bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 22:25:27 GMT -5
The Top 5!! Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Caylee Hammack Christmas To Me - Jamie O'Neal Holly Jolly Christmas - Blake Shelton I’ll Be Home For Christmas - Tiera Kennedy It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Thomas Rhett
If anyone's lurking around and wants to make predictions for how the final stretch will play out, I'll give a few minutes for you to do so!
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Jan 3, 2023 22:30:49 GMT -5
I'm gonna predict:
5 - It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Thomas Rhett 4 - Holly Jolly Christmas - Blake Shelton 3 - I’ll Be Home For Christmas - Tiera Kennedy 2 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Caylee Hammack 1 - Christmas To Me - Jamie O'Neal
Really hoping Jamie pulls it out because that was easily my favorite song this month, though I wouldn't be upset to see Caylee take it either
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 22:37:35 GMT -5
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 22:39:55 GMT -5
A nice big band arrangement can work really well for Christmas music, and Thomas' big band arrangement of this song was a lot of fun! That plus the brisk pace enhanced the overall catchiness of this song by quite a bit, to the point where it has been getting stuck in my head ever since I first heard it. Also, Bass Trombone is a severely underrated instrument. Almost as great as Bari Sax
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 3, 2023 22:41:41 GMT -5
A nice big band arrangement can work really well for Christmas music I wondered whose big band Christmas album we should have ranked last year...
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 22:44:09 GMT -5
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 3, 2023 22:45:51 GMT -5
My top 3 is the rankdown top 3, lol
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 22:46:59 GMT -5
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" is one of the most universally boring Christmas songs, so the fact that I can stand to listen to Tiera's (and in fact CHOSE to include it after comparing it to her other new recording of "Blue Christmas") speaks volumes to what she has done with this song! It's not like it's suddenly an amazing song or anything, but she did manage to make a version of it that holds my attention from beginning to end, which is something that literally nobody has ever done except for Martina!
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🌺CountryLineDancer
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Post by 🌺CountryLineDancer on Jan 3, 2023 22:48:28 GMT -5
I'll Be Home For Christmas is another beautiful holiday tune, I would say it’s A-, and I really liked Tiera’s delivery on this tune, which was surprisingly, as I didn’t like how she sang in her radio single.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 22:54:31 GMT -5
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 3, 2023 22:55:43 GMT -5
Didn't expect Blake Shelton to be top 2. I think Caylee Hammack got this though.
Also that ranking distribution for Christmas to Me...
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 22:57:59 GMT -5
Christmas is a time of year that can evoke a lot of sadness and loneliness instead of joy for people who have experienced major loss, and this year nobody captured those emotions better than Jamie O'Neal. "Christmas To Me" is a powerful song with a beautiful message....and of course the bow on top is Jamie's immaculate vocals The way she soars into "that's why I believe" with her head voice before belting "you were hope, you were spirit and joy" leaves me shook in the best way! When I first played through her Christmas album I immediately knew this was the one I was going to include. And yet somehow she managed to get nothing but top 2 rankings from half the participants, and then nothing but bottom 5 rankings from the other half So, that's really stupid. Like, come on. I can't even believe some of the people who randomly decided not to have taste for once.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 23:06:44 GMT -5
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 23:16:32 GMT -5
As disappointed as I am to see Jamie come up short, I can't be too disappointed with the top 2, considering they were still my #3 and my #6! "Holly Jolly Christmas" is just one of those feel-good songs that is almost always great regardless of who sings it, and Blake did a worthy job with it. He came close to capturing the same energy as Alan Jackson, which is a good place to be if you are going to cover this song!
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is one of those songs that is not covered to death, and I almost always love it when it does finally get dusted off by somebody new again. Caylee over-sings the hell out of this, which is why it wasn't higher on my list, but overall still does a nice enough job that I will most definitely be revisiting! This was probably an obvious winner based on her track record in these things, but it was still pretty impressive that she managed to dominate quite as strongly as she did!
