Martina McBride Album Series Rankdowns

[bboat11]

Yaaaaasssss, tag Red in the Martina rankdowns! Make him come in here and experience angelic perfection!

[Red]

Oct 26, 2017 20:50:09 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Yaaaaasssss, tag Red in the Martina rankdowns! Make him come in here and experience angelic perfection!

The funny thing about these tags is that Martina was played a lot by my family when I was younger. "A Broken Wing" was a staple in our household. There's a good chance that I could have even participated in this rankdown, as this was the album I remember being played the most.

[kansasmeetsmo]

So I think I've matched rank or been within one for every song except Valentine. I'm surprised, thought I was going to be all over the place with my rankings. Maybe it's about to change...

[.indulgecountry]

Oct 26, 2017 20:56:22 GMT -5 Red said:

Oct 26, 2017 20:50:09 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Yaaaaasssss, tag Red in the Martina rankdowns! Make him come in here and experience angelic perfection!

The funny thing about these tags is that Martina was played a lot by my family when I was younger. "A Broken Wing" was a staple in our household. There's a good chance that I could have even participated in this rankdown, as this was the album I remember being played the most.

Well, there is like another 10 more of these we still have left to do so...

[fearlessarrow]

I can't even deal with these eliminations, all these songs are so good!

[bboat11]

This means only 1 song left will miss the top 5!!! 4 singles and 2 album tracks remain. 2 #2 hits, 2 #1 hits, 1 of Martina's most widely praised album tracks, and 1 of Martina's highest and most difficult vocally album tracks... Which one will miss the top 5?

A Broken Wing
Be That Way
Happy Girl
I Don't Want To See You Again
Whatever You Say
Wrong Again


Also, here is every poster's remaining average:
dub /kansasmeetsmo /fearlessarrow - 3.50
Cody Wants Out... - 3.83
codyj100 - 4.00
bboat11 /someguy - 4.17
Kanenrá:ke - 4.33
@adam1995 - 4.83
castleoblivion26 - 5.00
cerulean - 5.33
d3vin44 /.indulgecountry - 5.67
tim - 5.83
BackwoodsBarbie - 6.00
born - 6.17
BlueShades874 - 6.67

Right now we have a 3-way tie for 1st place, between dub , kansasmeetsmo , and fearlessarrow, whose top 6 all match THE top 6!!!

[fearlessarrow]

I'm going to say it's between "I Don't Want To See You Again" or "Happy Girl". I don't even know what I want eliminated at this point...

[kansasmeetsmo]

Oct 26, 2017 21:19:48 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

I'm going to say it's between "I Don't Want To See You Again" or "Happy Girl". I don't even know what I want eliminated at this point...

I'd second both of those statements.

[castleoblivion26]

Oct 26, 2017 21:24:16 GMT -5 kansasmeetsmo said:

Oct 26, 2017 21:19:48 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

I'm going to say it's between "I Don't Want To See You Again" or "Happy Girl". I don't even know what I want eliminated at this point...

I'd second both of those statements.

I agree it is most likely between those two songs and I would be okay with them being the next two out as those are my 14 and 6, the other 4 songs are my Top 4 but honestly REALLY HOPING that "Happy Girl" is out next because NO to that being Top 5! Hopefully my 14 rank for it helps push it out of the Top 5!

[bboat11]

I don’t want you to call,

 ‘Cause if I can’t have it all 

I don’t wanna see you again.

6. "I Don't Want To See You Again"

Track #10

Runtime: 3:00

Songwriters: Jackson Leap

Vocal Range: F3 - E5



Total: 116
Average: 6.82
Std Dev: 3.21

bboat11 - 2
.indulgecountry - 2
d3vin44 - 3
dub - 5
BackwoodsBarbie - 5
fearlessarrow - 5
Kanenrá:ke - 6
kansasmeetsmo - 6
castleoblivion26 - 6
codyj100 - 6
Cody Wants Out... - 7
cerulean - 9
@adam1995 - 10
someguy - 10
tim - 10
born - 11
BlueShades874 - 13

Leo ✔


The top 6 of this rankdown absolutely destroyed the competition! This song beat "Some Say I'm Running" by 17 points, which is pretty massive for an album rankdown! Unfortunately, this song also fell 11 points behind the #5 song. This one made a run for the top 5 at first, but once it fell out it stayed out. Suffice it to say, with that large cushion on both ends, this song was pretty much guaranteed the #6 position.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite songs of all time. I lose my #2 here, alongside .indulgecountry. I love everything about this song! Martina's vocal is surprisingly powerful, even by her standards. From the very first note, she absolutely slays!

After how much time I have spent studying her voice and her songs, I have decided that this has got to be one of her most difficult songs for her to sing. This song is unrelenting! It is towards the top of Martina's range from the very first note, and only lets up briefly for the verses. And then at the end there is a key change which pushes her even higher. But she is clearly up for the challenge, as she alters the melody in the last chorus to belt an E5 on "baby", which is the highest note she has on record (she also hit that note during "Whatcha Gonna Do" in the Eleven rankdown).

