Carrie Underwood - "Blown Away"

[Marv]

I also don't see anything stopping her from going to #1, even if she doesn't get there until November.

She's still 1,300+ spins ahead of Luke Bryan, who is screaming up the chart quite briskly as well, which makes plenty of sense.

[Zazie]

Sept 7, 2012 3:09:50 GMT -5 jhomes87 said:

She's probably looking at another week at #10. But it doesn't matter. Her gains are great. It's just that, last week, you had a couple of artists dropping off the chart (TBP and L&T) and in weeks before we usually had 1 or 2 droppers, but this week, there just isn't anybody. Blake's falling fast, but he was 11 million ahead of Carrie yet. He may lose 7 million or so, but it'll take one more week yet before he drops off and Carrie gains that spot. The only artist within range is Easton Corbin, who actually passed Carrie on Billboard last week (he jumped 14-9, compared to BA's 12-10 jump), but he was only about 400k ahead and Carrie has outgained him by a bit on Mediabase so far this week.

So there's a chance she could re-pass Easton. Otherwise, she'll hold at #10. The following week, she'll pass Blake for sure, and soon after I think guys like Keith Urban and Josh Turner may be within range, as they'll be peaking soon. LBT has peaked and will start to come down in the coming days. Jason, Jana, and Hunter are all gonna peak ahead of Carrie though, so by the time she catches them, they'll be on their way down. And other than Easton, the only other guy in range might be Dustin Lynch, but he may also be able to stay ahead for a while, or even peak ahead, as he's really picking up steam. He was 4.5 million ahead on the 9/15 BB chart, so Carrie won't catch him any time soon, if at all.

I always say things in too many words. Carrie's in a good spot right now, and it'll basically be her and Easton moving up together. ZBB looks to be done, Tim isn't a threat at all with the way he's moving, and the next top 5-or-better candidates are gonna be Miranda Lambert, Lee Brice...and probably throw in Jake Owen and Luke Bryan, with the way Jake has picked up the pace lately, and Luke has just been red hot jumping 25-19 last week. I'd say all of them will be in the group that peaks just after Carrie does, though, and right now I see no reason to believe that Carrie won't hit #1. I think she'll probably need another 7-8 weeks bef1ore she hits #1, though.

Hard to argue with this analysis. She's at 20 million in audience now, say she needs 36 mill to hit #1, give her 2 million a week in average gains and that's 8 weeks.

Or look at it this way -- a second week for Pontoon, 2 weeks for Hunter Hayes, 3 weeks for Jason Aldean (I'm being generous), a week for Easton Corbin, and she's next. That's 8 weeks. (And if Dustin Lynch gets a week, then one week comes off somebody else's total. I don't think the other top 10 songs are candidates but if they get there, they too reduce other acts' time at the top.) By this formula if she gets past Easton C she can get there in 7 weeks, but that's a quibble.

Is there anybody to spoil this? I don't see it. Lambert won't try to go up ahead of Underwood. McGraw isn't moving, ZBB we've already said our goodbyes to, Brice isn't in a hurry, the others are too far back. I don't see Chesney's new one being something that can rocket to the top in 7 weeks even if it suddenly gets released.

[bluedog6]

Sept 6, 2012 17:35:27 GMT -5 liza said:

I find myself changing the station when this plays. It's just too much in a grating way.

I have to agree. I really think I tried to give this song a chance. I really like the subject matter, and well, I really like the song period. But the production of this song is making it an instant station changer the minute I hear it. I've already talked about how I dislike how they have messed with her voice (by overtracking or whatever it's called) on the the parts where she sings "there's not enough rain in Oklahoma to wash the sins out of the house, etc". Every single time I hear it I bust out laughing because it sounds like a Disney character. I'm pretty sure that is not the emotional response intended. And then I really have a hard time with Carrie screaming her way through some of the lyrics. She did that a LOT on Good Girl and that song quickly became my least favorite of her songs. Ever. Dang that annoys me.

It's a shame too because I really like Carrie and she is so talented but my tastes tend to run toward songs that are light on production. The bigger the song's production gets the more I tend to dislike it. I've been trying to force myself to like the studio version of this song because it is such a good song. I'm giving up and changing the station.

