avalyn
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Post by avalyn on Feb 15, 2018 21:29:22 GMT -5
I hope the live video for this doesn't mean they won't give us an official music video, too. That said, "Rich" was definitely one of the biggest highlights of her live show with the audience singing the entire chorus back to her when I saw her so I'm glad they were able to highlight that by releasing a live video. Such a fan favorite! You are in luck, they filmed a video today. From Annie her bassist: http://instagram.com/p/BfPZHjdn3rt
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2018 21:36:21 GMT -5
Despite my dislike of this song, I'll definitely check out the music video for this as it looks promising. (p.s sorry for my "bitchy" comment as that was a very poor choice of words). I always like a real colorful music video and it looks like that could be a great music video.
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thewp
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Post by thewp on Feb 15, 2018 21:59:40 GMT -5
Oh, that’s cute. There are pics/ videos on Maren and Ryan’s IG today. He’s dressed up in western wear, maybe cast as her beau.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on Feb 15, 2018 23:06:43 GMT -5
Music video looks like it's going to be a fun visual! Can't wait to see it!
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justin5545
Platinum Member
God, Guns, and Country Music.
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Post by justin5545 on Feb 20, 2018 20:15:40 GMT -5
Debuted at #50 on BB
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2018 20:19:19 GMT -5
I like this. Very catchy. Still salty "80's Mercedes" wasn't a bigger hit.
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14887fan
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Post by 14887fan on Feb 23, 2018 22:29:04 GMT -5
Having had the distinct pleasure of meeting her twice, I can confidently say she is as humble and appreciative as they come. I’ll never quite understand why people take what artists sing/how they sing it at a value so deeply that they apply it as a definition of the artist’s humanity. Carrie Underwood has an actively rising body count in her discography, but nobody’s calling her a murderer. If someone wants to sing a song with a high level of self-confidence, then so be it. Doesn’t mean they’re arrogant/“bitchy” (which, by the way, is a wildly sexist term in this case, but I’ll digress that point before even bothering to develop it); just means they wrote/sang a song in that tone.
I’m excited for Maren’s career to continue to skyrocket. She’s a breath of fresh air and truly deserves every accolade she receives, and more.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2018 23:38:34 GMT -5
Besides Walker Hayes and his 100% not country album "boom", which btw is great ♥ I think Maren created the most NOT country album of the last few years, but no one even noticed that. Why is that? What is exactly country about her music? It's not a dig at her, I actually like her no matter how uncountry she is, but I always wondered why no one ever said anything about it.
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14887fan
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Post by 14887fan on Feb 23, 2018 23:47:02 GMT -5
Besides Walker Hayes and his 100% not country album "boom", which btw is great ♥ I think Maren created the most NOT country album of the last few years, but no one even noticed that. Why is that? What is exactly country about her music? It's not a dig at her, I actually like her no matter how uncountry she is, but I always wondered why no one ever said anything about it. Great songwriting, smart stories, catchy hooks, an out-of-the-box retro aesthetic that the genre hasn't really seen in a long while (to my knowledge/memory, at least), and it simply just resonated with people. Nothing about her release was forced. "My Church" naturally went from a strong debut to an anthemic, universal favorite. All it takes is a single song, which Walker Hayes has, but not in the same way that MM had. "You Broke Up With Me" has done very well, but it's in an entirely separate echelon below "My Church." Also, timing is a factor. As is the dire need for more females in the format and less men. As is the dire need for originality, and there isn't another woman with the voice, style, or sound that Morris is carrying through the format right now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2018 1:02:00 GMT -5
