Martina McBride Singles Rankdown 2.0 (Finished!!!)

[bboat11]

6. "Whatever You Say"

Album: Evolution (5 of 6)

Year: 1999

Vocal Range: E♭3 - E♭5

Billboard Chart Peak: #2

Placement in the previous rankdown: 9 of 70

Placement in the album rankdown: 2 of 14





Total: 267
Average: 12.71
Std Dev: 11.89


schnetzka - 2
Cody Wants Out... - 2
castleoblivion26 - 2
bboat11 - 2
someguy - 2
Kanenrá:ke - 5
CoJoFan - 6
Ginger Spice - 6
ClevelandRox - 9
kansasmeetsmo - 10
toomuchboy - 10
George Strait Junkie - 12
fearlessarrow - 13
fireflies - 14
taylor - 14
Troublemaker - 14
.indulgecountry - 15
tim - 18
austin - 24
codyj100 - 41
Juanca - 46

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
A Broken Wing
Concrete Angel
Independence Day
Where Would You Be
Wild Angels

[taylor]

Well then! Surprised by that tbh.

Don't let my #14 fool you; Martina's career is just that strong. I absolutely love this song and respect the fact that to this day, she's able to hold that last "saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay" for four entire measures in one single breath. My asthma could never!!

Top 5 prediction:
1. Independence Day
2. A Broken Wing
3. Wild Angels
4. Where Would You Be
5. Concrete Angel

[bboat11]

Unfortunately, just missing out on the top 5 is "Whatever You Say". This is one of her best songs, hands down. The whole thing is just so perfect for her voice. I lose my #2 here, as well as four other people. Everyone except for four people put this in their top 15, which gives a huge indication as to how well-loved all of these songs are at this point!

"Whatever You Say" was actually a top 5 contender for the entire submission process, and seemed to settle in comfortably at #4, until Juanca's lone bottom 5 rank came right at the end and tanked it out of the top 5. .indulgecountry and Cody Wants Out... did their best afterward with a top 15 and a top 2, but it was too late for it to recover.

Fun fact: Martina actually hates her vocal on this song! She feels like she does a much better job with it live, and hates to listen to the studio version, according to the liner notes of her Greatest Hits album. You know what they say; we are our own biggest critic! Fortunately she has absolutely nothing to worry about, because she sounds like a damn angel.

[bboat11]

The top 5!!!

A Broken Wing
Concrete Angel
Independence Day
Where Would You Be
Wild Angels


I'm gonna go ahead and pause there for a while, 'cause I have to go over to my uncle's house for dinner. But I'll finish later tonight if anyone's around!

[Ginger Spice]

"Safe in the Arms of Love" was a discovery this year for me! When I was young, I had Greatest Hits, and I mainly listened to the "My Baby Loves Me," "Independence Day," plus the Evolution and after stuff. This year both "Safe" and "Wild Angels" really clicked with me and became two of my favorites. I think she sounds just angelic on this song.

"Whatever You Say" is a classic favorite of mine, and "Anyway" is a song that I get the emotional appeal of, but it has never appealed to me personally.

[Ginger Spice]

What I'm hoping
1. Independence Day
2. A Broken Wing
3. Wild Angels
4. Where Would You Be (I didn't realize this one was so well liked)
5. Concrete Angel

[HeyHeyHey]

“Anyway” is such a pretty song and my favorite song by Martina. The whole song kinda reminds me of the time we are in right now and how you can still have hope, love, and believe - even when things are difficult or it seems things aren’t going your way. It is such a well written tune.

The top 5 is solid and I hope “A Broken Wing” wins out of the remaining songs.

[.indulgecountry]

Thrilled that "Anyway" made it into the top 10 this time around.

[carriefan15]

5. Where Would You Be
4. Concrete Angel
3. Independence Day
2. Wild Angels
1. A Broken Wing

[tim]

Phew, here I thought I was going to wake up this morning only to find this had been all revealed overnight. I’m glad that wasn’t the case, however, as I was following yesterday evening but just didn’t get a chance to sit down and comment along.

