New Country Releases Rankdown Thread

[bboat11]

Thank you taylor for being the only one to make a prediction! However, our final song to miss out on the top 5 is actually Luke Combs' pandemic song. This answers the prediction question about which pandemic song would do better between Luke and Dolly.

"Six Feet Apart" really became a top 10 contender in the middle of the submission process, but never quite managed to bust strongly into the top 5. He flirted with #5 a bit, but ultimately was not able to muster the extra support it would have taken to unseat any of the remaining songs.

This is a great song, but tbh it feels very time-specific, and tbh I already do not find myself revising it much. The song kinda has a built-in expiration date, lol. However, it was good enough to get a #1 rank from HeyHeyHey, and several more top 10 placements from more than half of us!

[bboat11]

Our top 5!!!!

6th Avenue Heartache - Sara Evans
Girls Like Me - Martina McBride
I Called Mama - Tim McGraw
Small Town Hypocrite - Caylee Hammack
When Life Is Good Again - Dolly Parton

[LBTrocks]

Great top 5 except for "I Called Mama" so I'm ok with any of these winning except that.

[bboat11]

Interestingly enough, the top 5 manages to have one male artist left infiltrating a girls' party, just like last month (Mark Chesnutt). And just like last month, that male artist is a big '90s hitmaker who is still leaving an impression on us with his new music!

Also, if you look at the ages of these artists, this is a pretty old top 5! Out of these 5 artists, only one of them is below 40 (Caylee), and only 2 of them are below 50 (Caylee and Sara, barely lol). Whereas last month seemed to be a bunch of newer females who are just now breaking out.

[bboat11]

Okay, out of curiosity, I just calculated the average ages of the top 5s.

April 2020: Average = 34 (Mark Chesnutt, Maddie & Tae, Ruthie Collins, Ashley McBryde, Ingrid Andress)

May 2020: Average = 51 (Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Caylee Hammack, Dolly Parton)


Interesting food for thought, at the very least!

[gardyfan]

Jun 29, 2020 23:32:55 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Okay, out of curiosity, I just calculated the average ages of the top 5s.

April 2020: Average = 34 (Mark Chesnutt, Maddie & Tae, Ruthie Collins, Ashley McBryde, Ingrid Andress)

May 2020: Average = 51 (Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Caylee Hammack, Dolly Parton)


Interesting food for thought, at the very least!

This rankdown has aged well. For June can we average 68?

[bboat11]

Jun 29, 2020 23:36:40 GMT -5 gardyfan said:

Jun 29, 2020 23:32:55 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Okay, out of curiosity, I just calculated the average ages of the top 5s.

April 2020: Average = 34 (Mark Chesnutt, Maddie & Tae, Ruthie Collins, Ashley McBryde, Ingrid Andress)

May 2020: Average = 51 (Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Caylee Hammack, Dolly Parton)


Interesting food for thought, at the very least!

This rankdown has aged well. For June can we average 68?

Lmao right! But unfortunately, I don't think there is even one person anywhere close to 68 in next month's rankdown

The closest is probably Mary Chapin Carpenter, and she's only 62...

[SHOOTER]

Jun 29, 2020 22:55:27 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

Having loved some of Sunny Sweeney's work in the past, I really wanted to like this more than I did but there's something about the vocals that is off to me in "Poet's Prayer". The instrumentation is gorgeous though.

This. She sounds like the drunk lady at the bar that insisted on singing at open mic nite.

[.indulgecountry]

Before the #6 reveal, I was literally thinking "wow, that is a superb top 5 if Luke Combs is the one that misses" and lo and behold, my poet's prayers were answered!

Taking a stab at predictions:

1. Small Town Hypocrite
2. 6th Ave Heartache
3. I Called Mama
4. Girls Like Me
5. When Life Is Good Again

Seriously, what a fantastic set of songs this is.

[taylor]

I was thinking Luke would be able to hit the Top 5 of this based on his name-power alone, but this is a fantastic Top 5 nonetheless. "Six Feet Apart" is going to be around for awhile, especially if we won't have this vaccine, and especially if this second wave will hit in the fall--in tandem with the flu, which already kills 30k+ every season. I'd imagine the expiration date for this song is probably early 2021, based on how quickly they say they are working on a vaccine for this virus. I also love Luke's vocal on this song; it's one of the better ones he has on record imo.