Besides Walker Hayes and his 100% not country album "boom", which btw is great ♥ I think Maren created the most NOT country album of the last few years, but no one even noticed that. Why is that? What is exactly country about her music? It's not a dig at her, I actually like her no matter how uncountry she is, but I always wondered why no one ever said anything about it. Great songwriting, smart stories, catchy hooks, an out-of-the-box retro aesthetic that the genre hasn't really seen in a long while (to my knowledge/memory, at least), and it simply just resonated with people. Nothing about her release was forced. "My Church" naturally went from a strong debut to an anthemic, universal favorite. All it takes is a single song, which Walker Hayes has, but not in the same way that MM had. "You Broke Up With Me" has done very well, but it's in an entirely separate echelon below "My Church." Also, timing is a factor. As is the dire need for more females in the format and less men. As is the dire need for originality, and there isn't another woman with the voice, style, or sound that Morris is carrying through the format right now. Thank you for the insights! But I maybe put my case in a weird way. I mean, I know she is crazy talented, and I see myself as a fan. The thing I tried to say, is that when many artists release songs in this format, and they have subtle banjos or a random dobro or a fiddle, people still claim it doesn't sound country. It would seem more natural if people said things like "Wow, this Maren chick is really cool, and has great music, but she doesn't belong in the genre". Yet when others get called not country, Maren gets away with this. I think I agree with your statement about timing. I suppose we're not in a position to rush and call her something, that while not an insult, would seem like a subtle dig, when radio is already treating females in such an unjust way. Just to plaster my opinion again, I am not mad or bothered by her success, I actually think it is great that another female is making music and it is being recognized in this way. I just find it weird that she gets away with releasing pop music and no one states the obvious.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on Feb 24, 2018 1:24:21 GMT -5
Nobody is gonna mistake Maren Morris for being a neo-traditional artist by any means, but her two biggest hits to date are "My Church" and "I Could Use a Love Song," which are about as straight-forward contemporary country as it gets. "80s Mercedes" and "Rich" and some of the other album tracks lean towards the pop side of the country spectrum, but she's definitely still well within the walls of country music.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2018 1:48:48 GMT -5
I am not sure, I don't hear anything country about My Church or I Could Use a Love Song. Sure, if you mean they sound like all the pop ballads released to country radio, then yes, her songs could fit. But, and I am not trying to be dense, but I really can't hear anything remotely country about any of her songs. For one, I am mainly looking at the instrumentation. If there are instruments that are usually present in country songs, then Maren did a good job of burying them very deep in the mix, that I can't hear them. If anything, I think she would fall in the pop leaning side of country pop.
I really hope you don't mistake me of trying to start an argument. So if you could pin point what exactly makes her music fall in whatever category of pop country, then I am interested in hearing about that.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on Feb 24, 2018 5:07:41 GMT -5
I am not sure, I don't hear anything country about My Church or I Could Use a Love Song. Sure, if you mean they sound like all the pop ballads released to country radio, then yes, her songs could fit. But, and I am not trying to be dense, but I really can't hear anything remotely country about any of her songs. For one, I am mainly looking at the instrumentation. If there are instruments that are usually present in country songs, then Maren did a good job of burying them very deep in the mix, that I can't hear them. If anything, I think she would fall in the pop leaning side of country pop. I really hope you don't mistake me of trying to start an argument. So if you could pin point what exactly makes her music fall in whatever category of pop country, then I am interested in hearing about that. The lyrics, melody, and vocal performances of both of those singles are totally rooted in country music sensabilities, and I don't hear anything glaring about the production of either that slides them into pop territory at all. I just really fail to see how "My Church" and "I Could Use a Love Song" could ever be construed as anything but contemporary country music. They are not neo-traditional in the vein of say Kacey Musgraves of course, but if they had been offered up to random listeners for a blind test, I suspect an overwhelming majority would not identify either song as "pop." Neither of those sound anything remotely like what CHR is playing. If "My Church" or "I Could Use a Love Song" came on in between songs by Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, they would sound far more at home than if they were played between Demi Lovato and Camila Cabello, i.e. It really just seems like you're implying that neither song sounds country at all because you aren't hearing like a fiddle or banjo prominently in the front of the mix, but I don't see that, especially in 2018, as a good measure of what makes a country song "country." You're obviously hearing something very different from me when you listen to these two songs because I feel just as strongly that these are unequivocally country songs as you seem to think they aren't in any way, shape, or form, lol.
