New Country Releases Rankdown Thread

[bboat11]

Oct 30, 2020 20:44:28 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Oct 30, 2020 20:08:41 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

You'll have to let me know how you feel about our #5 song once you see it... Because if your submission would have been the one to allow Jamie to have finished in the top 5, you are never skipping one of these things ever again

Lol yep, i was listening to this list, just didn’t get it done in time.

But yeah, my vote on Brandy would have more like yours for sure.

OMG!!!! I'm not sure if this information means you're off my A-list, or back on my A-list 😂

[tim]

Oct 30, 2020 20:47:23 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

I'm not sure if this information means you're off my A-list, or back on my A-list 😂

That is actually the one line in the song that makes me wince if only for a second...it just sounds a bit weird coming from someone of Jamie's age I suppose lol

[bboat11]

Oct 30, 2020 20:38:39 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

Oct 30, 2020 20:32:48 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Of COURSE y'all would hate every single song to ever have any talk-singing whatsoever...until Brandy Clark does it

but like what in the world is your 22 rank for "Same Devil"?

Oct 30, 2020 20:42:52 GMT -5 tim said:

Oct 30, 2020 20:38:39 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

but like what in the world is your 22 rank for "Same Devil"?

Yea bboat11 why you gotta be so cold??? Honestly though I'm not surprised as this song doesn't sound anything remotely like something he'd like at all.

Idk, the biggest thing to me is that the melody is just soooooo uninteresting. But then on top of it the lyrics are nothing but a laundry list of every possible metaphor they could think of to say "everybody's different yet the same". It's trying to be all profound, but doesn't actually say anything.

[bboat11]

Sorry this top 5 is taking so long I let Lee Ann Womack reveals finish, and then I went to the bathroom, and then Flops had me listen to a stupid song in a PM, and then I put chicken nuggets in the oven, and then I had to put a lot of thought into why I don't like "Same Devil", and then I commented on the Brooks & Dunn album reveals...


I'm gonna finish this now though Let's do it!!

[bboat11]

Every song that is left has #1 ranks...

Our next song has THREE of them!

[Darkest Hour]

The emoticon doesn't load on mobile version of the forum and so it makes the hint more obvious lol

[bboat11]

4. "Cold" - Chris Stapleton

Total: 185
Average: 9.25
Std Dev: 7.47 (3rd largest!)


HeyHeyHey - 1
tim - 1
Kanenrá:ke - 1
fearlessarrow - 2
gardyfan - 2
Darkest Hour - 2
taylor is terrified - 2
someguy - 5
LBTrocks - 8
bboat11 - 8
lady𝓐fan - 9
ClevelandRox - 9
d3vin44 - 10
castleoblivion26 - 11
superdave3556 - 15
George Strait Junkie - 17
SHOOTER - 17
kw9461 - 20
.indulgecountry - 22
austin - 23

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
I’m Not For Everyone - Brothers Osborne
Next Girl - Carly Pearce
Whiskey And Rain - Michael Ray

[bigfan101]

Michael and Carly are going to end up as the top two aren't they. LOL

[bboat11]

So I know that I am usually a predictable tanker of Chris Stapleton... But "Cold" is one of those songs that I feel works really well with his voice!!! This one was immediate for me, and has continued to stay in my good graces even with repeat listens!! He is still not my favorite vocalist, but it is a great song, and he is easily the best vocalist for a song like this.

And most of us agree, as it got top 10 ranks from nearly 2/3 of us! However, the flurry of bottom 10 ranks were enough to keep this one out of the top 3, even though it did threaten to finish there even towards the end of the submission process!

[bboat11]

3. "I'm Not For Everyone" - Brothers Osborne

Total: 168
Average: 8.40
Std Dev: 6.75


fearlessarrow - 1
HeyHeyHey - 2
George Strait Junkie - 2
kw9461 - 2
austin - 2
gardyfan - 3
castleoblivion26 - 3
SHOOTER - 3
tim - 4
Kanenrá:ke - 5
LBTrocks - 7
lady𝓐fan - 8
Darkest Hour - 12
bboat11 - 12
someguy - 13
ClevelandRox - 14
d3vin44 - 16
superdave3556 - 17
taylor is terrified - 21
.indulgecountry - 21

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Next Girl - Carly Pearce
Whiskey And Rain - Michael Ray

[tim]

More often than not, Chris Stapleton is viewed as a rather polarizing artist on Pulse so therefore I wasn't at all sure what to expect with "Cold". That said, he managed to make it into the top 10 last month with "Starting Over" and now in the top 5 so maybe this next era will be viewed a bit more favorably here. This song is absolutely stunning and is almost unlike anything else he's ever included on a studio album, so this makes me really excited to hear the rest of the album!