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 3, 2023 23:20:46 GMT -5
Final Results: November 2022
15. Santa Claus Was My Uber Driver - Lee Brice (78) 14. Almost Too Early For Christmas - Jimmy Fallon & Dolly Parton (76) 13. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - O.N.E. The Duo (73) 12. There's A New Kid In Town - Rachel Wammack ft. Blessing Offor (73) 11. O Holy Night - Erin Kinsey (71)
10. Please Come Home For Christmas - Callista Clark (70) 09. Christmas In Dixie - Jason Aldean (70) 08. Miss You At Christmas - Avery Anna (66) 07. New Baby For Christmas - Hailey Whitters (65) 06. Cowboy For Christmas - Runaway June (65) 05. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Thomas Rhett (62) 04. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Tiera Kennedy (61) 03. Christmas To Me - Jamie O'Neal (53) 02. Holly Jolly Christmas - Blake Shelton (49) 01. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Caylee Hammack (28)
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 3, 2023 23:34:54 GMT -5
Can we appreciate that Caylee's songs having 6.7m total streams on Spotify, which is almost on par with those of Dan + Shay's newest Christmas songs (6.8m) and is better than a lot of her peers? She is definitely putting out more Christmas music in the future.
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🌺CountryLineDancer
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Post by 🌺CountryLineDancer on Jan 3, 2023 23:51:29 GMT -5
Holly Jolly Christmas" is my favorite uptempo holiday jam. I love its groovy vibe and catchy melody. I’m glad it did well here. I have been unimpressed with Blake’s work for a while, but his holiday materials are pretty solid.
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 3, 2023 23:55:18 GMT -5
I have been unimpressed with Blake’s work for a while, but his holiday materials are pretty solid. Yeah the rework of Home with Michael Bublé is great. Don't listen to his version of Gwen Stefani's Christmas songs though.
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 4, 2023 8:33:46 GMT -5
That Fallon/Dolly song is saved by the presence of Dolly, and is better/less cringy than his last Christmas song effort (featuring Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion) but that's a very low bar.
This version of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town is cute attempt.
Blessing Offor is an Christian genre artist afaik. This version is a bit sleepy imo.
Avery Anna is 100% a pop artist but Miss You At Christmas is decent for what it is. At least it gives some tempo in this playlist lol
Cowboy for Christmas has a jarring melody. It doesn't feel really necessary after the solid Christmas EP if we ignore the lineup change of the group itself.
I don't know when Blake Shelton recorded Holly Jolly Christmas, but his vocals surely age well if it was recorded recently when compared to his vocals 10 years ago. Plus I don't think anyone can fail singing that song.
Every version of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) I have heard feels oversung, Caylee's surely did but is also weirdly closest to the feeling of the original?