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Feb 24, 2018 5:49:53 GMT -5
A good way to distinguish country song from non-country song is to try to imagine a pop singer that you can think of and then replace the song in question with his/her vocal instead. I don't think a pop song with southern accent is justified to be classified into country. Maren Morris is quite an easy example to illustrate the point because Second Wind which is originally recorded by Kelly Clarkson is in Maren's album. You may compare the two versions and really there are no big differences besides one vocalist is classified to country vocalist while another one is pop vocalist, so would you still call Maren's version country? P.S. This song has "hip-hop" as one of the genres listed in Wikipedia...obviously anyone can edit but it tells something.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2018 7:56:27 GMT -5
I really don't see Maren Morris' music as that country, besides "My Church" and "I Could Use A Love Song". Is it country for today's standards? Yes. But today's standards are flimsy at best. If Maren Morris or someone with her style of pop "country" was trying to break out let's say 4 to 5 years ago I doubt they would've seen much success.
To me she's a great writer for the most part, and I like her music when I take out the genre lines. However, if I look at her as a country artist which she is labeled as so I do, I kind of view her as a better Sam Hunt/Kelsea Ballerini in terms of sound, but since neither one of those artists are country in the slightest (imo) I don't view her as much of a country artist either.
Hopefully whenever she releases new music I hope it sounds more like her 2 big hits and has a more refined country pop sound.
Also lol at this being labelled Hip Hop. Definitely didn't expect that but I won't disagree with whoever edited that.
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Normi
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Post by Normi on Feb 24, 2018 8:03:38 GMT -5
Music changes. Nowadays many rap influenced songs are considered Pop and slay the Hot 100 and other charts so obviously (popular) Country music also changes. That is only natural and necessary because without that we couldn't call 90s Music that and so on. The trends are changing
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d3vin44
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Post by d3vin44 on Feb 24, 2018 11:00:05 GMT -5
I’ve always thought the same. Outside of her two biggest hits, her album doesn’t sound Country at all. Two examples... when she performed “Once” with Alicia Keys, I assumed it was an Alicia Keys song. Example number 2... my boyfriend is obsessed with “The Middle”, so the other day I casually put on “How It’s Done” and he says “what is this!?”. I told him it’s Maren Morris and he says “oh is this her new thing? Is she not country anymore?”.
I’m obsessed with her album. Hers and Carly’s are the best I’ve heard in a long time, but in my opinion the lines with Maren are very blurred between Country/POP/R&B. Honestly, she’s very good at it and I hope she stays that way.
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avalyn
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Post by avalyn on Feb 24, 2018 11:05:14 GMT -5
Music changes. Nowadays many rap influenced songs are considered Pop and slay the Hot 100 and other charts so obviously (popular) Country music also changes. That is only natural and necessary because without that we couldn't call 90s Music that and so on. The trends are changing exactly! it changes all the time. in recent interviews sugarland was asked about the difference between now and when they released their last album. jennifer mentioned how people flipped out over the supposed "rap / reggae" bridge part of stuck like glue, to the point some stations edited it out and everything. then a few years later there's someone like sam hunt (she mentioned him specifically) doing something like that for his songs, no one at radio says anything. the climate changes with radio and listeners all the time. what was popular style wise even a few years ago might not be popular now or in the next few years. to get this back on track of maren since i ventured off a little, hopefully i'm not repeating anything i've said before, but maren's album is one i keep finding songs or lyric on that i love. i've been listening to her stuff since her ep a few years ago was release independently. it felt like it was up a few weeks then taken down and re-released when she signed her record deal. but what i'm trying to say is, i still listen to her stuff a lot and i'm constantly finding new things i love about her songwriting and music in general. rich was one of those songs i loved from the moment i heard it. something about it hooked me in. i know some people who aren't super big country fans that love this song. it's the song i kind of use when i try to share maren with people. i usually suggest (depending on the person) rich followed by my church, 80 mercedes, once and/or drunk girls don't cry. really it depends on the person and the music they normally like.
