New Country Releases Rankdown Thread

[bboat11]

Here's your top 5, as well as a new page!!!

betty - Taylor Swift
Happy Anywhere - Blake Shelton ft. Gwen Stefani
make you - Lindsay Ell
Redhead - Caylee Hammack ft. Reba McEntire
Waste Of Lime - Ingrid Andress


I'm going to take a little break since nobody is really here. Hopefully at least one or two of you will be around for the conclusion in a couple hours!

[.indulgecountry]

Really surprised to see "Sleep at Night" missing the top 5! And yet Blake made it in? Peculiar. It is one of his better songs recently, but still... he sticks out a bit with those other 4 imo.

I can see any of Lindsay, Caylee, or Ingrid potentially winning this. I think Taylor might be a bit polarizing and Blake I can't see making it any higher than #4.

[fearlessarrow]

"Heaven Down Here" is still nice especially with the way the song builds but musically it feels like "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?" 3.0 ("Black Like Me" did have similar production to WAYGTH imo as well), I'm definitely rooting for her regardless but I would personally love to see a little more variation in the production/musical style on her album (an album is coming right?)!

Color me surprised at "Sleep At Night" missing the top 5 as well - I thought it was a lock.

[tim]

Guess I better play catch up before the finale!

“What Do I Know” by Robert Counts was an easy last place for me as redneck anthems such as this one just aren’t my thing. It isn’t outright horrible, though, and I’m sure if I was in the right mood out driving around and this song came on I might not instantly hit skip. But, yea it’s a big ol’ pass on this go around.

I’m sure Chris’ intention behind “If That Ain’t God” was sincere and heartfelt, but in the end the song is just too generic and falls flat in its attempt to be uplifting.

“Actress” by Chrissy Metz was one of my favorite discoveries of the rankdown and I remember the first time I heard it just being quite taken in by the lyrics. This was definitely an unexpected surprise.

On the other hand, “Sunday Drive” ended up being a bit more on the polarizing song than I was expecting it to be. I love the story that the song paints and I’ll admit that I get a bit teary eyed when listening to it.

I wasn’t sure how well “This Town is a Woman” would fare in the rankdown, but I appreciate bboat11 including this song and I’m happy enough seeing it make the top 15. Most of the complaints I hear regarding Lori is that they are not a fan of her vocals, but that is what I love most about her. She may not have the perfect voice, but it is that rawness that draws me into her wonderful songs. This is just one of the many great songs from The Balladeer which I happen to think is probably her best effort to date.

Even though “Fool’s Love Affair” isn’t a new recording from Randy, it just sounds so refreshing to hear something like this get released. I love the story behind how this song came to be and they really did a great job with the arrangement as it sounds like classic Randy.

“I’m No Stranger to the Rain” is a perfect match for Josh’s voice and I admit he delivers a solid cover. That said, I’m quite partial to the original and as such this is one of those songs that I’m always a bit weary about other artists covering.

[bboat11]

5. "Happy Anywhere" - Blake Shelton ft. Gwen Stefani

Total: 175
Average: 9.21
Std Dev: 5.76


BackwoodsBarbie - 1
HeyHeyHey - 1
@annebury - 2
superdave3556 - 4
gardyfan - 5
kw9461 - 5
someguy - 5
tim - 7
castleoblivion26 - 8
lady𝓐fan - 9
taylor - 11
SHOOTER - 11
.indulgecountry - 11
fearlessarrow - 12
Darkest Hour - 13
George Strait Junkie - 14
ClevelandRox - 18
LBTrocks - 19
bboat11 - 19

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
betty - Taylor Swift
make you - Lindsay Ell
Redhead - Caylee Hammack ft. Reba McEntire
Waste Of Lime - Ingrid Andress

[bboat11]

Aug 31, 2020 18:01:06 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Really surprised to see "Sleep at Night" missing the top 5! And yet Blake made it in? Peculiar. It is one of his better songs recently, but still... he sticks out a bit with those other 4 imo.

