New Country Releases Rankdown Thread

[.indulgecountry]

24. "Dead Girl Walking" - Lorrie Morgan

Total: 346

taylor is terrified : 7
bboat11 : 10
kluen : 12
Darkest Hour : 14
SHOOTER : 18
tim : 19
🌺CountryLineDancer : 19
.indulgecountry : 21
castleoblivion26 : 22
George Strait Junkie : 22
LBTrocks : 23
zaclord 🌈 : 24
Kris Kringle : 24
nuggie99 : 27
austin : 27
kw9461 : 28
wavey. : 29

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
All This Could Be Yours
Bad Boy
Better Place
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Nightmare
Pink Skies
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
Want Her Back
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Why Do We Stay?
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

The title cut from her latest LP, Lorrie Morgan's "Dead Girl Walking" escapes the clutches of bottom 5 by a mere 3-point margin. Her weathered voice is hit-and-miss these days, but it works effectively on this track, and she was able to secure top 10s from taylor is terrified and bboat11. OTOH, again we see another reveal with a majority bottom 10 placements.

[.indulgecountry]

23. "Pink Skies" - Zach Bryan

Total: 316

austin : 3
Kris Kringle : 3
zaclord 🌈 : 5
Darkest Hour : 6
wavey. : 14
nuggie99 : 15
kluen : 17
tim : 20
taylor is terrified : 20
kw9461 : 22
SHOOTER : 22
George Strait Junkie : 23
🌺CountryLineDancer : 28
bboat11 : 28
castleoblivion26 : 30
LBTrocks : 30
.indulgecountry : 30

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
All This Could Be Yours
Bad Boy
Better Place
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Nightmare
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
Want Her Back
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Why Do We Stay?
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

The harmonica-driven "Pink Skies" is out next. He put up a firewall of 30-points between himself and our last reveal, though Zach Bryan's off-key rough vocal delivery continues to prove polarizing with Pulse posters as he landed a quartet of top 10 ranks, including a pair of #3s from austin and Kris Kringle. OTOH, he received five bottom 5s that included a trio of #30s ranks courtesy of myself, castleoblivion26, and LBTrocks.

[.indulgecountry]

22. "Want Her Back" - Tenille Arts

Total: 314

wavey. : 3
LBTrocks : 9
castleoblivion26 : 10
kluen : 11
Kris Kringle : 16
🌺CountryLineDancer : 16
George Strait Junkie : 19
kw9461 : 20
taylor is terrified : 21
Darkest Hour : 22
bboat11 : 22
.indulgecountry : 22
zaclord 🌈 : 23
SHOOTER : 24
austin : 25
nuggie99 : 25
tim : 26

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
All This Could Be Yours
Bad Boy
Better Place
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Nightmare
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Why Do We Stay?
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

This uptempo offering from Tenille Arts' fourth album, To Be Honest, edged out "Skies" by two points. "Want Her Back" has a nice tempo and energy, built around a fairly clever hook, but Arts' showing here indicates that most participants though it was passable but not anything to get too excited over, indicated by less passion at the top (though it did pick up a #3 from wavey.). Similarly, it didn't elicit a strong negative reaction either, as while a lot of bottom 10s came in for it... only one of those was in a poster's bottom 5.

[.indulgecountry]

21. "Nightmare" - Laci Kaye Booth

Total: 312

taylor is terrified : 1
SHOOTER : 3
zaclord 🌈 : 11
tim : 12
austin : 13
castleoblivion26 : 14
.indulgecountry : 17
kluen : 18
Darkest Hour : 20
nuggie99 : 22
🌺CountryLineDancer : 23
George Strait Junkie : 24
kw9461 : 26
Kris Kringle : 26
bboat11 : 26
wavey. : 28
LBTrocks : 28

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
All This Could Be Yours
Bad Boy
Better Place
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Why Do We Stay?
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

Laci Kaye Booth's haunting "Nightmare" from her long-awaited full-length debut, The Loneliest Girl in the World, sadly came up shy of a top 20 finish by a 14-point margin. It was another polarizing track, with quite a number of low ranks spilling in from participant's bottom 10. However, she wasn't without her fans, as we unfortunately see our first #1 loss of the RD as taylor is terrified loses her favorite from the May selection. SHOOTER's #3 rank is another lofty loss, and she picked up an additional pocket of support in the top 15 of four others.

[austin]

I don’t really like Zach Bryan on the whole but I really like “Pink Skies” lyrically and the harmonica! I listen to it all the time.