Anyway, despite the fact that she very obviously CAN sing this song, it does not surprise me in the slightest that I can't find any live performances of it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the reasons this was never selected as a single was because it would be too hard on her voice live, similarly to why Sara Evans never released "Niagara" as a single. That is total speculation on my part, but it is definitely possible!

[fearlessarrow]

"I Don't Want To See You Again" is definitely one of the best album tracks in Evolution along with "Be That Way". This rankdown was my first listen of "I Don't Want To See You Again", and I was surprised by how good this was!

[castleoblivion26]

aww "Happy Girl" is Top 5 :( I really wish I liked it because it is her.

"I Don't Want To See You Again" is a great song and she sounds great on it. Do wish there was a recording of her singing it even if from early in her career just to hear it live but I guess it isn't meant to be. Glad it made it this far at least!

now "Happy Girl" for #5!

[bboat11]

Oct 23, 2017 10:44:12 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

3) Which songs belong in the top 5? Probably "A Broken Wing," "Wrong Again," and "Whatever You Say" plus two album tracks. Maybe "Happy Girl" sneaks in there too.

Oct 23, 2017 14:48:59 GMT -5 dub said:

3) Which songs belong in the top 5?
Be That Way, A Broken Wing, Wrong Again, Whatever You Say, ... Happy Girl? Not sure

Oct 23, 2017 14:57:52 GMT -5 kansasmeetsmo said:

3) Which songs belong in the top 5?

- Wrong Again, Broken Wing, Be That Way, Whatever You Say, Happy Girl

Oct 23, 2017 15:23:25 GMT -5 Cody Wants Out... said:

1) What will be #1?

- Hoping for "Whatever You Say" or "Wrong Again", but I'm probably way off track.


3) Which songs belong in the top 5?

- See #1 above plus "A Broken Wing", "Be That Way", and "Happy Girl". Maybe something else could switch places with one of those?

Congratulations to all of the above posters, who correctly guessed the top 5! (Well, .indulgecountry kiiiiinda got it... )

[bboat11]

Also, pretty much everybody correctly predicted that "Be That Way" would be the highest album track!

[bboat11]

dub correctly predicted that all of the singles except for "Still Holding On" and "Valentine" would float towards the top. The remaining singles make up 4 out of the 5 songs in the top 5.

I'd say the label got the singles mostly correct for this album! If they had released "Be That Way" and "I Don't Want To See You Again" instead of "Still Holding On" and "Valentine", this would have been a perfect era according to Pulse!

[bboat11]

Now, let's see those top 5 predictions!!

A Broken Wing
Be That Way
Happy Girl
Whatever You Say
Wrong Again

[fearlessarrow]

I'll do predictions this time around:

1. A Broken Wing (I'm hoping indulge tanking it doesn't do too much damage here because this song DESERVES to win, Edit: it's not my #1 though!)
2. Whatever You Say
3. Wrong Again
4. Be That Way
5. Happy Girl

[castleoblivion26]

My predictions for Top 5:

5 ~ "Happy Girl" (PLEASE!)
4 ~ "Be That Way"
3 ~ "A Broken Wing"
2 ~ "Whatever You Say"
1 ~ "Wrong Again"

I could see 2 + 3 swapping places but based on what you said earlier on about the #1 never being #1 until the last submission tells me it is not either of those songs which is why I am predicting "Wrong Again" to win but I hope I am wrong and "Whatever You Say" manages to win because that is the second best single of her career behind "Independence Day" imo

[.indulgecountry]

1. Wrong Again
2. Whatever You Say
3. A Broken Wing
4. Be That Way
5. Happy Girl

[dub]

"I Don't Want To See You Again" serves me such Linda Ronstadt "When Will I Be Loved" realness. Love it. Found myself singing it in my head today hoping it would crack the top 5. But super excited for the top 5!

[BackwoodsBarbie]

"Some Say I'm Running" and "Valentine" are both great songs.

I Don't Want To See You Again - Another great discovery of this rankdown. I'm a bit sad that it was eliminated just before top 5 but It did make a way into my favourite songs playlist

Lmao when I look my remaining average and the fact that I have only two top 5 left.

My predictions:

5. Happy Girl
4. Be That Way
3. Whatever You Say
2. A Broken Wing
1. Wrong Again

I hope I'm right :)

[BlueShades874]

I'm surprised that of the four singles remaining Valentine isn't one of them...the way a lot of people seem to feel about Happy Girl, I thought for sure it would be out by now. As far as Valentine goes, I do like the song but for me it kind of gets forgotten among other singles from around this time and I'm not sure why. I'm also thrilled to see Be That Way still in. That's one of those songs I listened to and thought, "How was this NOT a single!?" Here's what I hope to see:

5. Happy Girl
4. Whatever You Say
3. A Broken Wing
2. Wrong Again (or Be That Way)
1. Be That Way (or Wrong Again)

[kansasmeetsmo]

Predictions: 

1. Be That Way
2. Whatever You Say
3. Wrong Again
4. A Broken Wing
5. Happy Girl

[bboat11]

I used to hide in a party crowd,

 Bottled up inside, feelin’ so left out. 

