Brad Paisley - "Today"

[robenglund]

Brad wrote this 9 years ago and it certainly sounds like something from 9 years ago. Brad needed to deliver and he did. What an excellent tune.

[Deleted]

This is easily the best thing Brad has released in who knows how long (and that's saying something since ya'll know I'm a huge fan).

What a great throwback sound. Outstanding. Hope radio respects it.

[dm2081]

This is definitely vintage Brad, looks like he went back to his roots on this one. Not my favorite song of his by any means, but it will serve as a nice change of pace on country radio (gasp... a song of substance!). Doubt this will act his career savior, but I think a top 15 peak is possible with it. But at least he is making decent music, regardless of the impact it has at radio.

[sabre14]

Oct 6, 2016 17:10:15 GMT -5 robenglund said:

Brad wrote this 9 years ago and it certainly sounds like something from 9 years ago.

Yep...it does sound like a ballad that could've fit right into his 5th Gear album ("It Did", "With You, Without You").

I updated the OP with this video embedded (on my PC). :)

[McCreerian (Harris 2024!)]

What a great song! Classic Brad!

[countrymusicjunkie]

I love this! My favorite song from Brad in a long time. Unfortunately I'm not so sure this will be a big hit at radio.

[sabre14]

iHeartMedia stations are debuting this today (starting at 5:00 pm ET). I'm assuming this one will also get hourly play on Friday. If that's the case, this should easily debut in the top 40 on Mediabase.

I think this returns Brad to the top 5 and probably #1. "Without A Fight" had the most first week stations Brad's ever had in his career (120 total, reporting spins) and he's still an iHeartMedia debut level artist; radio is not through with him yet; he just needs to find better choices for radio and even though this one's a ballad, I think this song will be a big airplay hit for him going into the winter.

[vann]

Although I liked the song and the lyric I have to agree with Kanenrá:ke about being the same old stuff from him. It is a pretty safe ballad,I think but its good.

[layne]

Not a bad song but it sounds so dated to me.

[codyj100]

Wow. I think this is easily the best song Brad has released in about 5-10 years. THIS has now got me excited for the album. While I love the song, I really hope radio will be kind. (For lack of a better term). This has a very classic Brad sound and his latest material has been a bit more progressive. I hope this allows him another good shot at airplay. Surefire hit, imo.

[jemz]

Not an instant hit with me, but it's growing. Not sure how country radio will carry this song... I thought of comparing it to Craig Campbell's "Outskirts of Heaven" since both have good lyrical depth and are semi mid-tempos/ballads, but then again, Brad is an already-established A-lister. So, while I'm not incredibly certain that "Today" will be a hit/career changer, I'm cautiously hopeful it'll get the treatment it duly deserves.

[bboat11]

YES!!!!! This is the Brad I have missed the last few years!! I absolutely love the guitar work on this song, and the melody/lyrics sound like they will keep getting better every time I hear it even though I already love it! I agree with sabre14 that "Today" would have fit right in with Brad's 5th Gear album, which is a very good thing imo.

[.indulgecountry]

Hot damn is this good. I got goosebumps listening to this for the first time. I love it. Undoubtedly one of his strongest singles of the past 5 years. I can see this doing very well for him. Great song, and touching music video.

[14887fan]

Part II of "Then"

Not a bad song, though. Safe and unspectacular, but better than a whole lot of what he's put out as of recently. Video was like a recreation of "See You Again" (and some of the same clips were even used, lol). Effective, but his visuals team needs a real overhaul, lol. Between the editing for this and everything from the "Without A Fight" rollout, the aesthetics have been rough.

[gonecountry]

A nice return to form for Brad. Is it just me or does anyone else hear the Goo Goo Dolls "Better Days" in the first few notes of this song? (That song is one of my favorite non country tunes of the last 15 years)

[Deleted]

#1 country iTunes and #7 all-genre :)

[Stephen]

Mediocre when looking at his whole catalog, but one of the few gems when looking at his recent releases. I wonder how radio will respond to this. Side note: I keep waiting for a Dudley review... miss you D!

[lyrichord]

:o Number 4 at iTunes, wow. I don't think Brad has had a download hit in ages. Even his songs with decent airplay have mostly flatlined digitally the last few eras. He's come across as trying way too hard since the This is Country Music era and just not connecting ("Without a Fight" being just the latest example), so it's good to see people are still interested in his music. I haven't actually heard this one yet, but fingers crossed (I personally loved "Then").

[g8erboi]

Now that I think about it, this song sounds like a cross between "Then" and "I Can't Change the World". I also couldn't help but notice that the bridge is really similar to the bridge of "Then" (the "hair turning gray" line and all).

[kw9461]

Really, really like the melody of this, vintage Brad for sure. There are nits to pick here for sure, the lyrics play it pretty safe and are less personal than Brad's best, plus the production could do more to complement the melody (though I imagine they didn't do that for fear the song would sound dated). Still, given the lackluster recent singles from Brad this is a welcome return to form.

[bboat11]

I just wanted to point out that this song has the perfect tetrafecta of steel, fiddle, piano, and mandolin!!! I am drooling over this instrumentation!

[bboat11]

Sorry for the double post, but it IS my thread ;)

Nobody has posted the single cover yet, so here is it. OP is edited to include it as well.

[onebuffalo]

MediaBase debut:

0 39 BRAD PAISLEY Today 1120 0 1120 7.875

[bksouthga]

I heard this a couple of times on premiere day, and it's a real snoozer for me so far. Maybe that will change as I hear it more.

[someguy]

After it's inflated start on Friday, this was only played on the radio 12 times on Saturday.

[Deleted]

Oct 9, 2016 9:08:21 GMT -5 someguy said:

After it's inflated start on Friday, this was only played on the radio 12 times on Saturday.

While on one hand radio is obviously fine giving Brad huge adds dates and two-day hourly play, they sure are fine NOT playing him as well. No doubt due to his age and recent catalog.

Either way I have to imagine this being pretty successful.

[Deleted]

I honestly wouldn't read too much into today's update. Labels tend to not work on songs with radio during the weekend, and since this song literally just came out and Brad Paisley hasn't been in the Top 5 in nearly 2 years. Well, I just wouldn't be worried about it..

[g8erboi]

With such minuscule daily updates, is this going to fall out of the Top 50 on the 8th day?

[14887fan]

For how slow of a start at radio this is having, it's selling really well. It's still in the top 10 on iTunes all-genre after peaking at #4. Shocked as hell, but it's clearly resonating well enough with listeners upon first listen or two.

[sabre14]

"Today" is the most added song on Mediabase this week with 66 adds.