New Country Releases Rankdown Thread

[.indulgecountry]

"Like My Whiskey" brings up the rear for the January set. This random Jessie G girl dug Gretchen Wilson out of whatever hole she's been hiding in the past few years for a collaboration. The song is catchy and has some delightful country instrumentation, but the mixing is a bit amateurish and the harmonies are admittedly a bit shrill between the two, which is what I imagine turned so many off to this one to where it only had five measly ranks that weren't in the bottom 5.

[LBTrocks]

A big thank you to .indulgecountry for including my 2 week late list after he had already closed submissions

The vocals on “Like My Whiskey” were a bit rough but the song itself is a jam! In a weaker month, this would have made my top 10. But this was a stellar month so it could only make it to 12 on my list

[.indulgecountry]

24. "2033" - Chapel Hart

Total: 290

zack97 : 7
kluen : 13
castleoblivion26 : 13
Darkest Hour : 16
SHOOTER : 17
zaclord 🌈 : 19
bboat11 : 21
LBTrocks : 21
kw9461 : 21
nuggie99 : 22
🌺CountryLineDancer : 22
.indulgecountry : 23
George Strait Junkie : 25
Kris Kringle : 25
tim : 25

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Can't Pass the Bar
Coulda Been Love
Desperate
Don't Leave Me Loving You
Double-Wide World
Easy to Miss
Honky Tonk Highway
I Tried a Ring On
Makeup
Missing You Lately
Miss Me
Miss Thang
No Caller ID
Other Side of 25
Roulette on the Heart
Single Again
Somebody Else
Sound of Missing You
Sounds Like the Radio
Spin You Around
Strangers
This Heart
You're My Texas

[LBTrocks]

Oh good I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like this. “2033” was lowkey awful, the melody was grating af. I like Chapel Hart but this song ain’t it.

[.indulgecountry]

"2033" by the female trio Chapel Hart was one of two other last place contenders alongside the Jessie G/Gretchen Wilson song. This one just didn't get much support either, though it did get a lone top 10 ranking at the end of the submissions from zack97's list. They've had some good ones, but the vocal harmonies on this one were kinda rough as they were in our last reveal. Over half of us lose another bottom 5.

[tim]

"2033" was the only song here that I outright disliked from the get-go. I tried to give it a second chance, but I found I could barely get through it.

[.indulgecountry]

23. "Miss Me" - Runaway June

Total: 286

castleoblivion26 : 6
George Strait Junkie : 13
kluen : 14
LBTrocks : 15
.indulgecountry : 17
🌺CountryLineDancer : 18
bboat11 : 18
Kris Kringle : 20
tim : 21
zaclord 🌈 : 22
nuggie99 : 23
zack97 : 24
kw9461 : 25
SHOOTER : 25
Darkest Hour : 25

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Can't Pass the Bar
Coulda Been Love
Desperate
Don't Leave Me Loving You
Double-Wide World
Easy to Miss
Honky Tonk Highway
I Tried a Ring On
Makeup
Missing You Lately
Miss Thang
No Caller ID
Other Side of 25
Roulette on the Heart
Single Again
Somebody Else
Sound of Missing You
Sounds Like the Radio
Spin You Around
Strangers
This Heart
You're My Texas

[.indulgecountry]

And Runaway June's "Miss Me" rounds out our bottom 3 of last-place contenders. Like our last reveal, it picked up a lone top 10 (this time from castleoblivion26), though the majority of its ranks were bottom 5s. I actually liked this one and was surprised it struggled as bad as it did, but it had little support in a strong month.

[LBTrocks]

I like "Miss Me" quite a bit as a song, but I still have a sour taste in my mouth from seeing these girls live last summer. I thought they were pretty terrible.

[nuggie99]

Like My Whiskey - A throwback to Gretchen Wilson's music... except I didn't much care for it then either. Meh.

2033 - I liked this better than the other Chapel Hart songs we've ranked, and I like the concept of talking 10 years into the future (well 9 now). Unfortunately that wasn't enough to raise it very high on my list.

Miss Me - Ah Runaway June of Theseus. The use of the old Miss Me rhyme felt flat and the song didn't do much for me.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

Runaway June went down the hill so much after the member changed. The new EP was sadly underwhelming.

[Kanenrá:ke]

I'll just be over here alone loving "Miss Me" then...

[Darkest Hour]

These title chants in Miss Me are so annoying, repetitive and partly remind me of a bad Ellie Goulding song called Hate Me, so I am surprised the host thought it would do well.

Didn't even know Chapel Hart released something after that post on social media. While the song has a decent idea, the amateur production weakens the impact.