Standin’ in a corner wearin’ concrete shoes

 With my frozen smile and my lighted fuse.

5. "Happy Girl"

Track #2
Runtime: 3:27
Songwriters: Beth Nielsen Chapman, Annie Roboff
Vocal Range: A3 - D5



( this is one of the few songs from this album that actually had a single cover, and the only version I can find is super low quality...)

Total: 105
Average: 6.18
Std Dev: 3.63 (1st Largest!!!!!)


Kanenrá:ke - 2
codyj100 - 2
someguy - 3
tim - 3
fearlessarrow - 3
kansasmeetsmo - 4
cerulean - 4
d3vin44 - 4
dub - 6
Cody Wants Out... - 6
@adam1995 - 7
.indulgecountry - 8
BackwoodsBarbie - 8
BlueShades874 - 9
bboat11 - 9
born - 13
castleoblivion26 - 14

Leo ✔


Everybody nailed the prediction for #5, so I will go ahead and reveal it. "Happy Girl" was a huge hit for Martina, peaking at #2 on the country charts. I am a little shocked to see this song in the top 5, because I knew going into the rankdown that this one usually gets a lot of criticism. I honestly feel like I underranked this one a little bit because I didn't think it stood a chance! Clearly though the haters must just be an extremely vocal minority. After a rough start, this song made a beeline for the top 5, and never looked back. It never came close to passing the #5 spot, but that is okay because the top 4 is pretty much untouchable!

Anyway, this is an awesome song. The instrumentation and production are deliciously innovative and fresh, the vocal performance is joyful and confident, and the lyrics are perfect and descriptive. This was a perfect way to kick off the album, imo. Right on the heels of "I'm Little But I'm Loud", this song sticks out in a good way and really sets the tone for the album!

8 out of 17 posters lose a top 5, while 15 lose a top 10. Nobody loses a #1, interestingly enough. We also finally say goodbye to castleoblivion26 's #14, meaning that all the #14s are gone!








Sara Evans does not sing background vocals on this song...but I found a live version from 2000 where she does!!!!! My two faves in one place, OMG!

[BackwoodsBarbie]

This song has grown on me since general Martina McBride rankdown. I like lyrics and her voice the most.
But it was about time for this song to be eliminated.

[bboat11]

Before I go further, here are some tidbits about the top 4:

-#4 has 75 points. That means it beat "Happy Girl" by 30 points! That is insanely massive for an album rankdown! #3 and #2 are tied with 67 points each. #1 only has 63 points. The whole top 4 is pretty close together, but the top 3 is a cluster of epic proportions.

-As I mentioned previously, #3 and #2 were fighting between each other for #1 the entire time, until our winner swooped past both of them for the victory with the last submission.

-#3 WAS our #1 before the last submission knocked it backwards into a tie with #2. Since #2 has more #1 votes, this one got shoved behind that one too.

-#2 was the most frequent #1, and the clear frontrunner, for this entire game.

-#1 was the underdog from the get go. It had not previously been #1 at any other point during the submission process, until the very last submission gave it a boost.

-ALL of the songs remaining have one vote outside of the top 10. So there is at least one person trying to tank each one!

-Going into the top 4, .indulgecountry is the only person to have lost their #1. The remaining 16 of us have our #1s spread between the remaining 4 songs!

[fearlessarrow]

I love “Happy Girl” so much. I think the use of the tin whistle is what makes me like this song, it’s so different from what you usually hear in country music. I do tend to like songs that sound a bit folky (as in Celtic or Irish folk) so that might explain why I love this song so much. For example my favorite track from Ed Sheeran’s most recent album is “Galway Girl” which is influenced by Irish music and also uses the tin whistle.

[kansasmeetsmo]

The instrumentation is definitely my favorite part of the song, I just love how different it sounds. In fact because it sounds so different, I had a difficult time placing it in the 1998 RD. Sometimes I find the chorus of "Happy Girl" especially the the long OOOOOOHHHH part (not sure how to accurately represent that) grating, but most of the time I'm really into it. 

[castleoblivion26]

perfect Top 4! My entire Top 4 is still in! Would be awesome if it played out the same way my Top 4 is but I do not see that happening. Hopefully my #1 surprises me and is #1!

[codyj100]

Wow this rankdown has turned out, GREAT! I am pleased with my results, but also how everyone seems to be on the same page for a lot of these songs.