Even though “Wrong Again” seems to be one of her more forgotten hits, it doubt remains well regarded amongst her fans as evident by the fact that it landed inside the top 10 in both the first and now second singles rankdown. This has always been a favorite of mine as well and only placed it outside of my top 10 because everything was stacked at that point.

Of the songs to miss the top 10 last time, I’m glad to see “Love’s the Only House” find its way in there this time around as this is another long-time favorite of mine. I never knew that this was originally intended to be sung from a male perspective because I never got that impression at all and I’m glad that Martina fought for this song.

Dec 21, 2020 20:02:06 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

It's finally the end of the road for tim 's #1, after weeks of stress and anxiety since pretty much about the time we got to the top 30, lol.

I can certainly rest a little easier now that the wait of not knowing when it would finally be revealed is over! It was well worth it though as I honestly never expected this to find its way into the top 10 when considering its performance in the first singles rankdown. I honestly couldn’t quite tell y’all what is about this song that I love so much although I think there’s a certain nostalgia factor around it for me. I remember her singing this at the CMA Awards in 1996 and it’s probably about that time that I really became a fan of hers. Considering how long ago that was there really isn’t a quality video to be shared as the only way to record that back then was on VHS lol, but I found a decent one for those that may have never seen it before:



A lot of the group probably feels the same about “Anyway” as that too eclipsed its previous rankdown position and is another one of her beloved songs amongst the fanbase. I only put this in my top 25 because it just has never had much replay for me but is one that I have the upmost respect for.

Anytime you see a song like “Whatever You Say” where the majority put it in their top 15 it’s always a bit disappointing to see it come up short, and in this case that just happened to be the top 5. I loved hearing this on the radio back in the day and am not surprised that it continues to be so well-liked.

[castleoblivion26]

I am beyond shocked that anyone thinks that "Independence Day" isn't winning this as I do not believe it has lost a single Martina rankdown ever (and it usually comes very close in any multi-artist rankdowns as well).

[ClevelandRox]

5. Wild Angels
4. Where Would You Be (I'd love for it to be top three though)
3. Concrete Angel
2. A Broken Wing
1. Independence Day

[bboat11]

Sorry to disappear again right when we get to the exciting conclusion! I'm sure you can all understand how insane this week has been thanks to the holidays. My sister and I drove back home for Christmas, and until tonight I haven't really been able to carve out more than a couple minutes at a time to be on Pulse.

But since I'm here tonight, I would LOVE to finish this rankdown Only if people are actually around to pay attention and follow along and comment and have fun though...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Wild Tractors}
schnetzka -
Cody Wants Out... -
castleoblivion26 -
bboat11 -
someguy -
Kanenrá:ke -
CoJoFan -
Ginger Spice -
ClevelandRox -
kansasmeetsmo -
toomuchboy -
George Strait Junkie -
fearlessarrow -
fireflies -
taylor -
Troublemaker -
.indulgecountry -
tim -
austin -
codyj100 -
Juanca -

[bboat11]

Of course if nobody's around tonight, I'll just start one of my Christmas rankdowns instead 😂

[taylor]

Dec 27, 2020 20:53:06 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Of course if nobody's around tonight, I'll just start one of my Christmas rankdowns instead 😂

I'd get those Christmas rankdowns knocked out before 2021 comes knocking on our door   Personally willing to wait in suspense on this one awhile longer

But you do you! Whichever one you plan on doing I'll be around for it 

[bboat11]

Dec 27, 2020 21:09:47 GMT -5 taylor said:

Dec 27, 2020 20:53:06 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Of course if nobody's around tonight, I'll just start one of my Christmas rankdowns instead 😂

I'd get those Christmas rankdowns knocked out before 2021 comes knocking on our door   Personally willing to wait in suspense on this one awhile longer

But you do you! Whichever one you plan on doing I'll be around for it 

Well now it's time for dinner! I'll wait and see what things are looking like in a little bit, lol.

[castleoblivion26]

I'm here. Also playing 2 video games so I'll comment in-between matches

[someguy]

Dec 27, 2020 21:09:47 GMT -5 taylor said:

Dec 27, 2020 20:53:06 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Of course if nobody's around tonight, I'll just start one of my Christmas rankdowns instead 😂

I'd get those Christmas rankdowns knocked out before 2021 comes knocking on our door   Personally willing to wait in suspense on this one awhile longer

But you do you! Whichever one you plan on doing I'll be around for it 

That would be my thought as well!