[castleoblivion26]

Apr 3, 2024 22:18:43 GMT -5 Kanenrá:ke said:

I'll just be over here alone loving "Miss Me" then...

I also enjoyed "Miss Me" and sad to see the negative responses to it but not entirely surprised lol

[zack97]

No. 25: I mean, I had one of the higher ranks and didn't necessarily *love* it, but I didn't think it was that bad lol. Appreciated the 2000s-inspired country-rock energy.

No. 24: Far from my favorite Chapel Hart song, but speaking as someone who's been a fan for a few years and thinks they deserve better, I found that the "we're gonna make it" story/mentality kind of struck a chord for me. Without that context, I can see someone wouldn't care for this.

No. 23: Man... 2017-2020-ish Runaway June could hardly do any wrong. This new version ... well, can hardly do anything right. :/

[zaclord 🌈]

So sad at how underwhelming Runaway June is now…

I also love Chapel Hart but 2033 was so bad. I wish they could get some better material because their talent outweighs their output pretty heavily, imo.

Whatever the hell that song with Gretchen Wilson was hurt my ears.

[.indulgecountry]

22. "Single Again" - Josh Ross

Total: 279

🌺CountryLineDancer : 1
nuggie99 : 14
zaclord 🌈 : 16
Darkest Hour : 18
tim : 19
Kris Kringle : 19
SHOOTER : 19
bboat11 : 19
kluen : 20
LBTrocks : 20
George Strait Junkie : 23
castleoblivion26 : 24
zack97 : 25
.indulgecountry : 25

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Can't Pass the Bar
Coulda Been Love
Desperate
Don't Leave Me Loving You
Double-Wide World
Easy to Miss
Honky Tonk Highway
I Tried a Ring On
Makeup
Missing You Lately
Miss Thang
No Caller ID
Other Side of 25
Roulette on the Heart
Somebody Else
Sound of Missing You
Sounds Like the Radio
Spin You Around
Strangers
This Heart
You're My Texas

[.indulgecountry]

Canadian Country act Josh Ross finally broke onto the charts state-side with this latest single "Single Again," but it wound up our lowest male song of the January set. 🌺CountryLineDancer unfortunately has the distinction of having the first #1 loss of the month. Not only that, but he was the only one to even have this song in their top half, single-handedly saving this one from a bottom 3 finish, lol. OTOH, the majority had this in the back half of the teens or bottom 5, including my own & zack97's last place.

[.indulgecountry]

21. "Makeup" - Madeline Merlo

Total: 271

Darkest Hour : 10
zaclord 🌈 : 11
George Strait Junkie : 12
🌺CountryLineDancer : 14
kluen : 15
.indulgecountry : 18
tim : 18
zack97 : 19
nuggie99 : 20
castleoblivion26 : 20
kw9461 : 22
Kris Kringle : 22
bboat11 : 22
SHOOTER : 23
LBTrocks : 25

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Can't Pass the Bar
Coulda Been Love
Desperate
Don't Leave Me Loving You
Double-Wide World
Easy to Miss
Honky Tonk Highway
I Tried a Ring On
Missing You Lately
Miss Thang
No Caller ID
Other Side of 25
Roulette on the Heart
Somebody Else
Sound of Missing You
Sounds Like the Radio
Spin You Around
Strangers
This Heart
You're My Texas

[.indulgecountry]

Back-to-back losses for our country artists north of the border as Madeline Merlo's feminist anthem "Makeup" rounds out our bottom 5 for January. This one has a sneakily interesting hook on the duality of makeup as a cosmetic and makeup as a genetic disposition. Sadly, it just didn't stand out enough in an otherwise strong month and only eked out a lone top 10 rank from Darkest Hour and a couple other close calls from zaclord 🌈 and George Strait Junkie. LBTrocks, OTOH, loses his last place this time.

[.indulgecountry]

20. "Somebody Else" - Hannah Ellis

Total: 245

Kris Kringle : 8
.indulgecountry : 11
kluen : 11
SHOOTER : 12
🌺CountryLineDancer : 13
tim : 14
zaclord 🌈 : 15
Darkest Hour : 17
nuggie99 : 18
castleoblivion26 : 19
George Strait Junkie : 20
kw9461 : 20
zack97 : 21
bboat11 : 23
LBTrocks : 23

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Can't Pass the Bar
Coulda Been Love
Desperate
Don't Leave Me Loving You
Double-Wide World
Easy to Miss
Honky Tonk Highway
I Tried a Ring On
Missing You Lately
Miss Thang
No Caller ID
Other Side of 25
Roulette on the Heart
Sound of Missing You
Sounds Like the Radio
Spin You Around
Strangers
This Heart
You're My Texas

