HunterGirl - "Ain’t About You"

[recordyear]

Artist: HunterGirl
Single: Ain’t About You
Album: TBA
Label: 19 Recordings/Wheelhouse Records
Impact Date: October 23rd, 2023
Writers: HunterGirl

Debut radio single according to the People article.

[zdm1998]

Is she still signed to BBR? If not, I wonder if 19 will partner with a country label for radio promotion.

[recordyear]

Sept 6, 2023 10:04:42 GMT -5 zdm1998 said:

Is she still signed to BBR? If not, I wonder if 19 will partner with a country label for radio promotion.

Yes. Still with Wheelhouse Records.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

This is not a bad song, but not sure it is strong enough to get attention among other radio singles. I would have picked Hometown Out Of Me instead of this one. Regardless, nice to see her finally releasing a radio single, as it was long overdue. 

[bigfan101]

Wonder why Noah Thompson isn't being pushed. To me, his stuff is way more radio friendly.

[.indulgecountry]

Sept 6, 2023 17:04:27 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Wonder why Noah Thompson isn't being pushed. To me, his stuff is way more radio friendly.

Not to mention he won and she was the runner-up, lol.


This is a decent song and her voice is fine, but she sounds so similar to Ella Langley to me... except Ella is the way more polished and superior version. I would be shocked if this even charted, let alone did anything of note. It sounds like such a non-event of a song, not the kind that needs to break a female artist.

[dwindeezy]

IMO I don’t she’s quite ready for a real push yet and needs another year or so of artist development, networking, touring and life experience . There’s still something about her and her music that feel underdeveloped though she has a great tone but hasn’t defined herself yet. She doesn’t even have the streaming presence or buzz to warrant a radio push yet.

Like indulge said, Ella Langley, who sounds very much like her, does it better.

[LBTrocks]

I was struggling to get thru the verse so FF'd to the chorus, and couldn't make it halfway thru that. HARD pass. Her voice is annoying and the song is such a chore to listen to. And normally this wouldn't bother me, but since I disliked this so much, the name HunterGirl is laughably bad lol.

[kf1992]

Just heard this one for the first time and it's absolutely beautiful. She's deserves much more recognition!

[Kanenrá:ke]

The sentiment here is fine, I like that she mentions both young girls and boys as needing someone to listen to…. But the melody of this is incredibly boring. Also not a topic that is the easiest to relate to, especially coming off of Idol to launch her career.

This feels very much like something that’ll struggle to chart and honestly like something that wouldn’t have seen a radio push if she wasn’t from Idol.

I like her voice well enough so I’m hoping whatever is chosen for single #2 is more of a winner.

[bigfan101]

This is having a MUCH stronger add date than I expected. Easily the most added song, over 40 adds the last time I looked.

[raylatch98]

Oct 23, 2023 15:25:34 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

This is having a MUCH stronger add date than I expected. Easily the most added song, over 40 adds the last time I looked.

Yep looked like it got 44 adds this week.

I'm not that shocked personally since it is her debut single and she has some level of hype around her.

[.indulgecountry]

I'm definitely surprised by those numbers. There hasn't felt like that much hype leading up to this release (it's been quite awhile now since she came in 2nd on Idol) and the song itself doesn't scream "radio song" at all. This could end up like "Downtown Baby" by Caitlyn Smith even with all those adds, but it remains to be seen. I'm expecting it to at least do better than I initially thought it would now though.

[dwindeezy]

She’s also been on a radio tour so I’m guessing that plays a part too. Definitely a much stronger add date than I expected tbh.

[tigerman2022]

I like this okay. I do like HunterGirl and honestly feel like "Red Bird" was stronger and could have resonated with the right push. But, I do hope she finds success. I will add that I prefer Megan Danielle's voice more, so I hope Megan gets a shot as well.

[dwindeezy]

Wait though- is this really true? I’m guessing it must mean major label debut single? 30 years is mad long lol

“HunterGirl is an amazing singer and songwriter, but what really differentiates her is her heart, which is on full display when she meets fans, radio programmers and even strangers on the street,” says Ken Tucker, VP of Promotion, Wheelhouse Records. “She’s a generational talent, and I can’t wait to watch her journey. ‘Ain’t About You’ is a song that she wrote entirely on her own, and for a debut single on a female country artist, that’s a benchmark that hasn’t been hit in the last 30 years.”

[.indulgecountry]

Oct 24, 2023 22:00:37 GMT -5 dwindeezy said:

Wait though- is this really true? I’m guessing it must mean major label debut single? 30 years is mad long lol

“HunterGirl is an amazing singer and songwriter, but what really differentiates her is her heart, which is on full display when she meets fans, radio programmers and even strangers on the street,” says Ken Tucker, VP of Promotion, Wheelhouse Records. “She’s a generational talent, and I can’t wait to watch her journey. ‘Ain’t About You’ is a song that she wrote entirely on her own, and for a debut single on a female country artist, that’s a benchmark that hasn’t been hit in the last 30 years.”