[.indulgecountry]

bboat11 : I have so many rankdowns to do reveals for that I can't decide

Also bboat11 :

[bboat11]

Well after dinner my sister wanted to watch Pinocchio (we've started a Disney marathon for castleoblivion26 's rankdown series). So we ended up doing that instead. Pulse has been dead af tonight anyway.

I am driving back home tomorrow, so y'all're about to get SOOOOO many reveals in the next few days

[taylor]

Dec 28, 2020 1:11:59 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Well after dinner my sister wanted to watch Pinocchio (we've started a Disney marathon for castleoblivion26 's rankdown series). So we ended up doing that instead. Pulse has been dead af tonight anyway.

I am driving back home tomorrow, so y'all're about to get SOOOOO many reveals in the next few days

The question will be: Can bboat11 reveal a 12-song Christmas album, another 20 Christmas songs, plus the Martina 2.0 Top 5 before the ball drops on NYE?  :kii:

[Juanca]

24. Valentine (9): I heard this first thanks to Casey's Countdown, which was aired for 2-3 years in Peru's AC radio station. It was a big hit, and I liked it. It made my personal top 10 -and I'd end up buying Jim's cassette. I've alway kept good memories of this song, and I still find the melody and vocals/piano combination quite pleasant and strong.

23. I Just Call You Mine (10): I've heard this song before but not sure where or how long ago. I really like the melody -reminds me a bit of alternative ballads of the late 90s- and how she sings it.

22. Reckless (20): I like the melody and production quite a bit. I just wish her vocals were better -that's why I didn't rank it higher. It seems she's been autotuned too much -or maybe it was the period of her thinning vocals? Pretty good discovery anyway.

21. God's Will (17): Another song I believer I've heard before. In any case, I loved the story and her interpretation. The melody is also quite strong to me, and even though it's a bit sappy and reminiscent of other songs in her catalog, I thought its strengths were enough to make my top 20.

20. Happy Girl (49): Sorry, but I didn't like the melody nor the instrumental. Actually, it's one of just a handful of songs that I don't wanna hear again. Not my cup of tea at all.

19. Ride (8): Not another top 10 loss :( This was a great discovery! I love the 80s energetic rock vibe underneath this tune, and Martina's soaring, strong vocals with fierce attitude. I didn't know she could rock this well. Wow!

18. I Love You (29): I remember hearing this at some point in Casey's Countdown, and I didn't like it that much. I've just learned it was that big of a country song, and I wonder how?! why?! I don't hate it, but this doesn't have the strength vocally, lyrically or melodically as many songs in her catalogue.

17. I'm Gonna Love You Through It (3): This was my favorite discovery in this RD. The lyrics and vocals hit me, and hard, and made me appreciate her even more. A family friend had breast cancer in the late 90s, and got a mastectomy, so we talked about this topic. Then, unfortunately, a few years later my mom got another type of cancer, which she fought for a couple of years before losing the battle. And a few years ago, my partner's mom lost the battle to another type of cancer, so yeah, this type of song really hits...

[Juanca]

16. Blessed (24): A good discovery in this RD, with a nice melody and Hot AC vibe, especially the buoyant positive chorus.

15. How Far (35): I'm not a huge fan of the melody, especially the slightly loud star of the chorus. Not a bad song, but it didn't capture my attention that much, especially as a first listen.

14. This One's For The Girls (1): Ehmmm. WHAAATTT?!!! Legit surprised that this isn't in the top 10. I've always loved the song! Not sure when I heard it first, but it was in the 00s, and it was love at first listen. It sounds like a great pop country rock tune that Shania could've recorded in Come on Over. I also appreciate the lyrics, and how Martina sounds. A great song that trascends genre IMO.

13. Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong (4): This was my second favorite discovery (after IGLYTI). Again, it's the type of pop country rock style that I really like. Strong melody, attitude, instrumental, for a song that's remained in my brain ever since I heard it for this RD.