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14887fan
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Post by 14887fan on Feb 24, 2018 11:38:20 GMT -5
I do think this discussion opens up a bigger topic/issue: why do we measure the level of how “country” something is by the format’s usual “standards?” We always say (and I say “we” because I absolutely do this, too!) that something is “country for what’s accepted as such nowadays,” or something to that extent, but that mindset is obviously rooted in obeying the genre’s initial and traditional sound. Why are we so hellbent on forcing these things into such strict boxes, and why do we herald a box with dust all over it as the ~golden standard~ of how something with the label “country” should really be? Why can’t the traditional sound exist without it being this be-all-or-end-all for others that structurally align decently with its identity, but stylistically and as a whole, offer something different, modern, and unique? It feels like there’s this impossible and almost egomaniacal bar that’s set for artists to try and clear, when that’s neither their intention nor interest.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Feb 24, 2018 12:03:09 GMT -5
Interesting discussion. I always considered "My Church" to be pretty country sounding, it just has a more retro style to it. "I Could Use A Love Song" and "80s Mercedes" I find to be more on the Pop end of country spectrum, but I still think they fit in well within the genres lines. "Rich" is the only single so far that I wouldn't label "country" per se, but honestly I wouldn't know what genre to label it. It's really a hybrid genre song, which seems to becoming more popular across the board. I mean we have Sam Hunt making a pseudo rap song with "Body Like A Back Road" and we have FGL and Maren both appearing on EDM Pop tracks. It's cliche to say, but genre lines are being blurred everywhere these days. Now I do predict moving forward that Maren's next album will be extremely Pop leaning, and I wouldn't be shocked if somewhere down the road she left the country genre all together.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2018 12:03:44 GMT -5
I am a fan of both traditional country and pop country. But the pop country that sounds so much more pop than country (Sam Hunt, Walker Hayes, Kelsea Ballerini) that there really isn't much country about it is where I'm frustrated as a country music fan as my definition of actual pop country is somewhere along the lines of the most recent Lauren Alaina album and Cam with her debut album as they take the great part of both genres and make music that sounds great imo.
I mean holy shit. Right now in the Mediabase top 30 we have 2 definitive pop artists on the chart in Bebe Rexha and Tori Kelly (never mind the fact that both are female and make up 40% of the credited female artists in the Top 30).
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stanches2318
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Post by stanches2318 on Feb 24, 2018 13:47:02 GMT -5
In my opinion. It doesn’t matter who is “country” Anymore, because who can actually determine what and who is country.. how many artists in any decade can u guys say were 100% Country? That list is a short list.. because since the beginning there’s been other genres influenced in country. Now and days it’s more obvious, because you have a lot of ways to listen to music than just radio and albums. As far as Maren or any artist is these days to me as long as the musics good genres don’t matter. I like a lot of varierty of music and singers. There’s a lot of good songs in different genres. Plus how are we grading country and non country singers? Beats, lyrics, meaning of songs. What?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2018 14:02:19 GMT -5
A good way to distinguish country song from non-country song is to try to imagine a pop singer that you can think of and then replace the song in question with his/her vocal instead. I don't think a pop song with southern accent is justified to be classified into country. I think this is what ultimately will be the method I will use from now on lol I am not looking only for instruments to decide what is and what isn't country, but if they're clear, I will be more likely to accept them as country. Take Yeah Boy for example, the song is pretty pop, but that banjo line makes it country to me. Lauren Alaina, Hunter Hayes and others do sound pretty poppy, but I would not say they belong in pop radio. Maren, however, she basically screams pop. As I said, I do not mind if an artist is pop or country or whatever, as I tend to like many genres. But this observation was just that, an observation, and without me wanting to throw Maren out of the format. I mean, I love David Fanning, and if anyone asks me, I'd say he's a country artist, even if he is far from it lol And thanks everyone for the interesting discussion!