Top 5 prediction:
1. Small Town Hypocrite - Caylee Hammack
2. 6th Avenue Heartache - Sara Evans
3. When Life Is Good Again - Dolly Parton
4. I Called Mama - Tim McGraw
5. Girls Like Me - Martina McBride

[Darkest Hour]

Lady: Still think he is too boring (overused melodies, tacky orchestra etc) and sings too horribly for my taste.
Everyone She Knows: Inoffensive upbeat fodder but the lyrical angle is weird.
Easy Goin: Reminds me too much of Aaron Watson's Country Radio melodically except there are no gorgeous steel guitars here.
Rolling Stone: The way the guitars are produced sound like they are from Gretchen Peter's Blackbird album (or similar stuff). Pretty cool song.
All Night: Yeah kinda dumb lyrics but probably one of the catchiest country songs released this year so far. Safe to say the album will have some more heartfelt moments anyway.
Rodeo Clown & You Make It Hard: Glad that my pick made top 10! Thought it would die at 11-15 range the highest. Anyway it's telling the comedic country albums this year sound the most traditional lol. I think Randy & Wade have more chemistry (bromance) than Dierks & Terri, also Randy & Wade got more tasty instrumentation.

Jun 29, 2020 22:41:47 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

"Rodeo Clown" was a really great discovery! A #25 rank for this over the likes of "Trash My Heart" and "Almost Maybes"....  I see that it's #1 on the Texas radio charts right now too.

And second week at #1 too (blocking Randy's own song again lol)
Light Changes Everything: The mix sounds VERY dated (like from 2000s). Didn't find anything special in this song either.
Poet's Prayer: As raw as a Chris Stapleton cut tbh. I would hope this song to be slightly faster, but otherwise this is heartbreaking.
6 Feet Apart: I like that he does not use his long-time producer for this song so the guitar does not sound too grungy, but the lyrics are too plain at times, and the instrumental bridge is too short.

As for the remaining five, go Small Town Hypocrite!

[bboat11]

Shall we finish this before the month ends??!!?!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Six Tractors Apart}
HeyHeyHey -
gardyfan -
lady𝓐fan -
kw9461 -
fearlessarrow -
Sambalada -
George Strait Junkie -
tim -
someguy -
BackwoodsBarbie -
Darkest Hour -
taylor -
d3vin44 -
LBTrocks -
castleoblivion26 -
BB🌕 -
superdave3556 -
.indulgecountry -
bboat11 -
SHOOTER -
ClevelandRox -
austin -
@xfer

[gardyfan]

Jun 30, 2020 17:50:54 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Shall we finish this before the month ends??!!?!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Six Tractors Apart}
HeyHeyHey -
gardyfan -
lady𝓐fan -
kw9461 -
fearlessarrow -
Sambalada -
George Strait Junkie -
tim -
someguy -
BackwoodsBarbie -
Darkest Hour -
taylor -
d3vin44 -
LBTrocks -
castleoblivion26 -
BB🌕 -
superdave3556 -
.indulgecountry -
bboat11 -
SHOOTER -
ClevelandRox -
austin -
@xfer

Sure why not finish a cancelled rankdown?! 

[bboat11]

5. "When Life Is Good Again" - Dolly Parton

Total: 227
Average: 10.32
Std Dev: 6.43


taylor - 1
lady𝓐fan - 2
bboat11 - 2
.indulgecountry - 3
BB🌕 - 5
tim - 6
someguy - 6
castleoblivion26 - 6
HeyHeyHey - 8
d3vin44 - 9
LBTrocks - 9
gardyfan - 10
Darkest Hour - 10
fearlessarrow - 11
SHOOTER - 11
BackwoodsBarbie - 14
Sambalada - 17
superdave3556 - 17
ClevelandRox - 17
George Strait Junkie - 20
austin - 20
kw9461 - 23


@xfer

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
6th Avenue Heartache
Girls Like Me
I Called Mama
Small Town Hypocrite

[bboat11]

We kick off our top 5 with a song that was not really a strong top 5 contender, but fought tooth-and-nail with Luke Combs to see who would come out at #5 for much fo the last half of the submission process.

