Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break"

[Deleted]

www.directlyrics.com/new-music-carrie-underwood-smoke-break-premiere-news.html

You can hear it there. It's a streaming link.

[maine]

I just kinda realized that I always listen to her singles and love them on first listen, but never listen to it again lol (besides "Blown Away"). I think I might need to change that with this.

[cufan7]

Have heard it twice and the chorus is already stuck in my head. I LOVE it. The production seemed a bit loud on the 1st listen on the chorus but by the last time she sang the chorus on just my 2nd listen I had already adjusted. This is going to be big. Good work, Carrie!

[justlurkingaround]

It's very Miranda Lambert-ish, no?

[McCreerian (Harris 2024!)]

Listen to the FULL song here trendio.us/2015/08/listen-carrie-underwood-smoke-break/

[cufan7]

Aug 20, 2015 16:51:44 GMT -5 justlurkingaround said:

It's very Miranda Lambert-ish, no?

I definitely hear that, in a good way.

[ILLUSION]

I like this!

[19waves]

Aug 20, 2015 16:51:44 GMT -5 justlurkingaround said:

It's very Miranda Lambert-ish, no?

read this comment right as it was playing and at first it def sounds like miranda. I guess thats good? i mean both women have talented voices and i admire both as well

[George Strait Junkie]

not bad i like the lyrics just wish it wasn't so loud rocky sound but i can get with it one of her best songs in a long time i'll give it that

[carrieidol1]

Now if THIS was the song Carrie and Miranda collaborated on, that would have been HUGE! This will still be a massive hit. Probably double platinum, and her first BB airplay #1 since "Blown Away"... Can't wait to see what this does!!!

[carriekins]

Definitely vintage Miranda (which is the only Miranda I can listen to anymore). A bit loud (I do not like Jay Joyce at all), but definitely relatable. I like this, a lot.

And I am very optimistic about those comments about the new album. I am totally here for more traditional story-telling Carrie.

[matty005]

This is head and shoulders better than her greatest hits singles. This is my favorite Carrie song in a long time and I loved the singles from Blown Away. This should fly up the charts and be a big digital seller too. Fantastic song.

[Deleted]

Bro-Country portrays life as a drunk and fun party. Carrie Underwood's "Smoke Room" portrays it as it really is - stressful, and something that we need a break from at times. It's fantastic to see an A-lister take charge. Screw the lettuce, I'm fancying a tomato.

[rsmatto]

I LOVE This immediately. Many of her past singles have had to grow on me during their runs.

Lyrics: : roughstock.com/lyrics/2015/08/37159-carrie-underwood-smoke-break

I can see where there are Miranda comparisons (the artwork, the vocal in the verses) but this still is very much a Carrie Underwood kind of song. And Jay Joyce adds some edge to Carrie's sound through his always inventive production. I'm listening to the radio WAV file and man I hear mandolins, B3s, guitars that slide in and out in the right spots and vocally, there are times I hear Chely Wright in Carrie's phrasing.

[Carriefan1190]

This is phenomenal. One of my favorite lead singles of hers! This is gonna take off and just be a monster on radio and digitally. Look for a big debut! The Internet is buzzing in the last couple hours since she dropped the single. This era is off to a fantastic start.

[sabre14]

I like this as well. The verses are certainly what is reminding people of the "vintage Miranda". Carrie's vocals are well utilized and fit the song's lyrics well. I also enjoy the chord progression, and vocal arrangement is very good. I like Jay Joyce's production but the melody gets just a bit lost in the chorus (perhaps that's partly due to the link I listened to?) but otherwise I really enjoy this one from Carrie.

[Zeebz]

Absolutely fantastic, as I expected Carrie's new single would be. I really love the twang in her voice and the genuineness of the lyrics. I adored the Greatest Hits era singles but this is easily my favorite from her since "Two Black Cadillacs".

Also, she looks stunning on the single cover.

[carrieidol1]

Seeing so much positivity surrounding this song! I really love that she included three different perspectives, it makes this song relatable for so many people! It's a very strong lyric, too. I do hear a bit of Miranda, and I love it!