[tim]

We literally put Michael and Carly into the top two

[bboat11]

Oct 30, 2020 21:25:59 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Michael and Carly are going to end up as the top two aren't they. LOL

Yep!!!! Look at them being legendary together even in divorce!!!! These two had #1 on lock for pretty much the entire submission process

Also, they were each #1 for approximately half the submission process. Which of them do you guys think managed to hang on in the end?!??!!

[tim]

"I'm Not for Everyone" was an immediate standout from Brothers Osborne new album and they are really turning out to be a favorite amongst those on Pulse as well. I still need to give their latest album a few more listens and let the songs sink in a bit because I'm just not sure I'm feeling this one as much as their others. That said, they have a few more gems on the album and I think they'll likely be another top 5 contender next month!

[tim]

Oct 30, 2020 21:34:19 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Which of them do you guys think managed to hang on in the end?!??!!

My heart says Carly, but my mind says it'll be Michael.

[bboat11]

2. "Whiskey And Rain" - Michael Ray

Total: 118
Average: 5.90
Std Dev: 5.72


kw9461 - 1
castleoblivion26 - 1
LBTrocks - 1
.indulgecountry - 1
Kanenrá:ke - 2
lady𝓐fan - 2
Darkest Hour - 3
superdave3556 - 3
fearlessarrow - 4
George Strait Junkie - 4
austin - 4
bboat11 - 4
d3vin44 - 4
tim - 7
ClevelandRox - 7
SHOOTER - 9
HeyHeyHey - 10
someguy - 12
taylor is terrified - 16
gardyfan - 23

---

1. "Next Girl" - Carly Pearce

Total: 96
Average: 4.80
Std Dev: 5.28 (4th smallest)


lady𝓐fan - 1
Darkest Hour - 1
George Strait Junkie - 1
d3vin44 - 1
SHOOTER - 1
taylor is terrified - 1
superdave3556 - 2
kw9461 - 3
fearlessarrow - 3
bboat11 - 3
HeyHeyHey - 3
ClevelandRox - 4
someguy - 4
gardyfan - 4
tim - 5
castleoblivion26 - 7
.indulgecountry - 7
Kanenrá:ke - 7
LBTrocks - 18 (Lmao of course)
austin - 20

[tim]

Well, well we know where LBTrocks stands.

[bigfan101]

Oct 30, 2020 21:44:44 GMT -5 tim said:

Well, well we know where LBTrocks stands.

Hahaha he got Michael in the divorce.

[bigfan101]

My would’ve been number one....ended up number one, so I guess all is well with the world.

And michael’s song is great too. He would have easily been in the top-five for me. The end of that video is still very intriguing to me, but maybe reading too much into it.

[ClevelandRox]

Oct 30, 2020 21:45:51 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Oct 30, 2020 21:44:44 GMT -5 tim said:

Well, well we know where LBTrocks stands.

Hahaha he got Michael in the divorce.

And radio got Carly lol

[bboat11]

Michael Ray and Carly Pearce have been making headlines in the music industry lately, as news of their sudden and unexpected divorce suddenly broke a few months ago... Followed by the announcement that Carly would be cutting her quite new album era short, and already moving onto another new album!

Nobody really knows what happened between them, because they have been classy about the whole thing, but the general perception seems to be that there was some cheating going on on Michael's end...hence the theme of "Next Girl" coming just weeks after their divorce. "Next Girl" has been received warmly by us on Pulse so far.

Michael has also been working on a new era of his own, and "Whiskey And Rain" has apparently been making waves for awhile in his live shows. It finally came out as his next new single just a week or two after Carly's released! This one has nothing to do with their divorce; it is just a damn good song.


Both of these have been super warmly received on Pulse so far, so I am not at all surprised to see them battle each other in the top 2! They have both been praised for their focus on more traditional instrumentation, especially in Michael's case.

