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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Aug 23, 2014 23:39:11 GMT -5
This feels like something Blake would have recorded for Pure BS or perhaps Startin' Fires...which for me puts it above nearly everything he has recorded since but behind his best work. The style of song, especially the vocal, is much truer to Blake's natural vocal stylings, which is good to hear. There's a bitter humor in the lyrics that doesn't quite come through in the studio version that I'm pretty sure will come through more clearly in Blake's live performances of the song, so I'm looking forward to those. But like buythecaseof12 and sabre14, I'm puzzled that this is his lead single -- this doesn't feel like an impact song to me, except to the degree that it is a preview of how Blake's upcoming album will sound. Yes, the lyrics rely on older country tropes about heartbreak and the vocals are clearly meant to recall a more traditional country style...that qualifies as a statement and a welcome departure these days. But the imagery is so old-fashioned, it feels antiquated, and that makes "Neon Light" feel like more of an exercise in the form of a classic country song than a relevant modern embodiment of one. To make the obvious comparison, the chorus of Chris Young's "Neon" (which contains the line "the light at this end of the tunnel is neon") also relies on some old-fashioned images, but it works a lot better (for me) because the song is really about romanticizing an old familiar scene and feeling nostalgia for a place that will always be there for you. Maybe the line in "Neon Light" about listening to "country gold heartbreak" is meant to set up Blake's homage to old-school country vocals in the chorus, but it's not sufficiently fleshed out in the rest of the song. (I actually don't mind "Neon Light," the above is just me trying to figure out why I feel like there's something missing from it.) In any case, to clarify, is "Neon Light" really only available at iTunes as an album-only download? I went to see how it was charting and was really surprised to see it outside of the country top-10 and all-genre top-50 at the moment. When I looked up the song on iTunes, it appeared to me that it was possible to purchase "Neon Light" as a stand-alone download (for $1.29), but I didn't attempt to purchase the song and therefore don't know if there would have been an additional requirement to pre-order the album if I did. I'm not sure why Warner Nashville would only allow a single download in the case of an album pre-order, but if that's the case, that would explain the tepid first week sales of "Neon Light." On the other hand, if "Neon Light" is available as a stand-alone download, then its first week sales have got to be concerning for the Shelton camp. But perhaps it'll be a grower in the sales market.
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sbp17
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Post by sbp17 on Aug 24, 2014 0:32:17 GMT -5
Love this. The echo bit is an overplayed trend but otherwise, great song. The musical intro is infectious. I also like how he slides certain words in the chorus and I think that gives the song a better hook than the echo.
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Markus Meyer
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Post by Markus Meyer on Aug 24, 2014 0:32:40 GMT -5
This feels like something Blake would have recorded for Pure BS or perhaps Startin' Fires...which for me puts it above nearly everything he has recorded since but behind his best work. The style of song, especially the vocal, is much truer to Blake's natural vocal stylings, which is good to hear. There's a bitter humor in the lyrics that doesn't quite come through in the studio version that I'm pretty sure will come through more clearly in Blake's live performances of the song, so I'm looking forward to those. But like buythecaseof12 and sabre14, I'm puzzled that this is his lead single -- this doesn't feel like an impact song to me, except to the degree that it is a preview of how Blake's upcoming album will sound. Yes, the lyrics rely on older country tropes about heartbreak and the vocals are clearly meant to recall a more traditional country style...that qualifies as a statement and a welcome departure these days. But the imagery is so old-fashioned, it feels antiquated, and that makes "Neon Light" feel like more of an exercise in the form of a classic country song than a relevant modern embodiment of one. To make the obvious comparison, the chorus of Chris Young's "Neon" (which contains the line "the light at this end of the tunnel is neon") also relies on some old-fashioned images, but it works a lot better (for me) because the song is really about romanticizing an old familiar scene and feeling nostalgia for a place that will always be there for you. Maybe the line in "Neon Light" about listening to "country gold heartbreak" is meant to set up Blake's homage to old-school country vocals in the chorus, but it's not sufficiently fleshed out in the rest of the song. (I actually don't mind "Neon Light," the above is just me trying to figure out why I feel like there's something missing from it.) In any case, to clarify, is "Neon Light" really only available at iTunes as an album-only download? I went to see how it was charting and was really surprised to see it outside of the country top-10 and all-genre top-50 at the moment. When I looked up the song on iTunes, it appeared to me that it was possible to purchase "Neon Light" as a stand-alone download (for $1.29), but I didn't attempt to purchase the song and therefore don't know if there would have been an additional requirement to pre-order the album if I did. I'm not sure why Warner Nashville would only allow a single download in the case of an album pre-order, but if that's the case, that would explain the tepid first week sales of "Neon Light." On the other hand, if "Neon Light" is available as a stand-alone download, then its first week sales have got to be concerning for the Shelton camp. But perhaps it'll be a grower in the sales market. On my iTunes it's an album only download, but American iTunes may be different from the Canadian one.
