New Country Releases Rankdown Thread

[.indulgecountry]

Emily Ann Roberts re-issued her debut LP, Can't Hide Country, from last year a few months back and "When I'm Gone" was one of three new tracks tacked onto the set. This largely stripped-down number lets Emily's ethereal voice take center stage. It's subdued nature likely contributed to it not rising through the higher ranks and it settles for a peak just inside the top 15 here. Four posters put this bottom 5, while only one opted for top 5, with tim's #3 rank as its best. The majority slotted this just inside or just outside their top 10.

[.indulgecountry]

13. "Southern Accents" - Dolly Parton

Total: 233

nuggie99 : 1
taylor is terrified : 3
Kris Kringle : 5
castleoblivion26 : 5
kw9461 : 12
bboat11 : 12
tim : 16
SHOOTER : 17
wavey. : 17
austin : 17
.indulgecountry : 18
LBTrocks : 18
George Strait Junkie : 22
Darkest Hour : 22
zaclord 🌈 : 24
🌺CountryLineDancer : 24

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Everything I Need
Have Your Beer
Heatin' Things Up
I Ain't a Cowgirl
I Never Lie
Never Been Over
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Woman Outta Love
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

Dolly Parton's contribution to the recent country tribute record to Tom Petty was "Southern Accents." Dolly delivers a comfortable hug of a song here, but it largely wound up squarely in the middle for most participants as over half of us placed this somewhere within the teens on our lists. We do see another #1 loss this time from nuggie99, who is joined by three others within the top 5. OTOH, she had no bottom 5 ranks!

[.indulgecountry]

12. "Heatin' Things Up" - Josh Turner

Total: 219

zaclord 🌈 : 5
🌺CountryLineDancer : 8
.indulgecountry : 9
nuggie99 : 10
castleoblivion26 : 10
George Strait Junkie : 11
tim : 12
Darkest Hour : 13
kw9461 : 13
taylor is terrified : 13
bboat11 : 14
austin : 15
Kris Kringle : 16
SHOOTER : 22
wavey. : 22
LBTrocks : 26

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Everything I Need
Have Your Beer
I Ain't a Cowgirl
I Never Lie
Never Been Over
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Woman Outta Love
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

Josh Turner finally blessed us with some new original country music after years of side projects (gospel, covers, Xmas), for the first time in over 7 years. "Heatin' Things Up" is pretty standard Josh Turner fare, with a deliciously country instrumental backing to a crooning love song. Like our last reveal, most opted for a comfortable rank somewhere in the teens here. Only a trio of ranks came from below the top 20, while it only accumulated a lone top 5 from zaclord 🌈 amidst a quartet of top 10s.

[.indulgecountry]

11. "Woman Outta Love" - Kylie Frey

Total: 200

kw9461 : 1
taylor is terrified : 2
bboat11 : 3
George Strait Junkie : 3
Darkest Hour : 6
LBTrocks : 6
.indulgecountry : 8
tim : 11
SHOOTER : 14
wavey. : 14
castleoblivion26 : 15
🌺CountryLineDancer : 17
nuggie99 : 20
Kris Kringle : 22
zaclord 🌈 : 28
austin : 30

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Everything I Need
Have Your Beer
I Ain't a Cowgirl
I Never Lie
Never Been Over
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

Kylie Frey is top-tier Texas country, and the deliciously fiddle-laden and lyrical perfection of "Woman Outta Love" proves it; this song has just the right blend of modern country sensibilities while being traditionally rooted in the genre. She was shoo-in for the top 10 for awhile, but she slipped out as we crossed the finish line of submissions, coming up shy by a mere 3-point margin. kw9461 is the latest to lose their #1 rank, while a trio of additional top 3s are lost here. Just under half of us lose a top 10! OTOH, this somehow managed to pick up two bottom 5 ranks that included austin's #30.