Artist singles being released where they're also the solo writer are pretty rare to come by, let alone for it to be something to introduce a brand new artist to country radio, so it doesn't surprise me *too* much. I wonder what female singer it was that last accomplished this, but based on that timestamp it would've had to be around ~1992-1993.

[.indulgecountry]

Oct 25, 2023 19:00:51 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Oct 24, 2023 22:00:37 GMT -5 dwindeezy said:

Wait though- is this really true? I’m guessing it must mean major label debut single? 30 years is mad long lol

“HunterGirl is an amazing singer and songwriter, but what really differentiates her is her heart, which is on full display when she meets fans, radio programmers and even strangers on the street,” says Ken Tucker, VP of Promotion, Wheelhouse Records. “She’s a generational talent, and I can’t wait to watch her journey. ‘Ain’t About You’ is a song that she wrote entirely on her own, and for a debut single on a female country artist, that’s a benchmark that hasn’t been hit in the last 30 years.”

Artist singles being released where they're also the solo writer are pretty rare to come by, let alone for it to be something to introduce a brand new artist to country radio, so it doesn't surprise me *too* much. I wonder what female singer it was that last accomplished this, but based on that timestamp it would've had to be around ~1992-1993.

Based on this article, it appears Mary Chapin Carpenter was the last woman to accomplish this.

[matty005]

I legit don't get the theme/point of this song. Is she saying to never give up on becoming a successful musician? I get the, "never give up," attitude, but this just doesn't seem realistic. There are so many artists who do everything possible to become successful in their field and sometimes even doing everything right it doesn't work out. I would like this song better if it talked about how a musician tried and it didn't work out but became a music teacher and passed on his/her knowledge to a new generation. Or they didn't become a famous singer but now write songs for others. But just saying never give up is too fake for me.

[.indulgecountry]

Officially debuts at #58 on BB Country Airplay.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

Still not keen on this song, but glad to see it at least charting as a new female artist. These days, higher # of initial adds do not seem to guarantee that it's gonna chart.

[taylor]

I’m one of the ones who absolutely stans HunterGirl. So much more than Noah Thompson. Her just charting at all is a huge accomplishment imo, and I’ll take it! My favorite song from her remains “Red Bird” and I would hope that eventually hits big for her. It’s a tall order I’m sure, but I hope this song (or even another one down the line) hits big enough to warrant an album, as I’ve been waiting for one ever since her run on Idol.

[gcizvolsfan]

Oct 28, 2023 19:29:35 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Oct 25, 2023 19:00:51 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Artist singles being released where they're also the solo writer are pretty rare to come by, let alone for it to be something to introduce a brand new artist to country radio, so it doesn't surprise me *too* much. I wonder what female singer it was that last accomplished this, but based on that timestamp it would've had to be around ~1992-1993.

Based on this article, it appears Mary Chapin Carpenter was the last woman to accomplish this.

To be in the company of Mary Chapin Carpenter and K.T. Oslin is amazing! The songs those women wrote are amazing. 

[CoJoFan]

Dec 29, 2023 1:34:25 GMT -5 gcizvolsfan said:

Oct 28, 2023 19:29:35 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Based on this article, it appears Mary Chapin Carpenter was the last woman to accomplish this.

To be in the company of Mary Chapin Carpenter and K.T. Oslin is amazing! The songs those women wrote are amazing. 

Mary Chapin Carpenter did solely write her debut single but K.T. Oslin I’d have to dig into because her first charting single was not written by her at all. It was called “Wall Of Tears” and written by Richard Leigh and Peter McCann. It was the first single from her debut album 80’s Ladies but she released just singles before that that never were released on an album. Her first top 10 single “80’s Ladies” was however solely written by her.

[raylatch98]

Debuted at #50 last night on the Mediabase Top 50 with a bullet of 49, and on Billboard she set a new peak of #53 in this songs 6th week. 

I have heard this song a few times now on the radio and while I am not the biggest fan of the theme of this song, I do really like her voice and the melody of this is a nice. Above all else it's nice to see a new solo female singer make solid progress on the charts and not having to rely on OTV and have it feel more natural. 

[countryfan43]

This continues to struggle to gain much at radio as it hasn’t made it into the top 50 in Mediabase since the previous post. I started listening to this recently and it really sounds great I love the message and her voice is wonderful so hopefully a miracle happens and this starts taking off.

[raylatch98]

Obviously I do like this song, and enjoy it overall, but I am not shocked this is still not gaining much as this song is pretty long at over 4 minutes. Which for a radio single regardless of gender is a disadvantage.  

[.indulgecountry]

Not expecting this to turn into a hit (as I predicted earlier when I first heard it), but it's done what a lot of newer females can't even do which is at least make it onto the chart at all. Bouncing around in the 50s is at least promising for her future prospects at the format, though a more interesting and radio-friendly song would likely be making more headway than this. This is just a pretty album cut kind of song, not something made for mass radio play.