[carrieidol1]

Sept 12, 2012 19:24:43 GMT -5 bluedog6 said:

Sept 6, 2012 17:35:27 GMT -5 liza said:

I find myself changing the station when this plays. It's just too much in a grating way.

I have to agree. I really think I tried to give this song a chance. I really like the subject matter, and well, I really like the song period. But the production of this song is making it an instant station changer the minute I hear it. I've already talked about how I dislike how they have messed with her voice (by overtracking or whatever it's called) on the the parts where she sings "there's not enough rain in Oklahoma to wash the sins out of the house, etc". Every single time I hear it I bust out laughing because it sounds like a Disney character. I'm pretty sure that is not the emotional response intended. And then I really have a hard time with Carrie screaming her way through some of the lyrics. She did that a LOT on Good Girl and that song quickly became my least favorite of her songs. Ever. Dang that annoys me.

It's a shame too because I really like Carrie and she is so talented but my tastes tend to run toward songs that are light on production. The bigger the song's production gets the more I tend to dislike it. I've been trying to force myself to like the studio version of this song because it is such a good song. I'm giving up and changing the station.

"Blown Away" hardly contains any "screaming'", as you say it does. It puzzles me that people refer to hitting and sustaining a high note as "screaming". High notes require more breath, and typically more volume, thus they're louder... but they're not "screaming", by any means. If to you it sounds like Carrie is screaming at that part of the song, then I don't see how you could truthfully "like" Carrie as a singer. She "screams", as you call it, on practically every song she releases. "Jesus Take the Wheel", "Before He Cheats", "Wasted", "So Small", "All-American Girl, "Last Name", "Just A Dream", "Cowboy Casanova", and "Undo It" are all examples of songs on which she "screams", aka; hits and sustains high notes. I'm not picking on you for not liking the song, I just think your reasoning, in specific reference to her "screaming", is somewhat unfounded simply because she really isn't "screaming", at all.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

I do think that Carrie used to have a tendency to over-sing at times. Like when she goes out of the second chorus to "So Small" — "It sure makes everything else... seem so SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!!!!!!!! SomeTIMES, that MOUNTAIN YOU'VE BEEN CLIMBING is just a GRAAAAAAAAIN OF SAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!!" etc.

Likewise the next-to-last "THIIIIIIIS IS JUUUUUUUUUUUUST A DREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM!!!!![/i]" on "Just a Dream" is way over the top. More like "Just a Scream."

(Also, "When you figure out love is all that matters after all" — that line always bugged me. Really? Nothing else matters after all?)

[carrieidol1]

Over-singing is different from screaming. If a singer can hit and sustain a note, any note, I don't think it's "over-singing". ESPECIALLY if said artist can control the note enough to add vibrato, which Carrie consistently does. Again, I think people mistake loudness and volume for "screaming" and "over-singing". Just because she sings a high loud note, she's over-singing? I don't get it... If a note is executed right, which most of Carrie's are, then I don't see how they can be deemed "over-sung" or "screamed".

[dmprof1]

at Blown Away containing over-singing.

Mariah's, Beyonce's, and other divas' over singing makes Carrie's look like whispering.

Next.

[countrybamafan]

Sept 12, 2012 22:54:16 GMT -5 dmprof1 said:

at Blown Away containing over-singing.

Mariah's, Beyonce's, and other divas' over singing makes Carrie's look like whispering.

Next.

Quoting pop artists is not really the best way to win an argument on the "country" section.

Anyway, everyone has different opinions on what constitutes "screaming" or not. Personally, I enjoy the sound of Carrie's "scream" for the most part (There have been some live performances where I have felt she has over-sang). And, there are some artists whose "scream" really sounds just like a scream. Some people may disagree.

I have to agree though that I find it odd that bluedog6 would single out this song and Good Girl for screaming. How do you feel about So Small and Just A Dream? I can definitely understand people like TenPoundHammer who believe she was oversinging/screaming in those songs (In So Small, I felt she went slightly over the top and a slightly more subdued production and/or voice would have been more effective. In Just A Dream, I love the fact that she is actually "screaming" at the end because it's like she's screaming in agony and just can't believe her fiance is dead. It makes it even more emotional to me). As far as Blown Away, I don't notice any extra screaming. I won't say her voice is subdued, but nothing out of the ordinary as far as a Carrie single goes.

