. Thanks :) KUFan for the information about the song's intro -- I thought that it sounded familiar, but hadn't placed it. As far as diversity goes, I don't think it gets any better than Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr right now. Both are releasing songs that are much more diverse than anything I hear from Cole Swindell. Voices are subjective. I like both Rhett and Farr vocally but can certainly see why some would not. This won't go over well here but I find Thomas Rhett to be equally as diverse as Eric Church and I think he's one of the best all around talents in the Genre right now. Wait until Tyler releases "Withdrawls" as a single. That song has crossover smash written all over it.
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sgtoddball
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Post by sgtoddball on Apr 10, 2015 13:30:50 GMT -5
As far as diversity goes, I don't think it gets any better than Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr right now. Both are releasing songs that are much more diverse than anything I hear from Cole Swindell. Voices are subjective. I like both Rhett and Farr vocally but can certainly see why some would not. This won't go over well here but I find Thomas Rhett to be equally as diverse as Eric Church and I think he's one of the best all around talents in the Genre right now. Wait until Tyler releases "Withdrawls" as a single. That song has crossover smash written all over it. Exactly one of the reasons I mentioned him...so far his single choices, while not being the smash hits Rhett et al have seen, they are songs that have been distinctly different than the rest of the crowd. I hope Withdrawals becomes a single. Along with this song by Rhett, those are the two best songs I've heard so far this year.
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sgtoddball
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Post by sgtoddball on Apr 10, 2015 13:33:20 GMT -5
Whoa! Thank God I'm anonymous.
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:) KUFan
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Post by :) KUFan on Apr 10, 2015 16:41:56 GMT -5
A listener called into the Bobby Bones show today and pointed out that "Crash and Burn" and this song below sound alike: m.youtube.com/watch?v=i7P6ut6HPR8What is your opinion?
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lyhom
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CAPSLOCK-PHOBE
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My Charts
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Post by lyhom on Apr 10, 2015 16:54:21 GMT -5
eh, there's some similarities, but they're different enough that I doubt there would be a lawsuit or anything
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 17:01:10 GMT -5
Whoa! Thank God I'm anonymous. Don't worry. "Farce the Music," like "Saving Country Music," is really just a blog run by one or two fans of older/traditional country music who are still very passionate and concerned about a radio format they claim to despise. Maybe this was out of line, but I think it's safe to say not many people are going to see the meme or know it traces back to you, lol.
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Markus Meyer
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Favorite Single of 2020 So Far: “betty” by Taylor Swift
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Post by Markus Meyer on Apr 10, 2015 20:18:17 GMT -5
Whoa! Thank God I'm anonymous. I think it's safe to say not many people are going to see the meme or know it traces back to you, lol. I dunno man, it's a pretty popular blog. Didn't really seem like a shot at the poster, more just a reaction to the statement itself. As for this song, it's alright as a general record. But as a country song, I just don't see how this has any ties to the genre. Not quite Sam Hunt bad, but still more pop/soul/R&B than anything.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 21:59:32 GMT -5
^Yeah, I don't want to be that guy who thinks everything is inappropriate or offensive. I guess I just really found the whole concept of getting so hung up over a few artists gaining popularity to be silly, especially because the artists sgtoddball mentioned have all strayed away from bro-country with their most recent singles. I don't particularly find anything the guys write to be offensive; I know it's comedy. It seems strange to me for a blog that is so opposed to modern, mainstream country music to center all their jokes around it and make a living off of the very thing they despise. But I don't think the blog is all that popular among people outside of the anti-country radio circle. Just the impression I got though. This song is currently on 48 stations with a total of 514 spins this week according to All Access. Should definitely debut on Mediabase once recurrents are removed Sunday, but the spin threshold to get on the chart right now is insanely high, so I don't see this showing up until then. #50 has roughly the same amount of spins as this, but it takes a good 700 spins just to get to #49. That seems really high to me. It's no wonder so many newer, indie labels have trouble getting their artists up the charts. You practically have to be on the whole panel just to get a shot at the top 30. In my opinion, a song getting played 700 times in one week must have at least a moderate amount of radio support, yet that's not even enough to come anywhere near the top 40. "Crash and Burn" will probably surpass "Stay a Little Longer" in spins over the next couple of days, but newer songs tend to take longer to catch up in points on the Mediabase chart, so I expect Brothers Osborne will stay ahead to get a #48 debut on Mediabase this week.
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trebor
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Rock this quiet, little country town
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Post by trebor on Apr 11, 2015 13:08:26 GMT -5
Irritatingly catchy! Sleek production. Could be the next big thing at Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Contemporary. Problem: I cannot make out any instrument used in country music. Are they really so bold enough now to market this as country without even trying to dish up some pretend connection to country music? Will most certainly be a tremendously big #1 on the Country Airplay Chart.
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LBTrocks
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Post by LBTrocks on Apr 11, 2015 13:15:18 GMT -5
A listener called into the Bobby Bones show today and pointed out that "Crash and Burn" and this song below sound alike: m.youtube.com/watch?v=i7P6ut6HPR8What is your opinion? It has to be the production that made them think that, but honestly the songs are nothing alike. I like that song though.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Apr 11, 2015 23:50:04 GMT -5
I'm currently listening to "Beer With Jesus" on my Spotify. My how things have changed in two and half short years.
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Apr 12, 2015 3:24:05 GMT -5
I went into this really expecting not to like it, but I actually like it a lot. It's probably my favourite of his songs (though that's not really saying a lot). I completely agree with 43dudleyvillas that a better, or more interesting, interpreter would make this song much better, but I do at least enjoy it the way it is.
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