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jan 4, 2023 19:53:42 GMT -5
Glad Erin Kinsey was unable to escape bottom 5. Her vocal on "O Holy Night" was putrid. Y'all overranked tf out of Thomas Rhett and Blake Shelton. 🚮 Indulge ranked this atrocious song by Lee Brice at #3??? I was just as surprised to find myself ranking it as high as I did. And even more surprised that everyone else apparently hated it when I'd say this is better than 90% of the songs I've heard from him to date. 🙃 Same with Jason Aldean. I fully expected him to be in my bottom 5 when I saw his name, but he surprised the hell outta me with that song. I didn't think it was BAD, but definitely no reason to ever revisit it when you could listen to Martina's, or Faith's, or Sara's, or Carrie's, or Lauren's, or Chris Young's, or Jamie O'Neal's, or or or or or.... Like, if you're not even going to attempt the fun note at the end, there's no reason to sing this song at all. (The exception of course being Sara Evans, who makes the song epic in other ways that I have never heard anyone else do, redeeming the lack of the glory note).I mostly listen to Sara's version of the song every year and I've never even noticed the lack of 'the glory note' that you mention because she goes for a big one at the ~3:07 mark that I define as truly EPIC. I'm guessing other artists opt for one in a different spot, but I don't pay enough attention to notice the differences because I stan for Sara's too hard, lol. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" is one of the most universally boring Christmas songs, so the fact that I can stand to listen to Tiera's (and in fact CHOSE to include it after comparing it to her other new recording of "Blue Christmas") speaks volumes to what she has done with this song! It's not like it's suddenly an amazing song or anything, but she did manage to make a version of it that holds my attention from beginning to end, which is something that literally nobody has ever done except for Martina! This! Tiera did surprisingly well with this song, which is probably my least-favorite Xmas standard of all time. It's such a DREADFUL melody, but she made it work well enough that it escaped my bottom 5, so bravo to Tiera. 1. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - Caylee Hammack The slayage!! The right song won. Caylee absolutely murdered this song, which I found unsurprising since her voice and energy as an artist are just immaculate. Between this + her valiant efforts on the Lindeville project w/ Ashley McBryde, I am ITCHING for new solo music from her and hoping & praying to all the country music Gods that she can have some success because she truly deserves.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 7, 2023 22:12:24 GMT -5
Time for the LAST NEW RELEASES LIST FOR 2022!!!! We have yet to check out all the songs that were released alongside the Christmas rush, and now that the Christmas season is over, it is time for us to do just that. And even better, we are completely caught up on this series, so aside from the fact that I waited until January 7 to post this, we are no longer playing catch-up! Thank you all for hanging in there while we did the last like 3 of these in fairly rapid succession.
This will be due on 1/27 so we can try to get it finished up before the 2022 Country Rankdown starts reveals!
Without further ado, meet your list for December 2022!
December 2022:
The Playlist: (Runtime 1 hr. 45 min.) 1. Ask Him - Craig Morgan 2. The Biggest Wheel - Madeline Edwards 3. Bittersweet Symphony - Aubrie Sellers 4. Call Me - Randy Houser 5. Exorcist - Candi Carpenter 6. Face In The Crowd - Walker Hayes 7. Falling For A Stranger - Scotty McCreery 8. God Gave Me A Girl - Russell Dickerson 9. Heaven By Then - Brantley Gilbert ft. Blake Shelton & Vince Gill 10. High Note - Dierks Bentley ft. Billy Strings 11. a hundred years old - Brittney Spencer 12. I Still Pray - Mickey Guyton 13. I Wish I Was - David J 14. In The Picture - Randall King 15. it's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It) - Brothers Osborne & The War & Treaty 16. Jersey Giant - Elle King 17. Jesus, I'm Jealous - Mackenzie Carpenter 18. Let It Slide - Leslie Jordan ft. Blanco Brown & LOCASH 19. Like She Is - Stephanie Quayle 20. Little Miss - Madeline Consoer 21. Motel On The Moon - Tenille Arts 22. Music In The Madness - Ward Thomas 23. One Thing At A Time - Morgan Wallen 24. Over Her Over Here - Lauren Weintraub 25. Part Of It - Jordan Davis 26. Smell Like Smoke - Lainey Wilson 27. Songs We Used To Sing - ERNEST 28. Start Nowhere - Sam Hunt 29. Stoned - Parker McCollum 30. Supernova - Julia Cole
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 8, 2023 3:15:51 GMT -5
{Song list without numbers}Ask Him - Craig Morgan The Biggest Wheel - Madeline Edwards Bittersweet Symphony - Aubrie Sellers Call Me - Randy Houser Exorcist - Candi Carpenter Face In The Crowd - Walker Hayes Falling For A Stranger - Scotty McCreery God Gave Me A Girl - Russell Dickerson Heaven By Then - Brantley Gilbert ft. Blake Shelton & Vince Gill High Note - Dierks Bentley ft. Billy Strings a hundred years old - Brittney Spencer I Still Pray - Mickey Guyton I Wish I Was - David J In The Picture - Randall King it's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It) - Brothers Osborne & The War & Treaty Jersey Giant - Elle King Jesus, I'm Jealous - Mackenzie Carpenter Let It Slide - Leslie Jordan ft. Blanco Brown & LOCASH Like She Is - Stephanie Quayle Little Miss - Madeline Consoer Motel On The Moon - Tenille Arts Music In The Madness - Ward Thomas One Thing At A Time - Morgan Wallen Over Her Over Here - Lauren Weintraub Part Of It - Jordan Davis Smell Like Smoke - Lainey Wilson Songs We Used To Sing - ERNEST Start Nowhere - Sam Hunt Stoned - Parker McCollum Supernova - Julia Cole
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 23, 2023 4:08:01 GMT -5
Reminder time! We are down to five more days to get in a list for the next New Releases rd if you would like to join in! I don't want to have any extensions, so we can get this thing wrapped up before the 2022 Year-end rd closes a few days later!!