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Kentucky25
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Post by Kentucky25 on Aug 24, 2014 12:29:32 GMT -5
On my iTunes (American) the home page says "Pre-Order Album and Get Track Now", but when you click on that, "Neon Light" is marked as available for 1.29$
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kml567
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Post by kml567 on Aug 24, 2014 15:48:48 GMT -5
You can buy "Neon Night" stand-alone in USA for $1.29. That's why some chart-watchers have raised their eyebrows on the low iTunes sales.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Aug 24, 2014 15:58:11 GMT -5
"Neon Light" debuts at #25 on MB this week.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2014 18:30:21 GMT -5
You can buy "Neon Night" stand-alone in USA for $1.29. That's why some chart-watchers have raised their eyebrows on the low iTunes sales. Earlier in the week I was unable to do so, though. Now when I go into iTunes I have no problem getting it as a standalone track, but earlier in the week that was not the case, at least for me.
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Post by anothersongwriters2c on Aug 24, 2014 20:52:57 GMT -5
I like the song, but it is very derivitive of recent song "Rum" from Brothers Osbourne- and not quite as cool.
Check out the similarity in vibe and style.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Aug 25, 2014 14:48:24 GMT -5
"Neon Light" debuts at #25 on MB this week. And #18 at country airplay!
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Aug 25, 2014 16:47:19 GMT -5
65 adds today; no surprise there.
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kanimal
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Post by kanimal on Aug 25, 2014 17:00:35 GMT -5
"Neon Light" debuts at #25 on MB this week. And #18 at country airplay! Which is a career high for Blake. By the way, does anyone know why Billboard made such a commotion about the Clear Channel deals (it referenced deals for both this and Swift's new song). I'm pretty sure similar deals have been in play for a lot of recent songs, but I don't recall Billboard consistently outing them for disclaimer purposes. I like the song, but it is very derivitive of recent song "Rum" from Brothers Osbourne- and not quite as cool. Check out the similarity in vibe and style. I kind of know what you're saying, but wouldn't the more obvious comparison be to Chris Young's "Neon?" Similar theme, plus it even borrows some lyrical concepts (drinking doubles, neon lights at the end of the tunnel)
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rsmatto
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Post by rsmatto on Aug 25, 2014 17:50:02 GMT -5
Hey, anothersongwriters2c, First, welcome to the board. Second, I don't think there's anything to "Neon Light" that suggests it's even similar to "Rum." "Neon Light" uses banjos and drum loops with a different melody than "Rum." I guess there's 'somewhat' a similar melody but it's a stretch and I'm pretty damn sure these two songs were not written or recorded with either song in mind.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 17:59:45 GMT -5
I must comment on the relatively low sales "Neon Light" is experiencing. Blake Shelton is supposed to be one of the format's top three superstars, yet his lead single is selling worse than even a brand new artist like Sam Hunt's lead single. Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, and Kenny Chesney all just released singles that hovered in the top 10 on iTunes all-genre for a while. This Blake Shelton song didn't even come close to that range at all. As of today, "Neon Light" sits barely inside the top 100 on iTunes all-genre.
If this were neither a Blake Shelton song nor a lead single, I'd expect sales to be even much worse. Blake has often had lower sales than some of the other big names currently releasing country music (Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Florida Georgia Line). His appeal to country radio mainly seems to come from Blake's presence on a reality TV show and perhaps by his rejection of the "bro-country" trend (barring "Boys 'Round Here") as well as his colorful personality and social media presence. Make no mistake, Blake Shelton has had some huge digital sellers, but off his last record, three singles have still not reached 1 million single sales (the number of digital units a song must sell to be certified Platinum by the RIAA). (For comparison's sake, Jason Aldean had two singles off his last record miss this mark, one of which being "1994" which received considerably less airplay than other superstars' songs usually do, and Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan haven't missed the 1 million mark with a single release during their previous albums.)