[.indulgecountry]

10. "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" - Shaboozey

Total: 197

wavey. : 1
Darkest Hour : 1
zaclord 🌈 : 1
SHOOTER : 3
austin : 4
Kris Kringle : 6
🌺CountryLineDancer : 7
nuggie99 : 9
tim : 10
.indulgecountry : 11
castleoblivion26 : 16
taylor is terrified : 17
bboat11 : 19
kw9461 : 28
George Strait Junkie : 32
LBTrocks : 32

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Everything I Need
Have Your Beer
I Ain't a Cowgirl
I Never Lie
Never Been Over
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

Shaboozey cracks the top 10 with "A Bar Song (Tipsy)", a jovial summer bop that completely took the charts by storm this summer, on country and beyond. While it's crossover-leaning appeal led to a few lower ranks, including a pair of #32s from George Strait Junkie and LBTrocks, it was received pretty warmly by the bulk of participants here. This is our biggest loss yet in the rankdown as a whopping 3 #1s are lost here, courtesy of wavey., Darkest Hour, and zaclord 🌈.

[.indulgecountry]

9. "Everything I Need" - Chayce Beckham

Total: 189

castleoblivion26 : 2
zaclord 🌈 : 4
tim : 4
🌺CountryLineDancer : 6
austin : 7
kw9461 : 7
bboat11 : 7
nuggie99 : 8
Darkest Hour : 9
George Strait Junkie : 13
LBTrocks : 13
taylor is terrified : 16
.indulgecountry : 19
Kris Kringle : 20
wavey. : 26
SHOOTER : 28

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Have Your Beer
I Ain't a Cowgirl
I Never Lie
Never Been Over
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

A surprising sonic departure from his rougher rock-edged debut hit, Chayce Beckham pivoted to this delightfully neo-traditional romp laden with steel in "Everything I Need" for his next radio endeavor. It went over exceptionally well here as it was a lock for top 10 from the jump, thanks to 2/3 of us putting it top 10, with castleoblivion26's #2 best. It only landed outside the top 20 for two posters.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

"Southern Accents" overstayed. Insignificant song and not memorable. 

"Heatin' Things Up" has a great sound. Seems like it did not go for adds on the mainstream radio, which was quite disappointing.

I expected better performance from "A Bar Song". Such a catchy song and glad that it became a hit that it deserves.

"Everything I Need" has a great beautiful neotraditional production. Hopefully it can gain momentum on the radio, as it is having a slow start.

[Darkest Hour]

14. This ballad sounds a bit too old-fashioned coming from such a young voice.
13. Clearly this means a lot for Dolly that she adds a verse for the cover, but I don't really like the somewhat tacky strings here.
12. Decent radio fodder especially for older times but this kind of melody really burns out on me.
11. Remind me of a solid Reba ballad. Rodeo Queen EP still has her best songs though
10. Thought it would receive more support. Probably showcased the most personality in lyrics (namesake pun, Black origin for Jack Daniels alcohol) considering how pop this is otherwise.
9. Lyrics are kinda there like the most of the album, but he has way better melodies this time around since the EP and turns out I still prefer his vocals more than most of male newcomers these days. *shrugs*

Remaining ranks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 15, 16

[.indulgecountry]

8. "I Ain't a Cowgirl" - Tiera Kennedy

Total: 187

Kris Kringle : 2
Darkest Hour : 3
nuggie99 : 6
SHOOTER : 7
George Strait Junkie : 8
wavey. : 9
LBTrocks : 9
austin : 11
taylor is terrified : 11
.indulgecountry : 13
zaclord 🌈 : 14
kw9461 : 14
🌺CountryLineDancer : 16
tim : 18
castleoblivion26 : 22
bboat11 : 24

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Have Your Beer
I Never Lie
Never Been Over
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

Tiera Kennedy's sweet voice blesses us again with the sway-able "I Ain't Cowgirl," which secured a comfortable spot in the top 10 here. She managed a pair of top 3s from Kris Kringle and Darkest Hour, along with an additional five top 10s. Only two posters had this outside the top 20.