[Darkest Hour]

24. This is fine for a comeback single from the veteran, but it can feel long and production sounds a bit cheap.

23. Not even top half for this lol. I'll say though the album version featuring Watchhouse is better as it adds another perspective, but solo version is still good enough for this list, though it's more folk than country tbh.

22. Still wish for her success but she cannot do it by cutting cookie-cutter country pop songs.

21. The confessional lyrics are fine but I still don't particularly enjoy her vocal tune.

[SHOOTER]

Goodness gracious. At least taylor is terrified is a tractor with taste.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

- Miles On It is a jam. I was okay with it first, but it became so infectious as I listen to it more.

- Want Her Back is fine, but how was this song chosen to be in this game over so many better songs in the album...

[.indulgecountry]

20. "Why Do We Stay?" - Stephanie Quayle

Total: 298

🌺CountryLineDancer : 9
Kris Kringle : 12
Darkest Hour : 13
kluen : 13
kw9461 : 14
.indulgecountry : 14
George Strait Junkie : 16
tim : 17
bboat11 : 17
castleoblivion26 : 19
nuggie99 : 20
LBTrocks : 20
SHOOTER : 21
zaclord 🌈 : 22
wavey. : 22
taylor is terrified : 23
austin : 26

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
All This Could Be Yours
Bad Boy
Better Place
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

Montana native Stephanie Quayle's first taste of music in awhile, "Why Do We Stay?", failed to make big waves here as she settled comfortably in the middle for almost everyone's lists. She received a lone top 10 from 🌺CountryLineDancer, though only a single bottom 5, as well. She was able to secure a top 20 spot on the back of this, however.

[.indulgecountry]

19. "Bad Boy" - HunterGirl

Total: 296

🌺CountryLineDancer : 2
wavey. : 5
bboat11 : 7
Kris Kringle : 10
George Strait Junkie : 12
taylor is terrified : 14
SHOOTER : 16
zaclord 🌈 : 16
castleoblivion26 : 17
kluen : 19
LBTrocks : 21
tim : 23
kw9461 : 24
.indulgecountry : 25
Darkest Hour : 27
nuggie99 : 28
austin : 30

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
All This Could Be Yours
Better Place
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

HunterGirl's "Bad Boy" is the next to go. This polarizing track found a pocket of support who likely enjoyed its poppy and catchy sensibilities, as it found its way into four posters' top 10s, including a back-to-back lofty loss for 🌺CountryLineDancer as he loses his #2 this time. OTOH, quite a few posters rejected this one, to the tune of austin's #30 among another string of low ranks. For me, the shouty vocals and wall-of-noise production just didn't cut it.

[.indulgecountry]

18. "Better Place" - Jenny Tolman

Total: 277

kluen : 5
nuggie99 : 7
George Strait Junkie : 10
Darkest Hour : 10
kw9461 : 11
LBTrocks : 14
SHOOTER : 15
🌺CountryLineDancer : 15
castleoblivion26 : 15
tim : 18
Kris Kringle : 18
bboat11 : 19
austin : 20
wavey. : 24
.indulgecountry : 24
taylor is terrified : 24
zaclord 🌈 : 28

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
All This Could Be Yours
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

"Better Place" is another neo-traditional romp from Jenny Tolman, though it lacks a bit of the standout sparkle of some of her previous highs imo. She settled comfortably in the lower half of the top 20 thanks to a swath of ranks in the teens, though she did manage a quartet of top 10s and a quartet of bottom 10s. kluen's #5 was the personal best for Jenny here.

[.indulgecountry]

17. "All This Could Be Yours" - Tyler Booth

Total: 277

nuggie99 : 3
kw9461 : 5
LBTrocks : 8
Kris Kringle : 9
🌺CountryLineDancer : 12
castleoblivion26 : 12
George Strait Junkie : 13
zaclord 🌈 : 17
taylor is terrified : 18
.indulgecountry : 18
austin : 18
Darkest Hour : 21
tim : 22
SHOOTER : 23
bboat11 : 25
wavey. : 26
kluen : 27

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Where That Came From
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

Tyler Booth tied with Jenny Tolman's tune, but "All This Could Be Yours" won the tiebreaker thanks to a personal best rank of #3, courtesy of nuggie99. He was joined by four others in the top 10 region, though this one had a few more bottom 10s than Jenny's to help balance the scales. For me, his rich country vocal paired with the elegant steel guitar work made for a solid tune.