I'm still confident that this particular song will have an easy enough time getting to #1 despite low sales simply because country radio always seems to be in Mr. Shelton's favor and "Neon Light" has had a strong enough start that, should its low sales start to catch up with it a few weeks down the road, "Neon Light" will already be close enough to #1 for Warner Music Nashville to do just a bit of extra pushing to get it all the way to the top. Also, looking ahead at the group of songs lining up for top 10 around the same time as "Neon Light," it looks like there will be a series of less popular artists (Frankie Ballard, Sam Hunt, Little Big Town, Big & Rich) and weaker hits (such as the relatively slow-climbing records from Eric Church and Keith Urban) possibly going up at the same time, as opposed to right now, where the top 10 is chock-full of popular artists (Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Chase Rice, or, as I'd like to call them, the "Bro-Country Six," all going up one after the other).
However, if Blake Shelton's sales continue to be this noticeably worse than the other big stars for the rest of his album "era," I'd be inclined to think that he couldn't possibly keep the longest-running streak of #1 country singles in the history of the BDS airplay chart going.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 19:39:33 GMT -5
By the way, does anyone know why Billboard made such a commotion about the Clear Channel deals (it referenced deals for both this and Swift's new song). I'm pretty sure similar deals have been in play for a lot of recent songs, but I don't recall Billboard consistently outing them for disclaimer purposes. This isn't really anything new. They don't usually make reference to the Clear Channel deal in the write-up for their chart highlights, but the Billboard Country Update almost always makes mention of when songs get "driven" up the chart by hourly Clear Channel airplay.
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kanimal
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Post by kanimal on Aug 25, 2014 19:55:07 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 19:57:44 GMT -5
And that's what I meant when I said "chart highlights". :) Idk, I don't really think it's that big of a deal that they happened to mention it in their column this week but that they haven't always done it in the past. When they put up the full article in each Monday's Billboard Country Update, they always mention if a song got hourly Clear Channel airplay.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Aug 28, 2014 16:49:01 GMT -5
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Post by ryanroberts on Aug 28, 2014 22:55:27 GMT -5
^ I think this calls for a Daniel Bryan "Yes Chant"! if that article is any indication of the upcoming record.
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phil1996
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Post by phil1996 on Aug 28, 2014 23:35:44 GMT -5
^ Seriously. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. That article is music to my ears.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 8:20:37 GMT -5
Did anyone else listen to this song and think that Blake is singing it like Blake used to sing his songs? I'm not a fan of the e-drums in the beginning, but I guess life can't be perfect. ;)
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Post by countrymusic20 on Aug 30, 2014 15:09:08 GMT -5
Don't know for sure if this song was available on iTunes the same day it went to radio ... But it only soundscanned a little over 27,000 the first week. That's an absolutely awful start sales wise for this song. Might be doing good on radio, but it's becoming pretty apparent that nobody wants to buy it. Sitting at #14 on iTunes country chart right now.
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Post by Fanofctrymusic on Sept 2, 2014 1:02:24 GMT -5
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minha2cp
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Post by minha2cp on Sept 12, 2014 10:10:26 GMT -5
Official Music Video :)
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Sept 12, 2014 12:28:40 GMT -5
It is a boring video for a lead single. With how busy he's been, and the fact they put this song and upcoming album out so quick, they might not have had allotted time for a full blown music video. So they chose to do a live one. You are right though, usually live music videos are third or fourth singles off of albums. Or at least it seems that way.
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mikeymike00
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Post by mikeymike00 on Sept 12, 2014 12:33:01 GMT -5
His music gets worse and worse with each release. I wish he would get back to his true country music he use to release.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Sept 12, 2014 16:30:37 GMT -5
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rsmatto
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Post by rsmatto on Sept 12, 2014 16:33:17 GMT -5
His music gets worse and worse with each release. I wish he would get back to his true country music he use to release. This is 'true country music.' It just has drum machines for the percussive elements.
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sapphire
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Post by sapphire on Sept 12, 2014 17:09:56 GMT -5
I think this song is one of Blake's best singles and one of my favorites so I'm glad they made a video for this even just live video. He rarely do videos now.
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Post by Fanofctrymusic on Sept 13, 2014 23:19:30 GMT -5
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minha2cp
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Post by minha2cp on Sept 15, 2014 20:30:31 GMT -5
A sneak preview of the track "Bringing Back The Sunshine" :)
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