This song is everything I needed this month. It was meant to help people get through the pandemic, but it conveniently came out just a few days before all the racial issues came to a head at the beginning of June, and has helped me deal with all the hateful rhetoric that I have been seeing in the media and on my Facebook timeline and stuff. Dolly is here to heal all; you gotta love her

Despite finishing in the top 10 of more than half of us, this song was not nearly as strong of a competitor as everything else that is left The competition gets much more severe from here!

[bboat11]

Up next, at #4, we will lose the song that was actually at #2 for the majority of the submission process before some of the last couple lists tried to tank it!!!

[bboat11]

4. "I Called Mama" - Tim McGraw

Total: 221
Average: 10.05
Std Dev: 6.97


lady𝓐fan - 1
superdave3556 - 1
kw9461 - 1
someguy - 2
ClevelandRox - 2
HeyHeyHey - 4
George Strait Junkie - 5
austin - 6
tim - 7
.indulgecountry - 8
castleoblivion26 - 9
fearlessarrow - 10
bboat11 - 13
d3vin44 - 13
Darkest Hour - 13
gardyfan - 14
SHOOTER - 15
taylor - 16
BackwoodsBarbie - 17
BB🌕 - 18
LBTrocks - 22
Sambalada - 24


@xfer

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
6th Avenue Heartache
Girls Like Me
Small Town Hypocrite

[bboat11]

Tim McGraw asserted himself very early on as a strong top 5 contender, climbing up to #2 just a few lists into submissions, and hanging onto that position for damn near the entire rest of the rankdown.

Its 3 lowest lists literally came from the last 3 people to submit, and the songs right behind it were so close on its heels that it ended up falling back to #4 Still, this was one of the strongest competitors in this rankdown! I'm eager to see how well this does for Tim on radio.

[bboat11]

Here we are with the final 3! Caylee Hammack versus two of Pulse's big female faves, Martina McBride & Sara Evans.

Of these 3 songs, only 2 of them were #1 contenders. While Tim settled in comfortably at #2 for most of submissions and Luke/Dolly fought hard for that #5 spot, these other 3 ladies occupied the 3 remaining positions for literally the entire submission process. They were never in any realistic danger of missing out on the top 4.

How will it all play out?!

[.indulgecountry]

It's always good to have new music from Ms. Dolly. And she's still got it!

ETA: And the best single from Tim McGraw in several years.

[fearlessarrow]

I go back and forth between whether I like the chorus of "I Called Mama" or not... that's probably the only thing that is dragging it down for me currently - otherwise it's Tim's best single since "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools" for me. 

[bboat11]

1. "Small Town Hypocrite" - Caylee Hammack



Total: 125
Average: 5.68
Std Dev: 5.21 (2nd smallest!!)


.indulgecountry - 1
austin - 1
SHOOTER - 1
George Strait Junkie - 1
BB🌕 - 1
Darkest Hour - 1
d3vin44 - 3
Sambalada - 3
fearlessarrow - 3
tim - 3
someguy - 5
castleoblivion26 - 5
kw9461 - 5
bboat11 - 6
gardyfan - 6
taylor - 7
HeyHeyHey - 7
LBTrocks - 10
lady𝓐fan - 10
superdave3556 - 11
ClevelandRox - 12
BackwoodsBarbie - 23


@xfer

---

2. "6th Avenue Heartache" - Sara Evans

Total: 175
Average: 7.95
Std Dev: 4.15 (Smallest!!!)


d3vin44 - 1
.indulgecountry - 2
SHOOTER - 3
gardyfan - 3
austin - 4
Sambalada - 4
taylor - 5
LBTrocks - 6
Darkest Hour - 7
superdave3556 - 7
BB🌕 - 8
kw9461 - 8
bboat11 - 9
lady𝓐fan - 9
ClevelandRox - 9
BackwoodsBarbie - 11
someguy - 12
castleoblivion26 - 12
tim - 13
HeyHeyHey - 13
George Strait Junkie - 14
fearlessarrow - 15