On another note, I understand bluedog6 for hating the production. It took me multiple listens to enjoy it myself, and I can see how it's too jarring for people. One of my friends who typically loves Carrie's voice cannot stand listening to this song for that reason. I agree it's jarring, but once I listened to it more, I couldn't get enough. I already loved the song and lyrics (The lines "There's not enough rain in Oklahoma....." say so much in just two lines). I just had to get used to the production (I compare it similar to trying a new food for the first time. Whenever I try something new, it takes me a while before I make up my mind whether I like it lol). Now, I can't imagine the song being on radio without the production. And, I enjoy the processed "There's not enough rain in Oklahoma..." parts. I disagree that it makes her sound like a cartoon character. To me, it sounds sinister.

I've been hearing this song a whole lot on the radio the past couple of days. Today, I bet I heard it five or six times (on different stations, of course). I don't think I've heard a Carrie song this much since Before He Cheats (or the week Good Girl was pushed pretty hard to reach #1). That's a good sign for me. It's obviously not going to hit the wall that similarly themed songs like Independence Day have. Unless a really big tornado hits somewhere in the U.S. and causes chaos (like the big tornado that struck Tuscaloosa in April of 2011), I don't see anything stopping the song from #1, and I think it has an excellent chance of being her first multi-week #1 since Just A Dream.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

As I said, I think the produciton excellently captures the dark, stormy feel, from the pizzicato strings to the strings to the processing on the backing vocals in the first chorus. I gave this song 5 stars just for the production, but the lyrics can't be overlooked either. The writers said a lot without using a lot of words.

[bornfearless2000]

Where did all these comments about over singing come from?

If you want to complaint about Carrie Underwood, at least don't complaint about her singing talent because that would make your favs look like a basic. K???

[leilamaurizia]

Sept 12, 2012 23:59:10 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

As I said, I think the produciton excellently captures the dark, stormy feel, from the pizzicato strings to the strings to the processing on the backing vocals in the first chorus. I gave this song 5 stars just for the production, but the lyrics can't be overlooked either. The writers said a lot without using a lot of words.

I completely agree. For instance, the protagonist's use of "mean old mister" and "angel in the ground" to describe the father and mother, respectively, already paints such a vivid picture of what this girl has gone through in her life starting from childhood. Then the sinisterly-sung "sweet revenge" implies that she's already of an age where she realizes the consequence of leaving her father passed out on the couch.

Oh, and the production. Don't get me started on the production. I have listened to this track over and over and over again because I'm so obsessed with the production. I kept discovering something new each time. I could write a whole paper on it. Even with that, I didn't even think of the kick-drum sounding like her "heart beating really fast" as co-writer Tompkins reveals in this article.

And the different ways Carrie's voice is used... *gah*... like a siren, like the whistling of the wind in a tornado, like in a trance while contemplating being stuck in this hellish life and fantasizing about killing her abusive, possibly killer-father.

Suffice to say, I find this song to be pretty damn cool and I'm ecstatic that it's moving so well to the top of the chart. Biggest AI gain again today (+1.067), with a considerable difference from the next biggest gainer, Easton (+0.632).

[jptexas]

^^That says it all, I couldn't agree more.

[Deleted]

Moves up to #28 on the Hot 100 this week for a new peak. It should crack the Top 20 once HAC starts picking it up next week, along with whenever its CHR adds date comes along.

[onebuffalo]

Sept 13, 2012 18:22:10 GMT -5 @14887fan said:

Moves up to #28 on the Hot 100 this week for a new peak. It should crack the Top 20 once HAC starts picking it up next week, along with whenever its CHR adds date comes along.

I would love to see Carrie Underwood go two for two with the Blown Away CD. Good Girl was a #1 country hit that peaked at #18 on the Hot 100. Blown Away should be her 13th #1 hit while peaking inside the top 20 on the Hot 100.

[Deleted]

"Blown Away" is going to be bigger than "Good Girl". Its consistent sales are very impressive. It's been in the top 15 on the iTunes all-genre chart for weeks now. Usually only about 1-3 country songs are able to stay so high for so long. Before Taylor released her new single, it was just Carrie with LBT and Hunter Hayes, and a couple others like "Come Over" and "Take A Little Ride" did very well also. But BA has been one of the most steady presences. And if it gets airplay on other formats (CHR, HAC) that will only further its success, so I agree that it could match or even out-peak "Good Girl" on the Hot 100, especially since BA still has several weeks of airplay growth ahead of it on Hot Country songs.