12. My Baby Loves Me (34): How Far closed a tier of songs that I wasn't a big fan of. MBLM started the next zone of songs I like but don't love, but they're all very close together. In this case, I like the production, instrumentation, vocal harmonies, but the melody was a bit repetitive to me...

11. When God-Fearin' Women Get The Blues (32): I find the melody good enough but not amazing. I like MBLM's melody a bit more, but I like the production and beat of this song much more --I mean, yeah it's very hillbilly which I'm often not a big fan of, but this had an edge to it that made me like it a bit more.

10. Wrong Again (27): I really like the melody -it reminds me of classic 80s ballads- and I like the lyrics quite a bit, too. This is actually a case of a song that I've grown to like more with a few more listens after the RD. Solid discovery.

9. Love's The Only House (12): A great discovery that I had in my top 10 for a while. Another song that has the great pop-rock-country combination, including that harmonica that sounds very late 90s Alternative (eg Alanis, Shakira), and that interesting bridge with the talk-singing and the powerful vocals. Plus, I liked the lyrics a lot, too, so I'm pretty glad to see it in the top 10.

8. Safe In The Arms Of Love (11): YES! Another great discovery! This sounded pretty cool overall. The instrumental was very interesting (strings, banjo, fiddle, whatever is going on sounded cool underlying the rock instrumental), the melody (the slight change going to the chorus), the vocals (including the airy background vocals that all of a sudden fluctuate amongst speakers). Overall a great song that's also got stuck in my head after the RD

[castleoblivion26]

Juanca I love reading your thoughts on all of these songs. Brings a perspective that is nice to read. I've long been a fan of Martina's (since 1997 when "Still Holding On" was her latest single) and grew up with most of these songs as my Mom owned the cassette of The Way That I Am that we all played to death (so I guess technically I was a fan since 1994 when that album came out but I didn't know who she was until SHO). Look forward to seeing what you think of the remaining songs!

bboat11 your killing me with the suspense on this Top 5 though I think if you are around tomorrow night, presenting this on New Years Eve would be an awesome time to do this!

[bboat11]

Dec 30, 2020 9:23:16 GMT -5 castleoblivion26 said:

Juanca I love reading your thoughts on all of these songs. Brings a perspective that is nice to read. I've long been a fan of Martina's (since 1997 when "Still Holding On" was her latest single) and grew up with most of these songs as my Mom owned the cassette of The Way That I Am that we all played to death (so I guess technically I was a fan since 1994 when that album came out but I didn't know who she was until SHO). Look forward to seeing what you think of the remaining songs!

bboat11 your killing me with the suspense on this Top 5 though I think if you are around tomorrow night, presenting this on New Years Eve would be an awesome time to do this!

Better yet, how about I do it now!!

I've been wanting to do it for several days now, but there has been seemingly nobody on Pulse regardless of the time of day ever since Christmas. But now's as good of a time as any, since you and tim seem to be floating around!

[bboat11]

5. "Where Would You Be"

Album: Greatest Hits (3 of 4)

Year: 2002

Vocal Range: E♭3 - E5

Billboard Chart Peak: #3

Placement in the previous rankdown: 6 of 70

Placement in the album rankdown: 3 of 40




Of course we have to see the iconic white suit performance debut at the CMT Flameworthy Awards that got turned into the official music video!!


This song got progressively more and more impressive every single year! Here's her performance at CMA Fest 2006.


From the Shine All Night tour at the start of the past decade. This was the tour when her performance of this song was at its absolute zenith (Get a load of that guy at 3:43 😂😂😂 )



Another later-career performance for good measure. I just LOVE the way she pretty much loses all abandon with the 3rd chorus and just lets the music take over her body. Especially in the "who would you love" bit at 3:50


Total: 260
Average: 12.38
Std Dev: 10.38


bboat11 - 1
toomuchboy - 2
castleoblivion26 - 3
ClevelandRox - 3
Cody Wants Out... - 4
CoJoFan - 4
schnetzka - 7
someguy - 7
George Strait Junkie - 7
taylor - 7
.indulgecountry - 8
kansasmeetsmo - 9
fearlessarrow - 10
austin - 13
tim - 14
Ginger Spice - 18
codyj100 - 24
Juanca - 26
Kanenrá:ke - 27
Troublemaker - 29
fireflies - 37

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
A Broken Wing
Concrete Angel
Independence Day
Wild Angels

[bboat11]

Lol sorry that last reveal took forever to type up! Live performances of "Where Would You Be" are like crack for me. It's impossible for me to not get swept up in them This song is THE defining vocal achievement of all of her vocal achievements. Her power and control on this song is the stuff of legends. The way it got progressively more and more epic every single time she ever sang it too is absolutely insane. As much as the studio version slays, I can't help but regret that we never got a studio version of the way she would go on to perform it live...