[austin]

The HunterGirl song is really, really awful.

[.indulgecountry]

Sept 15, 2024 17:30:13 GMT -5 austin said:

The HunterGirl song is really, really awful.

I would've ranked it lower if I were to do my list again. The vocals are so rough. 😷

[.indulgecountry]

16. "Where That Came From" - Randy Travis

Total: 249

kw9461 : 2
bboat11 : 3
George Strait Junkie : 3
tim : 4
castleoblivion26 : 5
Darkest Hour : 12
taylor is terrified : 13
nuggie99 : 14
Kris Kringle : 15
zaclord 🌈 : 15
🌺CountryLineDancer : 20
LBTrocks : 22
austin : 22
.indulgecountry : 23
kluen : 25
wavey. : 25
SHOOTER : 26

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

We've reached the halfway point in the May rankdown. The final song to bow out shy of the top 15 is Randy Travis, who does so by a mere 1-point margin over the song that lands at #15. This song made quite the ripple when it dropped, given that Randy Travis hasn't released anything new in over a decade, due to his inability to sing following a series of strokes and health issues. The use of AI to restore Randy's voice was met with piqued interest and mixed reception. He managed to pull in very high marks from five posters who slotted this in their top 5, though it received more middling ranks from the rest of the participant pool.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

- "Why Do We Stay?" was not her strongest, but still enjoy the style of Stephanie Quayle. I was hoping that she could be supported by a bigger label back when she was managing to chart, but still happy that she is releasing new music.

- "Bad Boy" has a great melody, and I really love the vocal production of the song. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of her EP, as I was not too impressed with her debut single. 

[.indulgecountry]

15. "Scratching the Surface (Mama's Song)" - Kylie Morgan

Total: 248

🌺CountryLineDancer : 8
SHOOTER : 9
kw9461 : 10
tim : 11
austin : 11
zaclord 🌈 : 12
LBTrocks : 12
castleoblivion26 : 13
kluen : 14
.indulgecountry : 15
bboat11 : 16
Darkest Hour : 17
wavey. : 19
taylor is terrified : 19
George Strait Junkie : 20
nuggie99 : 21
Kris Kringle : 21

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
Leroy
MIA Down in MIA
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

Kylie Morgan's touching Mother's Day tribute edges out Mr. Travis to land in the top 15. "Scratching the Surface" has a tight spread of ranks as nearly everyone ranked this within the teens, with only a few slight outliers as it got three top 10s that were just inside the threshold, and a pair of bottom 10s that were #21s. Despite minimal acclaim, it also had few dissenters, so it seems like a fitting end for it to place squarely in the midway point of the rankdown results.

[Darkest Hour]

20. Some "big words" in the opening line. Otherwise it's a decent ballad with vocals that I generally prefer.

19. The autotune in her vocals is so bad especially from a singing show contestant. The pop rock melody also isn't really distinctive.

18. A song with solid but typical barroom melody and production that sounds a bit cheap, even though I usually like her voice. Also please stop dropping loose singles and start working for an album.

17. The traditional country sound is decent but the "bringing country to partner" lyrical trope does not interest me at all.

16. Nothing to add aside from my initial comment in the song thread but it's decent for what it's worth.

15. Decent thankful lyrics for Mother's Day but the chorus melody sounds not far from If He Wanted To He Would.

[.indulgecountry]

14. "Leroy" - Tigirlily Gold

Total: 246

kluen : 3
SHOOTER : 7
kw9461 : 9
🌺CountryLineDancer : 10
zaclord 🌈 : 10
nuggie99 : 13
.indulgecountry : 13
George Strait Junkie : 14
Darkest Hour : 15
tim : 16
LBTrocks : 16
bboat11 : 18
wavey. : 18
austin : 19
castleoblivion26 : 20
taylor is terrified : 22
Kris Kringle : 23

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Songs Remaining}
Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
Fault Line
Hang Tight Honey
Hang Your Hat
I Can't
I Had Some Help
Indifferent
MIA Down in MIA
Settling Things
Sorry Now
Stuck Behind a Tractor
What I Shoulda Done
Wranglers

[.indulgecountry]

Call up "Leroy" because this sassy kiss-off anthem from Tigirlily Gold leaves next. The girls managed a top 3 from kluen as their personal best, plus a quartet of additional top 10 support. The majority of their ranks, much like our last song from Kylie Morgan, fell in the teens, however. This also meant few bottom 10s though so that's something!