[.indulgecountry]

7. "Never Been Over" - Darius Rucker, Jennifer Nettles

Total: 185

Darkest Hour : 2
zaclord 🌈 : 2
austin : 3
.indulgecountry : 3
castleoblivion26 : 4
George Strait Junkie : 6
taylor is terrified : 10
Kris Kringle : 12
LBTrocks : 12
nuggie99 : 13
tim : 14
kw9461 : 16
🌺CountryLineDancer : 19
wavey. : 20
SHOOTER : 21
bboat11 : 28

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Have Your Beer
I Never Lie
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

"Never Been Over" might possibly be my favorite thing Darius Rucker has put out to date? I wasn't particularly taken by the solo version, but Jennifer Nettles adds an extra oomph and zest to this that is just pure brilliance. She absolutely nails her vocal when she comes in, and their harmonies together are just a force. It's a really memorable melody as well, and a classic in the 'happy-sounding song with sad lyrics' category. It actually contended for #1 very early on in the submission process as most of its seven top 10 ranks came front-loaded, but it eventually slipped down the ranks quite a bit, thanks in part to a bottom 5 from bboat11. It still did really well here tho!

[.indulgecountry]

6. "I Never Lie" - Zach Top

Total: 182

George Strait Junkie : 1
nuggie99 : 2
kw9461 : 3
bboat11 : 5
SHOOTER : 6
wavey. : 7
tim : 8
.indulgecountry : 10
LBTrocks : 11
zaclord 🌈 : 11
austin : 14
Darkest Hour : 15
Kris Kringle : 19
castleoblivion26 : 19
taylor is terrified : 25
🌺CountryLineDancer : 26

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Have Your Beer
I Never Lie
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust
Would If I Could

[.indulgecountry]

Zach Top's currently making a surprisingly neo-trad splash in the mainstream right now with a top 30 airplay hit. Meanwhile, the toe-tapping tongue-in-cheek honkytonk infectiousness of "I Never Lie" is experiencing a bit of virality in streaming circles, and was clearly a winning choice for the album cut to represent Cold Beer & Country Music in the rankdown as it got a top 10 spot from exactly half the participant pool, led by George Strait Junkie's #1 rank (the latest casualty at the top). A pair of #19s and another pair of bottom 10s weighed it down from the top 5 (a 10-point margin), but it was no slouch here by any means.

[.indulgecountry]

5. "Would If I Could" - ERNEST, Lainey Wilson

Total: 172

Kris Kringle : 1
George Strait Junkie : 2
bboat11 : 4
kw9461 : 4
taylor is terrified : 5
LBTrocks : 5
Darkest Hour : 8
🌺CountryLineDancer : 11
castleoblivion26 : 12
SHOOTER : 13
wavey. : 13
.indulgecountry : 15
nuggie99 : 15
tim : 17
zaclord 🌈 : 21
austin : 26

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Have Your Beer
Scary Love
Settling's for Dust

[.indulgecountry]

Representing his sophomore set, Nashville, Tennessee, ERNEST is the latest in a long line of country artists clamoring to add Lainey Wilson to their billing. "Would If I Could" is a wistful slow-burn of a duet between the country crooner and the bell-bottomed songstress. It's one of Lainey's strongest vocals on record imo; she just sounds sublime here and wrings all the emotion out of her voice here. The fact that I could only slot this right at the mid-way point of my own list is a testament to the strength of the April set. Many others took an even stronger liking to this as it nets us another #1 loss, this time from Kris Kringle, and a six-piece of additional top 10s go with it. Two bottom 10s kept it from moving up any further.

[George Strait Junkie]

Ouch two in a row songs I still have on high rotation and will most likely end up in my top 10 of the year both are just so damn good

[.indulgecountry]

4. "Scary Love" - Mickey Guyton

Total: 169

SHOOTER : 1
wavey. : 2
Darkest Hour : 4
.indulgecountry : 4
castleoblivion26 : 7
taylor is terrified : 8
George Strait Junkie : 9
zaclord 🌈 : 9
austin : 9
bboat11 : 10
kw9461 : 11
LBTrocks : 14
🌺CountryLineDancer : 15
tim : 19
nuggie99 : 22
Kris Kringle : 25

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Have Your Beer
Settling's for Dust

[.indulgecountry]

Mickey Guyton is definitely a Pulse fave, but it's been awhile since she's put out something as immediate and beloved as "Scary Love" was. This was another mortal lock for the top 5 for the majority of the submission process. It's a catchy, melodic bop about her newfound motherhood that feels like it could easily work for airplay if country radio paid her anything but dust. SHOOTER is the latest to lose their #1, and over half of us also lose a top 10 as well. Only two posters opted for a rank outside the top 20.