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 23, 2023 23:41:52 GMT -5
We are now down to four more days to get this done! Please try to squeeze this in sometime this week if you want to join I have three lists...
Participants so far:
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zaclord 🌈
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Post by zaclord 🌈 on Jan 24, 2023 0:29:34 GMT -5
We really were deprived of decent country releases in the last two months of 2022, weren’t we… yikes this list was mediocre. Not a ton of bad on here but a whole lot of meh
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SHOOTER
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Post by SHOOTER on Jan 24, 2023 0:30:36 GMT -5
Chile...
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Jan 24, 2023 21:44:21 GMT -5
We really were deprived of decent country releases in the last two months of 2022, weren’t we… yikes this list was mediocre. Not a ton of bad on here but a whole lot of meh It really was a mediocre list and not only that but I've never had so many female songs in my bottom 5 before. Fucking yikes @ some of the ladies' offerings here...
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Post by raylatch98 on Jan 24, 2023 22:04:53 GMT -5
I will say even though I haven't participated in this ever, I do share the sentiment the last two months of country music was really awful for new releases (how "Let's Ride" with two former members of Gloriana made it past the cutting room floor is beyond me since it has no melody, no solid hook, and neither artist has much chemistry or any prescence).
I don't think I will submit for this month, but I think I will start soon as this has always been fun to watch imo.
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recordyear
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Post by recordyear on Jan 24, 2023 22:31:56 GMT -5
I don't think the new country releases in Nov-Dec 2022 are too bad if you look at indie country releases (First Aid Kit, Adeem the Artist, Caitlin Rose etc.), but I don't think they would do well here.
But for real I don't expect a 30-song list, and some artists I don't think have the popularity nor the quality to rank again in succession (Craig Morgan, Jordan Davis). Some covers and droplet singles can be skipped tbh (looking at you, Aubrie Sellers and Mickey Guyton). In general we don't have to rank every release by artists. You can always make a smaller list instead.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Jan 24, 2023 23:48:39 GMT -5
I will say even though I haven't participated in this ever, I do share the sentiment the last two months of country music was really awful for new releases (how "Let's Ride" with two former members of Gloriana made it past the cutting room floor is beyond me since it has no melody, no solid hook, and neither artist has much chemistry or any prescence). I don't think I will submit for this month, but I think I will start soon as this has always been fun to watch imo. I'd love to see you joining in the future! Out of all the rankdowns, I feel like this series is the one where it would be coolest for people who don't participate in a lot of rankdowns to join in more often. It's a pretty fun way to stay on top of the current industry, imo. Even if I find the modern industry to be a lot less consistently great than it was in the '90s and '00s, I've made SO many fun discoveries here that I otherwise may not have. This feels like it has done more to keep my taste relevant than modern country radio could even dream of doing, with their sexism and ageism and slow climbs and their 5 songs being driven into the ground mercilessly at any given time...
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