@xfer

---

3. "Girls Like Me" - Martina McBride



Total: 208
Average: 9.45
Std Dev: 6.04


bboat11 - 1
someguy - 1
d3vin44 - 2
taylor - 2
castleoblivion26 - 2
LBTrocks - 5
.indulgecountry - 6
ClevelandRox - 6
SHOOTER - 7
austin - 7
gardyfan - 8
George Strait Junkie - 9
Sambalada - 10
BackwoodsBarbie - 13
BB🌕 - 14
fearlessarrow - 14
Darkest Hour - 15
tim - 15
kw9461 - 16
lady𝓐fan - 17
superdave3556 - 19
HeyHeyHey - 19



@xfer

[taylor]

That #1 is because this song spoke volumes to me. It is not only going to get me through this pandemic, it's also going to get me through the rest of the year and the election coming up. Something about the song gave me a very serious grandmother-speaking-to-her-child vibe and the final shot of her music video enhances it even more, and convinces me that God is perhaps somehow walking this earth through Dolly. And it came right when I needed it to as well. Gotta love Dolly. 

Also, I like "I Called Mama" for what it is--it's a beautiful reminder to appreciate your mother while you have her and Lord do I know that message loud and clear as that car wreck in February was (TRIGGER WARNING) two centimeters from killing mine--there was just so much on the list that was incredible to me this month and this sadly wound up pushed out of my Top 15.

ETA now that the Top 3 is here:

I love Martina getting her voice back! It will likely never be where it was again, sadly, but this is a STARK improvement over the past couple years, particularly that CMA night--whew, what a night-and-day comparison. This song is great and It used to be hiding insecurities with a cigarette and a bottle of whiskey is one of the most deliciously country lyrics of 2020 thus far in my opinion. Hoping once I catch up with my personal chart I can finally let it debut (yes boaty I know. She'll be on the chart soon I promise lol)

"6th Avenue Heartache" has emerged as being in my Top 5 of Copy That. Sara's voice, as always, is luscious and I absolutely adore the production on this track. Had she covered this earlier in her career, I have no doubt this might've been a chart-topper for her!

Congratulations Caylee!!! "Family Tree" didn't much click for me as it did with some others here on Pulse, but this one did the trick and then some. I absolutely loved this track and it sucks that it was suddenly pulled from radio as this song has serious potential imo. Can't wait to see her and Reba together in the June list and I can't wait for the album on August 14!

Thanks for hosting bboat11!

[BB🌕]

Great winner!

[fearlessarrow]

Oh 3 at once!?

Anyways I'm happy "Small Town Hypocrite" won - I think with "Family Tree" and this one, Caylee's shown so much potential. She hasn't broken through in the way that Gabby/Ingrid has this year, but she deserves to be up there!

Thanks for hosting bboat11!

[bboat11]

Jun 30, 2020 18:42:22 GMT -5 taylor said:

That #1 is because this song spoke volumes to me. It is not only going to get me through this pandemic, it's also going to get me through the rest of the year and the election coming up. Something about the song gave me a very serious grandmother-speaking-to-her-child vibe and the final shot of her music video enhances it even more, and convinces me that God is perhaps somehow walking this earth through Dolly. And it came right when I needed it to as well. Gotta love Dolly. 

Also, I like "I Called Mama" for what it is--it's a beautiful reminder to appreciate your mother while you have her and Lord do I know that message loud and clear as that car wreck in February was (TRIGGER WARNING) two centimeters from killing mine--there was just so much on the list that was incredible to me this month and this sadly wound up pushed out of my Top 15.

ETA now that the Top 3 is here:

I love Martina getting her voice back! It will likely never be where it was again, sadly, but this is a STARK improvement over the past couple years, particularly that CMA night--whew, what a night-and-day comparison. This song is great and It used to be hiding insecurities with a cigarette and a bottle of whiskey is one of the most deliciously country lyrics of 2020 thus far in my opinion. Hoping once I catch up with my personal chart I can finally let it debut (yes boaty I know. She'll be on the chart soon I promise lol)

"6th Avenue Heartache" has emerged as being in my Top 5 of Copy That. Sara's voice, as always, is luscious and I absolutely adore the production on this track. Had she covered this earlier in her career, I have no doubt this might've been a chart-topper for her!