[.indulgecountry]

For the first time in like 15 years, Curb Records was able to get a new female artist to get some traction at mainstream country radio with Hannah Ellis, scoring a few minor charting efforts in the 50s over the past couple years. This led to the release of That Girl in January, and the song representing it here was "Somebody Else," one of the catchier songs on the record that would've likely made a decent option for radio. Once again though, we see another song fall with a lone top 10 rank, this time courtesy of Kris Kringle. Ellis fared better than anything in our bottom 5 though, as she comes in nearly 30-points comfortably ahead of Madeline Merlo.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

Josh Ross is my fave Canadian male singer right now, and nice to see him making some move in the US. At this rate, I will be flopping in the 2024 YE RD...

Make Up has a solid lyrics, but not Madeline's best melody. 

"Somebody Else" is not the strongest song from the album, but still a solid song. Love Hannah Ellis and her album was so stacked. Hope she is going to try another single, even though I don't have high expectations in its chart performance. 

[.indulgecountry]

19. "Double-Wide World" - Walker County

Total: 238

.indulgecountry : 3
bboat11 : 6
SHOOTER : 7
tim : 8
LBTrocks : 11
Kris Kringle : 12
zack97 : 16
George Strait Junkie : 18
castleoblivion26 : 18
🌺CountryLineDancer : 20
Darkest Hour : 23
zaclord 🌈 : 23
kw9461 : 24
nuggie99 : 24
kluen : 25

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Can't Pass the Bar
Coulda Been Love
Desperate
Don't Leave Me Loving You
Easy to Miss
Honky Tonk Highway
I Tried a Ring On
Missing You Lately
Miss Thang
No Caller ID
Other Side of 25
Roulette on the Heart
Sound of Missing You
Sounds Like the Radio
Spin You Around
Strangers
This Heart
You're My Texas

[.indulgecountry]

Walker County may have lost their short-lived deal with Warner Nashville, but that hasn't stopped this duo from forging on as they are set to release their full-length debut LP, Painted Ponies, later this month. "Double-Wide World" serves as the first taste of the project, and this redneck romp got done DIRTY imo. This is just so deliciously country and straight-up fun. A quartet of top 10s are lost, including my #3 rank, though it brings with it a five-piece of bottom 5s, including kluen's last place.

[zack97]

No. 22: Honestly, this was a really strong month, so the fact that this is the *only* song I truly didn't like at all says a lot. I've never been a fan of songs where guys try to shamelessly get someone they're interested in to end their current relationship just for their own benefit.

No. 21: I really liked the concept of this one, but something about the production just didn't quite click with me enough to love it fully.

No. 20: This one was just kind of "meh" for me in all regards.

No. 19: A really fun song that I'm surprised is out so early. In a weaker month I would have ranked it higher.

[LBTrocks]

"First Taste of Gone" remains the only thing from Josh Ross I like. "Single Again" has obnoxious instrumentation and production. The vocal arrangement is fine, but very generic.

"Makeup" was the only truly dreadful song on this list. The instrumentation and production are absolutely horrendous and I hate the chatty vocal arrangement. On the plus side, Madeline sounds good, and I like the lyrics.

Hannah Ellis is the most boring, generic, unmemorable female to befall country music in YEARS. "Something Else" is the definition of blah... just like everything she does.

"Double-Wide World" is a JAM. I ran out of room in my top 10 due to it being such a great month.

[.indulgecountry]

Due next weekend!

February 2024:

The Playlist: (Runtime 1 hr. 28 min.)

1. 16 Carriages - Beyoncé
2. American Girl - Dierks Bentley
3. As You Are - Tenille Townes
4. Bless Your Heart - Callista Clark
5. Blue Over You - Mason Ramsey
6. Bulletproof - Nate Smith
7. Country's Cool Again - Lainey Wilson
8. Deeper Well - Kacey Musgraves
9. God & Country - Anne Wilson
10. Had It All - Gabby Barrett
11. Hard to Read - Gabby Barrett
12. Heaven, Are You Listening? - Kalsey Kulyk
13. Hits Home - Walker County
14. Holy Smokes - Bailey Zimmerman
15. A Little Goes a Long Way - The Castellows
16. Matchmaker - Erin Kinsey
17. Next Best Thing - Tenille Arts
18. Out Here in It - Tracy Lawrence
19. Perfectly Lonely - Parker McCollum
20. Purple Irises - Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton
21. Texas Hold 'Em - Beyoncé
22. This Truck Still Misses You - Scoot Teasley
23. Two Night Stands - Kylie Morgan
24. Use Me - Zach Top
25. What I Couldn't Forget - Drake Milligan