[matty005]

Aug 20, 2015 17:34:55 GMT -5 zack97 said:

Bro-Country portrays life as a drunk and fun party. Carrie Underwood's "Smoke Room" portrays it as it really is - stressful, and something that we need a break from at times. It's fantastic to see an A-lister take charge. Screw the lettuce, I'm fancying a tomato.

I know a lot of people agree with your above statement, but life IS a drunk and fun party for a lot of people too. Especially people 30 and under. So just because it's not how, "it really is" for you, doesn't mean it's not real life for some people.

[EPG]

The first time where I'm probably only going to a listen to a Carrie Underwood lead single once. Not feeling it. Not even a little bit. I get what she was trying to do, but it did not work.

[sabre14]

From Music Row:

Carrie Underwood has revealed the cover art and title of her fifth studio album, Storyteller. The lead single “Smoke Break” will be available at 11:00 p.m. CT tonight (August 20) after being delivered digitally to country radio today with an official airplay impact date of August 24.

The 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville superstar will release the new project October 23, from producers Jay Joyce, Mark Bright, and Zach Crowell.

She took part in an online chat today on her official Facebook page, where the seven-time GRAMMY winner revealed the project will not contain any duets and is more traditional/twangy than anything she’s released so far.

“Smoke Break” was produced by Joyce and written by Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, and Chris DeStefano.

“[The single is] basically an anthem for every hard-working person,” said Underwood. “We all wear many hats and are spread thin, so we can all relate to being tired and needing a break. This song is about having that moment to be able to escape from whatever it is that’s stressing you out and have some time for yourself.”

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2015 18:51:02 GMT -5 matty005 said:

Aug 20, 2015 17:34:55 GMT -5 zack97 said:

Bro-Country portrays life as a drunk and fun party. Carrie Underwood's "Smoke Room" portrays it as it really is - stressful, and something that we need a break from at times. It's fantastic to see an A-lister take charge. Screw the lettuce, I'm fancying a tomato.

I know a lot of people agree with your above statement, but life IS a drunk and fun party for a lot of people too. Especially people 30 and under. So just because it's not how, "it really is" for you, doesn't mean it's not real life for some people.

But that's not what life is ALL about, you can't tell me that people party all the time. Thats not a lifestyle. People have jobs and lives they need to attend to, and this song is a perfect example of what life really is about. I'm sure people party and get drunk and do other stuff to get away from reality time to time as they do in bro-country songs SOMETIMES (which, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to turn this into the 8675th attempt at bashing bro-country) but the fact is, life isn't sunshine and rainbows, and there is stress involved with the everyday life. That's what I was trying to get at. That's why this song is so highly relatable.

[layne]

Not bad. I don't hate it but I was expecting something Epic and game changing from Carrie after being off and this being the lead single. It's not a good sing along song for me and it's just not moving me in any way. Excited for the Album though and hopefully this isn't considered the best song on it.

[Unhinged]

This is good, not great. Feeling the guitar on this, though. That said, this'll be a big hit for her.

[M&TSwiftie]

Loving it! I see this being her first billboard no.1 since blown away and possibly first hot 100 top 20 since blown away as well! already heard it on two radio stations I'm so stoked for new Carrie music! This the era entertainer of the year will happen at the cmas and as I hope :)

[ant]

I'll also say as a Carrie stan, that I am slightly disappointed with this. I don't mind the twanginess or change in sound, it just doesn't seem like the epic lead single I was expecting from her.

It almost seems as if she's trying to copy Miranda's style to get on the good side of industry critics and award voters (I know this is most likely not the case, but I think it can be perceived that way). It just doesn't really feel like Carrie to me. I think it will grow on me though.

[SoMuchToSay]

I keep hearing "White Liar" and "Automatic." Idk how I feel about it on 1st listen. It's good, but just your typical Carrie song. She tells a couple of people's stories, it all ties back to the chorus, and Country radio pushes it to the top, no matter what it sounds like.