Congratulations Caylee!!! "Family Tree" didn't much click for me as it did with some others here on Pulse, but this one did the trick and then some. I absolutely loved this track and it sucks that it was suddenly pulled from radio as this song has serious potential imo. Can't wait to see her and Reba together in the June list and I can't wait for the album on August 14!

Thanks for hosting bboat11 !

Oh, you're just assuming I'm gonna include that song, huh... ;)

[.indulgecountry]

What a fantastic top 3 this was.

I loooove "6th Avenue Heartache" and it's probably my fave track on Sara's new album, but "Small Town Hypocrite" is far and away my favorite song of 2020 thus far. I'm just in awe of how perfect it is. The lyrical picture it paints, the emotion in the delivery, the build to that explosive chorus. Chilling.

[tim]

Oh wow all three at once! Either he just wanted to see Martina in the final reveal or he’s trying to keep us on our toes…or both!! I think the majority had a hunch that “Small Town Hypocrite” would come out on top so it was just a matter of figuring out the top 2. Given the amount of stanning here for both Sara and Martina I I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that they made it into the top 3, but I do admit I wasn’t expecting to see “Girls Like Me” make it this far.

I agree with everyone’s sentiment regarding Dolly’s “When Life Is Good Again” as it was my go-to song for much of the month. I already felt bad for not putting it in my own top 5 so I’m glad it was able to squeeze in over Luke.

The biggest surprise in the top 10 was seeing “Rodeo Clown” there because I wouldn’t have guessed this would be a song that y’all would like that much, but needless to say I’m glad y’all did! I’ve heard some good things about their album so I for sure need to check that out soon.

Thanks again, bboat11, for bringing us yet another great month of new music!

[taylor]

Jun 30, 2020 18:55:32 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Jun 30, 2020 18:42:22 GMT -5 taylor said:

That #1 is because this song spoke volumes to me. It is not only going to get me through this pandemic, it's also going to get me through the rest of the year and the election coming up. Something about the song gave me a very serious grandmother-speaking-to-her-child vibe and the final shot of her music video enhances it even more, and convinces me that God is perhaps somehow walking this earth through Dolly. And it came right when I needed it to as well. Gotta love Dolly. 

Also, I like "I Called Mama" for what it is--it's a beautiful reminder to appreciate your mother while you have her and Lord do I know that message loud and clear as that car wreck in February was (TRIGGER WARNING) two centimeters from killing mine--there was just so much on the list that was incredible to me this month and this sadly wound up pushed out of my Top 15.

ETA now that the Top 3 is here:

I love Martina getting her voice back! It will likely never be where it was again, sadly, but this is a STARK improvement over the past couple years, particularly that CMA night--whew, what a night-and-day comparison. This song is great and It used to be hiding insecurities with a cigarette and a bottle of whiskey is one of the most deliciously country lyrics of 2020 thus far in my opinion. Hoping once I catch up with my personal chart I can finally let it debut (yes boaty I know. She'll be on the chart soon I promise lol)

"6th Avenue Heartache" has emerged as being in my Top 5 of Copy That. Sara's voice, as always, is luscious and I absolutely adore the production on this track. Had she covered this earlier in her career, I have no doubt this might've been a chart-topper for her!

Congratulations Caylee!!! "Family Tree" didn't much click for me as it did with some others here on Pulse, but this one did the trick and then some. I absolutely loved this track and it sucks that it was suddenly pulled from radio as this song has serious potential imo. Can't wait to see her and Reba together in the June list and I can't wait for the album on August 14!

Thanks for hosting bboat11 !

Oh, you're just assuming I'm gonna include that song, huh...

It's a new release isn't it? 

[LBTrocks]

The top 3 was GREAT!

Thanks for hosting again bboat11 ☺️