The really good news is that the album sales have been steady too, partially helped by sale pricing, but still. The album's title track is definitely a big contribution to the steady sales. And, if this song does get some Pop airplay, I don't think we have to worry about this song getting any sort of re-mix for the format, knowing Carrie's stance on that issue. It'd be absolutely ridiculous anyway, as this song doesn't need one. I think it works on country radio just great, but the big bold production is also gonna help out its chances at other formats.

[Marv]

A two-week stay at #1 would appear to be a foregone conclusion, and her next single will hopefully continue her momentum unless her label botches that selection.

It would appear that with several songs ahead of her running on fumes, she should have little trouble reaching #1 next month.

[jptexas]

Sept 13, 2012 22:36:03 GMT -5 Marv said:

A two-week stay at #1 would appear to be a foregone conclusion, and her next single will hopefully continue her momentum unless her label botches that selection.

It would appear that with several songs ahead of her running on fumes, she should have little trouble reaching #1 next month.

Considering her last two huge mediabase increases, I think you might be right about a 2 week number one stay. But, these days, it seems like "1 week and your out" is becoming the trend.

[carriekins]

Sept 14, 2012 9:43:09 GMT -5 jptexas said:

Sept 13, 2012 22:36:03 GMT -5 Marv said:

A two-week stay at #1 would appear to be a foregone conclusion, and her next single will hopefully continue her momentum unless her label botches that selection.

It would appear that with several songs ahead of her running on fumes, she should have little trouble reaching #1 next month.

Considering her last two huge mediabase increases, I think you might be right about a 2 week number one stay. But, these days, it seems like "1 week and your out" is the becoming the trend.

Not necessarily. Three of the last #1s were 2-week stays: Come Over, Over, and Pontoon. And it's quite possible that Hunter Hayes could, as well, depending on what Josh Turner and Jason Aldean do, and then it's possible Aldean takes a 2-week turn prior to Carrie.

[austin]

For me, this song is ALREADY bigger than "Good Girl." This has already left a bigger impact and even though it hasn't reached #1 on Country yet, "Good Girl" really came and went without anyone really noticing, whereas this will be a career hit for her, despite my reservations about its release.

[layne]

Sept 14, 2012 13:55:09 GMT -5 austin said:

For me, this song is ALREADY bigger than "Good Girl." This has already left a bigger impact and even though it hasn't reached #1 on Country yet, "Good Girl" really came and went without anyone really noticing, whereas this will be a career hit for her, despite my reservations about its release.

I agree even though it hasn't reached #1 or sold as much as GG yet. I still can't help but feel it would have been on another level of Huge if it had been the lead off single, and sent to the other formats as well.

[peterca]

Blown Away is starting to get spins on HAC:

Station Market Format TW lw Move ovn am mid pm eve Aud
WTIC-FM Hartford Hot AC 7 0 7 2 0 2 1 2 0.039
KPLZ-FM Seattle Hot AC 6 0 6 2 0 2 1 1 0.046
WMMX-FM Dayton Hot AC 5 0 5 1 0 0 4 0 0.029
WSTW-FM Wilmington, DE Hot AC 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 0.01

[someguy]

Sept 14, 2012 14:09:50 GMT -5 layne said:

Sept 14, 2012 13:55:09 GMT -5 austin said:

For me, this song is ALREADY bigger than "Good Girl." This has already left a bigger impact and even though it hasn't reached #1 on Country yet, "Good Girl" really came and went without anyone really noticing, whereas this will be a career hit for her, despite my reservations about its release.

I agree even though it hasn't reached #1 or sold as much as GG yet. I still can't help but feel it would have been on another level of Huge if it had been the lead off single, and sent to the other formats as well.

Yeah, for some reason this feels like her biggest hit in a long, long time, even though it's just entered the Top 10. I think this will go down as one of her biggest hits ever when it's all said and done. I get why they went with "Good Girl" first, but it would have been interesting to see how huge this could have been if it were the lead single. It's probably smart that they kept it as the second single to keep the album going strong, because it would have opened huge regardless.