For me personally, while Carly's was immediate for me, Michael's was a bit of a grower...but it has since risen almost to the same level as Carly's! Both of these are damn good songs, that I will be rooting for in the months moving forward!! Hopefully they can both be rewarded with #1 hits :)

Thank you for participating and following along, everybody! I have so much fun with these rankdowns, and have really enjoyed being way more "in" with what is happening in the industry this year! This installment officially marks 6 months of this series

[tim]

Oct 30, 2020 21:45:51 GMT -5 bigfan101 said:

Oct 30, 2020 21:44:44 GMT -5 tim said:

Well, well we know where LBTrocks stands.

Hahaha he got Michael in the divorce.

Well with Carly putting Michael on blast to all the ladies he might just have alienated himself enough that he'll have no choice but to "pitch" for the other team

All jokes aside, this was actually a very fitting end to this month as both are very worthy of their top 2 finish. Whereas "Whiskey and Rain" was more of an immediate liking, "Next Girl" was a bit more of a grower for me and I'd actually say I prefer that song more now as it's just incredibly catchy. And of the two that is the one likely to be the bigger hit, so ClevelandRox would be right in saying country radio got Carly lol.

Thanks again, bboat11 , and I'm looking forward to hearing what the next six months bring!

[someguy]

Oct 29, 2020 22:18:02 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Oct 28, 2020 0:07:57 GMT -5 ClevelandRox said:

I'm honestly shocked the Bon Jovi song survived this. 😂

Well that aged well!!

Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles kick off our top 20! They alternated between the 22ish range and the 18ish range, with 20 being a nice average for their trajectory.

The melody here is pretty great, but tbh I have a LOT of problem taking this song seriously because it is SO Covid-specific. Talking about chicken farms providing PPE, for example, automatically makes this song completely useless outside of the immediate context in which we currently find ourselves I do like the melody though, which is why it nearly made my top 15!

I think the Covid-specifity is part of the reason why I like this song so much (right now). It's probably not a song I will listen to much in 5 years (assuming this pandemic is over by then), but I really like how timely and of the moment it is right now. It's not as good, but I think of it like Alan Jackson's "Where Were You..." in that respect. It's not a song I revisit at all now, but I really liked it back then.

I like Bon Jovi's solo version a lot, but adding Jenn to it really elevates it, imo. I like the melody a lot, too. Out of all of the Covid songs to be released this year, this is probably my favourite.

[bboat11]

Final Recap: September 2020

25. Earth To God - John Rich (448)
24. Long Live - Florida Georgia Line (377)
23. Angel From Montgomery - Wynonna Judd (334)
22. Just About Over You - Priscilla Block (332)
21. One Too Many - Keith Urban ft. P!nk (316)

20. Do What You Can - Bon Jovi ft. Jennifer Nettles (312)
19. Silverado Saturday Night - Aaron Watson (300)
18. We Go Together Like - Abby Anderson (292)
17. Better Said Than Done - Earl Thomas Conley (290)
16. What He Does - Rachel Wammack (287)
15. Think Of Me - Jesse Keith Whitley ft. Lorrie Morgan (280)
14. You Time - Scotty McCreery (267)
13. Rebels & Angels - Terry McBride ft. Patty Loveless (263)
12. Girls In My Hometown - Danielle Bradbery (257)
11. What Do You Think Of? - Lauren Alaina ft. Lukas Graham (254)

10. Sometimes It's Too Late - Jamie O'Neal (253)
09. I'd Take Another One Of Those - Shenandoah ft. Zac Brown Band (248)
08. Bridges - Mickey Guyton (236)
07. love and hate (ballerini version) - Kelsea Ballerini (201)
06. Closer To Closure - Jamie O'Neal (201)
05. Same Devil - Brandy Clark ft. Brandi Carlisle (185)
04. Cold - Chris Stapleton (185)
03. I'm Not For Everyone - Brothers Osborne (168)
02. Whiskey And Rain - Michael Ray (118)
01. Next Girl - Carly Pearce (96)

[LBTrocks]

Ha Ha Ha funny y'all, but I just don't like "Next Girl" even tho I have tried, because I want to. But it's just... not great. Her voice sounds so strained. Like, she has always sound nasally to me and that really holds her back from truly shining on the vocal for this song tbh. I like the instrumentation, lyrics are great... I appreciate the leaning towards traditional country, but... yeah. I'm just not a fan of it or her voice at all. Never have been, y'all know this.