I can see any of Lindsay, Caylee, or Ingrid potentially winning this. I think Taylor might be a bit polarizing and Blake I can't see making it any higher than #4.

Completely agreed! "Happy Anywhere" is alright, but....absolutely no comparison to the 4 ladies that remain imo.

Blake actually tied with Mickey, but made the top 5 thanks to the fact that his song had 2 #1 ranks compared to Mickey's one :)

[bboat11]

4. "Waste Of Lime" - Ingrid Andress

Total: 174
Average: 9.16
Std Dev: 6.41


ClevelandRox - 2
BackwoodsBarbie - 3
fearlessarrow - 3
HeyHeyHey - 4
someguy - 4
.indulgecountry - 4
George Strait Junkie - 4
bboat11 - 4
@annebury - 5
SHOOTER - 6
castleoblivion26 - 7
LBTrocks - 12
superdave3556 - 13
Darkest Hour - 14
kw9461 - 15
lady𝓐fan - 16
taylor - 17
tim - 20
gardyfan - 21

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
betty - Taylor Swift
make you - Lindsay Ell
Redhead - Caylee Hammack ft. Reba McEntire

[tim]

“Happy Anywhere” was a pleasant surprise, but considering I’ve already forgotten how it goes means that I likely quite overranked this one. If I’m being honest, I’m not really feeling the latest output from Blake especially if Gwen is going to be attached to everything going forward (no disrespect meant to her).

[Darkest Hour]

My 2,3 and 5 remain so I am happy with the result however it will be.

[bboat11]

"Waste Of Lime" is not groundbreaking by any means, but I do think it has a really fun vibe to it. I can't help but dig it whenever I hear it. The Beach Boys interpolation at the end of the chorus is really well done imo, and I love the fact that Ingrid actually sounds like she is having fun here. One of my big complaints with her so far has been that everything is very melancholy, but this is proof that she has a bit of a fun side! I hope this goes to radio sometime, because it sounds like a hit!

Ingrid won our April rankdown with "The Stranger", and this one was not able to meet the same demands, but it still put up a strong showing here!!

[tim]

I’m a bit surprised to have learned how fast Ingrid’s “The Stranger” has seemed to flame out before it really ever even took off. That said, even though it was the next best song on her debut album there really wasn’t much else there that felt well-suited for country radio. “Waste of Lime” seems like it could be a hit should it get released, but it would’ve made for a better summer release (although given how the charts work these days it probably wouldn’t even peak until summer 2021 anyways, so...).

[bboat11]

Up next, our song to finish at #3 was actually a huge #1 contender, and was at #2 almost the entire submission process when it wasn't at #1!!!

[LBTrocks]

I'm still a bit mixed on "Waste Of Lime" tbh... it's catchy and I do love Ingrid, but... it has yet to fully click with me. "More Hearts Than Mine" and "The Stranger" are definitely the far superior songs.

"Happy Anywhere" is alright, but I'd never go out of my way to listen to it.

Thrilled that Lindsay and Caylee are still in! I'm def hoping Lindsay can pull the win off

[bboat11]

3. "betty" - Taylor Swift

Total: 140
Average: 7.37
Std Dev: 6.21


fearlessarrow - 1
Darkest Hour - 2
lady𝓐fan - 2
ClevelandRox - 3
someguy - 3
@annebury - 3
kw9461 - 4
tim - 4
BackwoodsBarbie - 5
bboat11 - 5
HeyHeyHey - 6
castleoblivion26 - 6
.indulgecountry - 7
taylor - 8
George Strait Junkie - 11
gardyfan - 11
SHOOTER - 16
superdave3556 - 21
LBTrocks - 22

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
make you - Lindsay Ell
Redhead - Caylee Hammack ft. Reba McEntire

[LBTrocks]

"betty" = big yawn. I hear harmonica in there too and I HATE harmonica.

[fearlessarrow]

FLOPS!!

[Darkest Hour]

Aug 31, 2020 22:17:13 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

"betty" you = big yawn. 

fixed.