[.indulgecountry]

3. "Have Your Beer" - MacKenzie Porter

Total: 156

austin : 1
🌺CountryLineDancer : 2
bboat11 : 2
wavey. : 3
taylor is terrified : 4
.indulgecountry : 5
zaclord 🌈 : 6
SHOOTER : 10
nuggie99 : 11
Kris Kringle : 11
Darkest Hour : 12
tim : 15
LBTrocks : 16
George Strait Junkie : 17
kw9461 : 20
castleoblivion26 : 21

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
21 Days
Settling's for Dust

[.indulgecountry]

Speaking of radio prospects, what an undeniable SMASH this is. "Have Your Beer" is Canadian-born MacKenzie Porter's newest bop to hit radio north of the border according to 🌺CountryLineDancer's recent intel. Despite eluding radio stateside, the resounding results of this rankdown seem to indicate its hit potential is certainly there. The #1 losses continue to flow, with austin the latest victim. Almost everyone had this in the upper half of their list, and with not a single bottom 10, to boot.

[.indulgecountry]

1. "21 Days" - Sara Evans

Total: 135

.indulgecountry : 1
taylor is terrified : 1
castleoblivion26 : 1
tim : 1
bboat11 : 1
austin : 2
LBTrocks : 3
SHOOTER : 4
wavey. : 4
zaclord 🌈 : 12
🌺CountryLineDancer : 14
Kris Kringle : 15
Darkest Hour : 16
kw9461 : 19
George Strait Junkie : 20
nuggie99 : 21

2. "Settling's for Dust" - Walker County

Total: 149

.indulgecountry : 2
George Strait Junkie : 4
SHOOTER : 5
Darkest Hour : 5
tim : 5
kw9461 : 5
taylor is terrified : 6
nuggie99 : 7
wavey. : 8
zaclord 🌈 : 8
austin : 10
🌺CountryLineDancer : 12
castleoblivion26 : 14
bboat11 : 17
LBTrocks : 20
Kris Kringle : 21

[.indulgecountry]

Pulse darling Sara Evans was runner-up the prior month with lead single "Pride," but the more sneakily upbeat follow-up, "21 Days," manages to finish the job in April and clinches the victory over girl duo Walker County with "Settling's for Dust," a clear fan favorite from their debut LP that finally dropped this spring. Things were competitive between these two (and a few other tracks, namely the ones from MacKenzie, Mickey, and Darius) for awhile, but the overwhelming onslaught of #1s that came Sara's way in the back half of submissions sealed the deal for the veteran. Her margin of victory over Walker County was a margin of less than 15 points though, indicating high favorability for both songs. Despite a rankdown-best of 5 #1 ranks for "21 Days," "Dust" actually accumulated more top 10 ranks in total, though without any #1s (my #2 rank was its best showing). Each song received exactly three ranks that fell outside the top half, with comparable low ranks of 17, 20, 21 vs. 19, 20, 21.

[LBTrocks]

Come thru Sara! “21 Days” is a jam and I’m glad it won over “Settling’s For Dust” which had no business being in the top 10 as it is one of Walker County’s weakest. Very drab song.

[Darkest Hour]

8. Cute song about resilience with western imagery.
7. I think original is already a standout from the album because of the good chorus melody even though it can feel underproduced, so this version with additional vocals and instruments sound ready for airplay...for around 20 years ago, but that's more about the overtly loud current radio than the problem for this song.
6. Understood why this is semi-viral online but I don't think he brings anything new regarding this particular "ironic" songwriting trope.
5. The bluesy vibe of Apple Music version from Lainey Wilson is cool, while the harmonies in this version are solid.
4. May be her best song among the loosies since first album? Again sounds like ready for airplay but not in recent times. Noteworthy backstory about the lyrics though (her son's near-death experience).
3. Still dislike the overproduction from Joey Moi, but otherwise it's probably the strongest chorus melody I have heard from her.
2/1. Walker County should have won here. Has a similar wordplay as Merry Go 'Round which is a better rehash than the more common ones by others. Meanwhile not really feeling the theme for 21 Days. The bridge in particular is not very good.