"Whiskey and Rain" however is absolutely incredible. That melody... is stunning. I love the instrumentation and the production... really appreciate the fiddle. I also quite like the lyrics to this, and I like the style Michael seems to be heading with his new material. SO thrilled it made it all the way to #2 here, especially since the opinion of Michael the person is so negative these days by most who know anything about him and Carly's split.

[.indulgecountry]

Oct 30, 2020 18:32:31 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

8. "Bridges" - Mickey Guyton

Total: 236
Average: 11.80
Std Dev: 5.75


superdave3556 - 16
lady𝓐fan - 18
ClevelandRox - 18
kw9461 - 19
someguy - 19
HeyHeyHey - 22

Wow the racism jumped out!

Oct 30, 2020 20:31:19 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

5. "Same Devil" - Brandy Clark ft. Brandi Carlisle

Total: 185
Average: 9.25
Std Dev: 5.74


bboat11 - 22

Wow the homophobia jumped out!

[.indulgecountry]

All jokes aside, this went pretty well and I am very pleased with this top 2! Michael Ray has the better song of the two former lovebirds imo, but I am quite enjoying "Next Girl" as well right now. I am happy they were both able to come out ahead of Crappleton and the Bros, neither of which had songs I particularly cared for and both artists continue to be among the most overrated artists on Pulse imo.

[bboat11]

I just thought I should point out, this is the second month in a row that has been very successful for male artists! Once again the males had the majority coming into the to 5, and it's still pretty amazing that a male artist managed to not only finish at #2, but also be a super strong #1 contender!

I'd say this is proof that Pulse doesn't actually hate male artists, and most of them just need to release better songs most of the time Look what happens when they release good songs, like "Young Man's Blues" and "Whiskey And Rain"! (On top of Tim McGraw making the top 4 both times he's been in, Mark Chesnutt's "Found Another You", etc. We've done male artists pretty well in this series.)

[Darkest Hour]

Echo with the majority that Lukas Graham's vocal in What Do You Think Of? sucks (Tbh he sucks in his own songs too). That song performing fairly strong in sales is a bit surprising still.
As I said in the single thread I'd Take Another One Of Those sounds traditional but I'm underwhelmed by the lyrics after reading them.
Tbh Brandi Carlile put too much of her influence in production of Same Devil and that's quite reductive because she used the same approach for The Secret Sisters' album this year. As far as Brandy Clark songs go this is probably in my bottom 5, but if you are in mood of haunting vibe then it did its job well.
I don't really like how the orchestra is used in Cold. Maybe because it sounds too much like a 007 song? A little bit tacky but his vocals are still his best asset and if a 007 song would be country influenced in the future, you know who to make one.
I'm more surprised I'm Not For Everyone is placed this high here. Their lyrics really regress A LOT in this album because there are too many laundry lists, but in terms of instrumentation they are still fresh, like the accordion in the beginning of the chorus is an interesting choice. Though modern country listeners will probably have no idea who Townes Van Zandt is.

[Darkest Hour]

Sometimes It's Too Late is very confusing in the production. By the time the chorus came I was really thinking they gonna put a drop there because of these electronic elements. Also I definitely heard much soulful vocal performance before (in this rankdown, Cold, Next Girl, Whiskey and Rain...). I'd say some people focus too much on vocals and showing off part in country music.

Oct 30, 2020 20:02:08 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

This song sounds like a HUUUUUGE smash hit for any of our modern females! In fact, I hear elements of all of them here. The songwriting is very Kelsea Ballerini, the guitar work is very Lindsay Ell, the vocals are very Maren Morris (especially in the adlibs in the end), etc. This is ready to be a big hit on Country radio....if only Jamie wasn't a 55 year-old woman whose radio career has been over for nearly 15 years... :'(

And that's probably why I don't like Closer to Closure at all. She took the worst of them (Kelsea's immaturity when Jamie is a 55 yo as you said, Lindsay's formulaic guitar riffs and cringy part of Maren's vocals similar to the adlibs in Rich) and made the most trend-hopping music I have heard in order to revitalize her non-existant career since last decade...That's the best she can do? Also no one's talking about the artistic choice in her artworks? Pulse sometimes has really obvious double standards.

Then I listened to Someone's Sometimes and lol at you not choosing this song. This would outperform either of Jamie's songs in this rankdown . Maybe getting John Paul White in the production department saves the song?