[bboat11]

As you can see from the trajectory graph, "betty" was a HUGE contender in this rankdown! Based on how it was performing, I 100% expected it to finish at either #1 or #2. Everybody except for 5 people put this in their top 10, with more than half of us putting it in our top 5!!! Two tanks from superdave3556 and LBTrocks were undoubtedly what sunk this song. Without those two people it would have likely finished at #1 with ease!

At least "betty" still has another chance to end up in BotB/RotB when the folklore album rankdown happens. I'm eager to see if it can pull it off!!!

[bboat11]

Aug 31, 2020 22:17:13 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

"betty" = big yawn. I hear harmonica in there too and I HATE harmonica.

Hates harmonica, but stans for Brantley Gilbert's voice...

[tim]

Aug 31, 2020 22:17:13 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

I hear harmonica in there too and I HATE harmonica.

Of course you do.

[LBTrocks]

Aug 31, 2020 22:20:42 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Aug 31, 2020 22:17:13 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

"betty" = big yawn. I hear harmonica in there too and I HATE harmonica.

Hates harmonica, but stans for Brantley Gilbert's voice...

I'm sure most here would agree with you that the two have nothing in common not that I even stan Brantley's voice but ok lol

[tim]

I had a gut feeling going into the top five it might come down to these two songs, but I still think “Redhead” has the edge.

[LBTrocks]

Aug 31, 2020 22:17:23 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

FLOPS!!

Aug 31, 2020 22:19:51 GMT -5 Darkest Hour said:

Aug 31, 2020 22:17:13 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

"betty" you = big yawn. 

fixed.

[fearlessarrow]

So you like country music but don't like harmonicas?

[LBTrocks]

Aug 31, 2020 22:24:07 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

So you like country music but don't like harmonicas?

Fiddle and steel are two staple instruments in country and I adore both of them so I think I'm good. Harmonica isn't nearly as quintessential country as those two lol

[tim]

Aug 31, 2020 22:24:07 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

So you like country music but don't like harmonicas?

THIS! I had the same exact thought but just couldn’t say it.

[HeyHeyHey]

Both the top 2 are good but I’m rooting for Caylee!

[bboat11]

Moment of truth!! 3 ladies. 2 songs. Caylee. Reba. Lindsay. Sooooo much talent! Can Caylee become the first artist to pull off a second New Country Releases rankdown win? Can Lindsay join the growing string of ladies who have won this thing despite being criminally underrated in the industry at large?

Let's see what happens!!! Either way, taste wins!!!

[.indulgecountry]

Aug 31, 2020 22:17:13 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

I hear harmonica in there too and I HATE harmonica.

Apr 2, 2020 22:19:13 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

"Kerosene" slays! It's one of those songs that will simply never get old. 

[bboat11]

2. "make you" - Lindsay Ell

Total: 139
Average: 7.32
Std Dev: 4.67 (4th smallest)


bboat11 - 1
LBTrocks - 1
castleoblivion26 - 2
SHOOTER - 4
Darkest Hour - 5
.indulgecountry - 5
taylor - 5
George Strait Junkie - 5
fearlessarrow - 6
lady𝓐fan - 6
kw9461 - 6
someguy - 7
BackwoodsBarbie - 8
ClevelandRox - 9
gardyfan - 10
HeyHeyHey - 13
@annebury - 14
superdave3556 - 14
tim - 18

---

1. "Redhead" - Caylee Hammack ft. Reba McEntire

Total: 129
Average: 6.79
Std Dev: 7.04 (5th largest)


castleoblivion26 - 1
@annebury - 1
SHOOTER - 2
.indulgecountry - 2
someguy - 2
BackwoodsBarbie - 2
superdave3556 - 2
bboat11 - 3
Darkest Hour - 3
George Strait Junkie - 3
tim - 5
LBTrocks - 6
taylor - 7
fearlessarrow - 7
HeyHeyHey - 7
kw9461 - 12
lady𝓐fan - 21
ClevelandRox - 21
gardyfan - 22