After this song just barely missed the top 5 last time around, I am SOOOOO happy it was able to make it this time!!!!! I'm still pissed it has never finished in the top 2 of a rankdown though... But this still is quite an accomplishment considering how much competition her other hits provide!!

[castleoblivion26]

Dec 30, 2020 10:15:51 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Lol sorry that last reveal took forever to type up! Live performances of "Where Would You Be" are like crack for me. It's impossible for me to not get swept up in them This song is THE defining vocal achievement of all of her vocal achievements. Her power and control on this song is the stuff of legends. The way it got progressively more and more epic every single time she ever sang it too is absolutely insane. As much as the studio version slays, I can't help but regret that we never got a studio version of the way she would go on to perform it live...

After this song just barely missed the top 5 last time around, I am SOOOOO happy it was able to make it this time!!!!! I'm still pissed it has never finished in the top 2 of a rankdown though... But this still is quite an accomplishment considering how much competition her other hits provide!!

I agree 100%. Could you imagine had she recorded an album full of re-recordings of her biggest belters around the time she released "I'm Gonna Love You Through It", it would have been epic. Hearing a studio version of the live versions of songs like "Whatever You Say", "Where Would You Be", "How Far", "Independence Day", "A Broken Wing", "Anyway", etc. Plus she could have included new recordings of songs like "Be That Way", "From The Ashes", "Strangers", and "Everybody Does" and FINALLY released those songs as singles!

Speaking of this song not finishing in the Top 2, hopefully it can make it onto one of my shuffle rankdowns to finally have a chance. Maybe I could do a songwriters rankdown for one of the songwriters as well as Rachel Proctor could be an interesting songwriter to cover there lol

[bboat11]

4. "Concrete Angel"

Album: Greatest Hits (4 of 4)

Year: 2002

Vocal Range: E♭3 - E♭5

Billboard Chart Peak: #5

Placement in the previous rankdown: 3 of 70

Placement in the album rankdown: 1 of 40

Watch this if you feel like crying today :'( :'( :'(


Check out this live CMA performance with just her and an acoustic orchestra. Talk about captivating!!!


Total: 226
Average: 10.76
Std Dev: 7.81 (7th smallest)


taylor - 1
fireflies - 1
schnetzka - 3
codyj100 - 3
fearlessarrow - 4
ClevelandRox - 5
Juanca - 6
.indulgecountry - 7
Cody Wants Out... - 8
CoJoFan - 8
castleoblivion26 - 9
Kanenrá:ke - 9
tim - 11
bboat11 - 12
austin - 12
Troublemaker - 13
kansasmeetsmo - 19
someguy - 20
Ginger Spice - 24
George Strait Junkie - 25
toomuchboy - 26

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
A Broken Wing
Independence Day
Wild Angels

[bboat11]

The tear-jerker child abuse awareness classic "Concrete Angel" stumbles by a position this time, coming in at #4 and allowing "Wild Angels" to sneak ahead of it into the top 3 alongside the two songs that finished in the top 2 last time!

This song is sooooooooooo powerful. To this day I get a lump in my throat and get goosebumps all over whenever I watch the music video and see that half-moment glimpse of the mother's shadow on the bedroom wall as she beats her daughter... What a difficult song, both vocally and subject-wise, and yet Martina never faltered to pull it off with class. I am 100% sure that this song has saved lives.

Martina is one of the most heavily-nominated artists to have never won a Grammy (I think she's in the 14-16 nomination range by now?) "Concrete Angel" is one of the most prominent examples of when she SHOULD have won for something but went home empty-handed yet again...