Due: April 14

---

Previous Participants:
BB🌕 SHOOTER fearlessarrow DistrictTwelve lady𝓐fan someguy ClevelandRox .indulgecountry HeyHeyHey d3vin44 kw9461 Darkest Hour LBTrocks castleoblivion26 tim austin taylor is terrified George Strait Junkie Kanenrá:ke bboat11 gardyfan  Sambalada BackwoodsBarbie superdave3556  🌺CountryLineDancer bigfan101 Kris Kringle razorshark nuggie99  zaclord 🌈 kluen

Country Rankdowns Tag List:
Adrian C. 🍓 austin BB🌕 bboat11 bigfan101 taylor is terrified castleoblivion26 cedric HeyHeyHey ClevelandRox g8erboi tim LBTrocks Crimsonio Fancy fearlessarrow hydraflare .indulgecountry Leo ✔ born Kanenrá:ke The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷 lady𝓐fan Mylo13 💜 RobbyFlorida someguy SwiftlySheeran Au$tin toomuchboy   Darkest Hour sabre14 kw9461 BackwoodsBarbie  George Strait Junkie smissy13

[.indulgecountry]

And I present you our juggernaut list for March! This was a stacked month, so I had to bump up to 30 songs for this one and honestly even then I had to trim SO much... so without further ado, happy ranking:

March 2024:

The Playlist: (Runtime 1 hr. 38 min.)

1. 28th of June - Megan Moroney
2. The Architect - Kacey Musgraves
3. Barely a Two Lane Road - Catie Offerman
4. Bodyguard - Beyoncé
5. Called Crazy - Kassi Ashton
6. Cardinal - Kacey Musgraves
7. Color up My World - Ben Rector, Hailey Whitters
8. Country Gold - Anne Wilson, Jordan Davis
9. Darlin' - Jenna Paulette
10. Fiddle in the Band - Kane Brown
11. Funny Girl - RaeLynn
12. The Georgia in Me - Cyndi Thomson
13. Highway Towns - Sykamore
14. If I Could Call - David Nail
15. If I Had a Lover - Dylan Gossett
16. I Like Trains - Ashley Monroe
17. I Went to College / I Went to Jail - ERNEST, Jelly Roll
18. Jolene - Beyoncé
19. Kiss My Boots - Brian Kelley
20. Locked Up - Sam Hunt
21. Messed up as Me - Keith Urban
22. Nicotine - Ella Langley
23. Pride - Sara Evans
24. Slow Dance - Scotty McCreery
25. Straight to My Heart - Graham Barham, Lauren Watkins
26. The Sun Don't Shine Anymore in Acapulco - William Michael Morgan
27. Tie Up - Zac Brown Band
28. What He'll Never Have - Dylan Scott
29. What She Sees in Me - Chris Young
30. Woman - Mickey Guyton

Due: April 28

---

Previous Participants:
BB🌕 SHOOTER fearlessarrow DistrictTwelve lady𝓐fan someguy ClevelandRox .indulgecountry HeyHeyHey d3vin44 kw9461 Darkest Hour LBTrocks castleoblivion26 tim austin taylor is terrified George Strait Junkie Kanenrá:ke bboat11 gardyfan  Sambalada BackwoodsBarbie superdave3556  🌺CountryLineDancer bigfan101 Kris Kringle razorshark nuggie99  zaclord 🌈 kluen

Country Rankdowns Tag List:
Adrian C. 🍓 austin BB🌕 bboat11 bigfan101 taylor is terrified castleoblivion26 cedric HeyHeyHey ClevelandRox g8erboi tim LBTrocks Crimsonio Fancy fearlessarrow hydraflare .indulgecountry Leo ✔ born Kanenrá:ke The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷 lady𝓐fan Mylo13 💜 RobbyFlorida someguy SwiftlySheeran Au$tin toomuchboy   Darkest Hour sabre14 kw9461 BackwoodsBarbie  George Strait Junkie smissy13

[nuggie99]

Single Again-- This has been getting a lot of play on Apple Music and I think the Highway. It's ok, but I'm still up in the air on his voice.

Makeup-- This one made me spend some time in introspection about my daughter and her mental health, my dad's temper and how I handle my temper much differently. I spent some time staring at my final list trying to move it up higher but I couldn't move anything above it any further down so it ended up at 20.

Somebody Else-- This was all right.

Double-Wide World-- My local country station played Lee Brice's Middle Class White Trash the other day (They play some of he most random songs, but that's a post for another day). This reminding me a lot of that. This wasn't terrible, but when the sorting got done, it ended up near the bottom.