[carrieidol1]

A very fair review, I think... A little out there, but hits the nail on the head for the most part.

www.savingcountrymusic.com/song-review-carrie-underwoods-smoke-break

In a much-anticipated and highly-publicized announcement early Thursday evening (8-20), Carrie Underwood revealed she would be releasing her fifth studio album called Storyteller on October 23rd—her latest full-length release of original music since 2012’s Blown Away. Underwood also released Greatest Hits Decade #1 in December of 2014, which included two new singles, “Something in the Water” and “Little Toy Guns.” The Greatest Hits release and new singles helped tide fans over as Carrie Underwood gave birth to her first son Isaiah, and took a slight hiatus from the public eye to focus on her family.

As part of the new album announcement, Carrie Underwood also revealed the first single from the new album called “Smoke Break.” A fairly raucous, country rock song with a sound wide enough to fill an arena, it reveals a different side of Carrie compared to what we’ve heard more recently. The single is an ode to the hard working closet smoker and drinker who despite claiming to avoid bad habits, admits to partaking in a bit of vice every once in a while to take the edge off of a dreary existence.

Co-written by Carrie with Chris Destefano and Hillary Lindsey, and produced by Jay Joyce, “Smoke Break” has a resonant chorus bolstered by ample servings of rock guitar that will invariably reverberate with mainstream listeners and have a difficult time being headed off a path to #1. It’s hard to focus on much besides Underwood’s always-superb singing and the message of the song itself, but some inconsistencies in the perspective of the song weaken its prospects of being called not just a big song, but a good one.

The line “It’s hard to be a good mom, and good wife, and a good Christian” doesn’t really sync up with the character portrayed in the song as being a generally good person who just happens to sneak a few puffs between commercials during cartoon time. Taking a smoke or a sip isn’t exactly a prescription for eternal damnation, and what exactly does it have to do with being a good wife or mother? Even God left the 7th day to rest. Repeating “drink” at the end of the first two lines of the chorus instead of resolving the rhyme also seemed a little lazy in the songwriting.

“Smoke Break” is a song many will relate to, but it doesn’t really leave the listener fulfilled in any meaningful capacity besides raising the spirits with an energetic delivery, and a sort of tacit justification for behavior one could question as truly sinful to begin with. It’s also worth broaching the subject if Carrie and Company hope to carry some of the momentum of the marijuana topic with “Smoke Break” as has been done with other songs recently which make no effort out to disambiguate tobacco from pot. It certainly doesn’t feel like a pot anthem, and it would seem pretty out-of-character for Carrie as the All-American girl, but some may decide to interpret the song that way.

It’s also only fair to measure “Smoke Break” within the context of Carrie’s most recent output. The blockbuster Gospel-esque “Something in the Water” played very much to Carrie Underwood’s pristine Christian side. Then the next single “Little Toy Guns” unabashedly faced the social issue of domestic violence and parental fighting. So we can’t be too shocked Carrie revealed something a bit more light, especially for a lead single for an upcoming album, which pretty consistently these days in the mainstream is an album’s #1 bullet and blockbuster, with the rest of the material filing behind it to deliver greater measures of substance.

Graded beside its peers, there’s nothing especially wrong with “Smoke Break” and it really can’t be accused of chasing trends like so many of 2015’s singles. But it’s fluff. Like a smoke or a nip, it’s there to make you forget your worries for a minute, and there’s nothing especially wrong with that. But there’s nothing especially right about it either.

1 of 2 Guns Up.

I personally LOVE the song. I love that it isn't a boy-basher, and I love that Carrie is exploring different lyrical, vocal, and production styles. However, I do think the criticisms being made are fair. The only one I don't understand is that this is "typical Carrie". This is far and away, in my opinion, the least typical song she has ever released.

[Deleted]

This took quite a few listens to grow on me, but I'm enjoying it a lot now.

I love the lyrics, and the message is so relatable as well.

The centerpiece here is Carrie's vocals, she sounds incredible, and her confidence just shines here.

I don't love the production and it does put a bit of a damper on the song for me, but I love that this is so different for Carrie, and I can see myself loving it more with each listen.

[zaclord 🌈]

on iTunes now:

itunes.apple.com/us/album/smoke-break-single/id1031328445