[peterca]

Blown Away, the single, just shot up on the iTunes chart! It's at #13, thanks to the performance on Country's Night To Rock!

[layne]

Reading the BB update and noticed the 2 power play lists. KEEY doesn't even have this song in it's top 30 playlist. This is the reason I hate radio politics.

[Typo]

Isn't KEEY the station that played "The More Boys I Meet" in place of "I Told You So" during ITYS' run?

[Deleted]

^Yeah, they are. Honestly though, if you look at all the different playlists on AllAccess, there's tons of differences among them. Some stations have brand new songs in their top 10, and songs in the top 15 can be lower down at an individual station.

I like it that way. If every station had a top 10 song in their top 10...that leads to problems. So while I wish that station was playing BA more, it's a good thing that all stations aren't alike. If they all played the #1 song 65-70 times a week (like some stations do), I'd likely have a brain hemorrhage if I tried to look at the chart. That's what Marv is always talking about--how too many stations use the national charts to base their playlists off of. I believe that's definitely true, and it's easy to see why that would continue to slow things down further.

KEEY is one of the best stations at adding songs that are brand new. But they usually have a good play list. I'm sure that BA will start to skyrocket there in the next few weeks. I love BA but I'm not gonna chastise a station for not programming their playlist based on the national charts.

[layne]

So you don't think a top 10 song deserves to be played in the top 30 on a panel station that determines chart position? If the station wasn't on the chart panels I could care less but to me that is just as much manipulation as CC stations playing a song every hour out of the gate.

[Deleted]

Sept 18, 2012 0:40:19 GMT -5 layne said:

So you don't think a top 10 song deserves to be played in the top 30 on a panel station that determines chart position? If the station wasn't on the chart panels I could care less but to me that is just as much manipulation as CC stations playing a song every hour out of the gate.

I'm going to have to completely disagree with you here. I don't think any song deserves anything. Greg Swedberg, the PD at KEEY, determines his playlist and he's one of the most respected in the industry. I don't think it's manipulation at all. By definition, manipulation, in this case, would be that Greg is purposely trying to hold BA back and I don't think that's the case at all. They've been very supportive of Carrie in the past and were one of the top audience contributors when "Good Girl" hit its peak.

What I'm saying is that, I fully expect KEEY to be one of the big audience contributors to BA when it hits its peak. Right now, they are just playing a lot of other music. Most songs go up and down several times in a chart run, in terms of their weekly rotations, so no, it doesn't bother me at all that one station isn't playing this song all that much. You can find situations like this for every song and every station. I don't see how it's manipulation at all. It's entirely possible that, in that particular market, BA hasn't gotten much of a push yet from the label--maybe not very many calls from the Arista Midwest promo rep. And it's also possible that BA hasn't really connected yet in the KEEY listening area, or that they just have a lot of other songs out right now that listeners really love, so those are the ones getting more plays.

What I AM against is an entire block of stations, like Cumulus, not adding a top 10 song because their headquarters hasn't given the approval. That would be a form of manipulation. But one station not putting a top 10 song into high rotation just yet? That's not a big deal at all. I don't want every single station to have the top 10 songs on the national charts be their top 10 most-played songs. It would make the chart into even more of a nightmare than it already is, if stations programmed their playlists based on national rankings.

I love BA, but in no way can I condemn KEEY for not playing BA a ton right now. It's getting airplay there, just not high rotation. And anyway, the airplay will go up. Just wait and see.

[layne]

^Interesting. Isn't KEEY a station that is on a panel that determines National Charts?

[Deleted]

Sept 18, 2012 0:57:17 GMT -5 layne said:

^Interesting. Isn't KEEY a station that is on a panel that determines National Charts?

Yes...? I don't get where you are going with this ???

The airplay from all the stations determines the chart rankings. How the chart looks should not determine how a station programs its playlist. If you go by that logic, then KXLY, the other Power Playlist this week, should drastically cut back on their airplay of Jake Owen's "The One That Got Away". They had him at #2 on their playlist last week, and he's not even top 10 yet!!

The charts are merely a reflection of combined airplay at all stations. One station may have given BA only 10 spins last week, but WPAW in Greensboro had it as their #1 song with 70 spins. Should they cut back too, because it's not a #1 hit yet?