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Mar 3, 2018 9:29:03 GMT -5
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Leo ✔
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Post by Leo ✔ on Mar 4, 2018 21:14:13 GMT -5
Top 50 on Country
COUNTRY 52 50 MAREN MORRIS Rich 530 458 72 2.328
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jhomes87
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Stop Tagging Me In Rankdowns
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Post by jhomes87 on Mar 12, 2018 14:23:36 GMT -5
Moving up somewhat slowly (as I expected), but it's done well picking up new stations in the last couple of weeks, and it's at #47 on Mediabase now. In today's update "Rich" gained 9 spins and 127k in audience. I think Maren can probably out-pace Cam and Brandon Lay soon, and possibly Kip Moore and Sugarland after that. She might also be able to pass Jerrod Niemann (on MB, but not on BB as he has way too big of an audience lead on the latter). She'll also pass Keith Urban soon and then I think Dustin Lynch, Brantley Gilbert, and Granger Smith are all in trouble and could open up some spots in the coming weeks. On another note, Sony is really pushing for Maren at the ACMs. This is the front page of HDD (Hits Daily Double) right now: I'm expecting "Dear Hate" to win the Vocal Event category and I think Maren has close to a 50-50 chance of beating Miranda in the Female Vocalist category. Kelsea has a slight chance but I don't think she'll come close to the amount of votes Maren will get, so I think it's definitely between Maren and Miranda. Carrie might get a few votes but I don't think she'll come anywhere close to winning since she's in between albums right now, and I'd say there's less than a 1% chance of Reba winning. I'm not a huge Maren fan but I'd really like to see her knock off Miranda. That said, it could be tough due to the inclusion of "Tin Man" in the Song of the Year category.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Mar 12, 2018 16:26:20 GMT -5
Her first top ten on the Hot 100:
Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey's "The Middle" ascends 11-8 on the Hot 100. The track holds at its No. 4 peak on Digital Song Sales (41,000, up 8 percent); jumps 16-11 on Radio Songs (66 million, up 16 percent); and slips 17-19 on Streaming Songs, although with a 7 percent gain to 20.9 million.
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thewp
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Post by thewp on Mar 12, 2018 17:14:39 GMT -5
On another note, Sony is really pushing for Maren at the ACMs. This is the front page of HDD (Hits Daily Double) right now: I'm expecting "Dear Hate" to win the Vocal Event category and I think Maren has close to a 50-50 chance of beating Miranda in the Female Vocalist category. Kelsea has a slight chance but I don't think she'll come close to the amount of votes Maren will get, so I think it's definitely between Maren and Miranda. Carrie might get a few votes but I don't think she'll come anywhere close to winning since she's in between albums right now, and I'd say there's less than a 1% chance of Reba winning. I'm not a huge Maren fan but I'd really like to see her knock off Miranda. That said, it could be tough due to the inclusion of "Tin Man" in the Song of the Year category. While I am MORE than ready for Miranda to not win, if WME controls the voting blocks, especially for the ACMs, does it matter what Sony does? Or, is the label the one who decides/ pays the agencies to push someone over other artists? I think it would be great for Maren to have this as a bragging right when her next album comes out, and Randy Goodman seems especially enamored with her.
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jhomes87
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Post by jhomes87 on Mar 13, 2018 11:53:12 GMT -5
It's crazy how Maren has one of the biggest pop hits of the year right now with "The Middle". That song is way bigger than anything she's released to country radio and it's basically her song even though it's not on her album. Zedd is technically the lead artist and he obviously did a lot of work on the song by being the producer and one of its writers, but the vocals are 100% Maren and that's all that the public cares about really. A similar example would be "Uptown Funk"...it was on producer Mark Ronson's album, but the fact is that most people don't care about that; it's a Bruno Mars song in most people's minds. I'm honestly quite surprised that a new country artist has a huge pop hit that's basically 100% her vocals, but I'm even more surprised at how at home Maren sounds on "The Middle". She just seems extremely suited to making music that's more of a pop style than country. That's the song that most of the public is going to know her for now, too. "My Church" was pretty big for her but her other country radio releases haven't been as popular. "I Could Use A Love Song" did go #1 but it only peaked at #56 on the Hot 100, which is mediocre at best for a #1 country hit. And while "Rich" could still be a moderate hit at country radio later this year, it's not doing much on the sales front. According to kworb it's not even in the top 1500 on iTunes.
It's funny because it seems that people are getting on board with her pop song more than with most of the material on Hero. To be fair, Hero has been quite the success for a new country artist with sales approaching 300k (it's likely eligible for a Gold certification thanks to streaming) as well as the fact that it produced three hits, including the #9-peaking "My Church", the #12-peaking "80s Mercedes", and the #1 "I Could Use A Love Song", but "The Middle" is arguable an even bigger hit than "Meant To Be" right now. Just let that sink in.
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14887fan
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Post by 14887fan on Mar 13, 2018 14:25:39 GMT -5
I’m 100% here for Maren Morris dethroning Miranda Lambert at the ACMs for FVOTY.
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