Martina McBride Singles Rankdown 2.0 (Finished!!!)

[taylor]

lol bboat11 you're lucky I'm around; I was gonna be PISSED if you finished this without me 

[castleoblivion26]

I'll still never understand how Martina never won a Grammy yet Taylor Swift did (against her no-less and I don't mean any shade towards Taylor tbh but she didn't deserve it for "Mean" over "I'm Gonna Love You Through It"...)

"Concrete Angel" is amazing and I was so happy that she sang it when I saw her live in 2017. Cannot wait to see her live again!

[tim]

I’m surprised bboat11 hasn’t launched a rankdown (yet) just for “Where Would You Be” in which we’d rank twenty different live versions 

[taylor]

Dec 30, 2020 10:55:25 GMT -5 tim said:

I’m surprised bboat11 hasn’t launched a rankdown (yet) just for “Where Would You Be” in which we’d rank twenty different live versions 

Don't tempt him 

As for "Concrete Angel," that's always been my absolute favorite Martina McBride song. No other song will ever touch it. It hits very close to home and I can't watch that music video. I watched it one time when I was 9 and was done in.

I've been doing great with my Top 5 predictions thus far 

[bboat11]

3. "A Broken Wing"

Album: Evolution (6 of 6)

Year: 1997

Vocal Range: E3 - E♭5

Billboard Chart Peak: #1

Placement in the previous rankdown: 2 of 70

Placement in the album rankdown: 1 of 14

Total: 211
Average: 10.05
Std Dev: 9.93


austin - 2
Troublemaker - 2
taylor - 3
someguy - 3
bboat11 - 4
Juanca - 5
tim - 5
toomuchboy - 5
fireflies - 6
schnetzka - 6
castleoblivion26 - 6
kansasmeetsmo - 6
codyj100 - 7
ClevelandRox - 8
fearlessarrow - 11
Ginger Spice - 11
George Strait Junkie - 11
Cody Wants Out... - 21
CoJoFan - 21
Kanenrá:ke - 25
.indulgecountry - 43

---

2. "Wild Angels"

Album: Wild Angels (5 of 5)

Year: 1995

Vocal Range: E3 - C5

Billboard Chart Peak: #1

Placement in the previous rankdown: 4 of 70

Placement in the album rankdown: 1 of 11

Total: 187
Average: 8.90
Std Dev: 4.52 (2nd smallest!!)


CoJoFan - 2
fearlessarrow - 3
austin - 4
tim - 4
George Strait Junkie - 4
Ginger Spice - 5
someguy - 6
kansasmeetsmo - 7
Troublemaker - 9
taylor - 10
bboat11 - 10
fireflies - 10
codyj100 - 10
Kanenrá:ke - 10
.indulgecountry - 10
toomuchboy - 11
castleoblivion26 - 11
ClevelandRox - 12
Cody Wants Out... - 13
schnetzka - 15
Juanca - 21

---

1. "Independence Day"

Album: The Way That I Am (5 of 5)

Year: 1994

Vocal Range: E3 - E5

Billboard Chart Peak: #12

Placement in the previous rankdown: 1 of 70

Placement in the album rankdown: 1 of 10





**One of the most powerful performances of this song. This was just a few weeks after 9/11, and everyone fully embraced the patriotism of the song (despite the fact that it's not meant to be patriotic, lmao). But it's really cool seeing the crowd response considering what the country was going through at the time :'(




Total: 66
Average: 3.14
Std Dev: 2.33 (Smallest!!!)


CoJoFan - 1
fearlessarrow - 1
Troublemaker - 1
Kanenrá:ke - 1
castleoblivion26 - 1
Cody Wants Out... - 1
tim - 2
Ginger Spice - 2
fireflies - 2
ClevelandRox - 2
Juanca - 2
kansasmeetsmo - 3
bboat11 - 3
toomuchboy - 3
taylor - 4
George Strait Junkie - 5
.indulgecountry - 5
schnetzka - 5
austin - 6
codyj100 - 6
someguy - 10

[bboat11]

I decided to do the final 3 in one fell swoop, because let's be real, you guys already knew what was winning this thing... The main hyped battle was between #2 and #3 here

[castleoblivion26]

Dec 30, 2020 10:55:25 GMT -5 tim said:

I’m surprised bboat11 hasn’t launched a rankdown (yet) just for “Where Would You Be” in which we’d rank twenty different live versions 

I like this idea lmao

Seriously though, why hasn't this song won a rankdown yet!

[tim]

Ohhh a one-two-three punch!!!

[taylor]

LOL @ "Independence Day" once again running away with it completely   That's truly her most iconic, timeless, and enduring song. She'll still be remembered for that one long after she's dead. Goes without saying, but it's another one of my favorites.

"Wild Angels" is great and that intro is iconic, but of my favorites from her, it's never been one that I revisit often so I stuck it at the bottom of my Top 10.

"A Broken Wing" is iconic. I love that the ending can be interpreted a number of ways. Makes it feel tastefully done imo. It can be interpreted as the woman having committed an irreversible thing (which it sounds obvious at a glance but at the same time it's really not; if it was it'd be my instant last place song in this RD), or it can be interpreted as her simply finding her courage and getting up and leaving while her abusive husband was gone at church. And that vocal is incredible. That NOTE at the end!

Thanks for hosting bboat11! It was great to go through her catalog and be able to stick my two cents in this time around!

[bboat11]

To finish off our second Martina McBride singles rankdown, we have a bit of a surprise upset among the #1 hits! "A Broken Wing" soared easily to an uncontested top 2 finish last time, while "Wild Angels" had to settle for #4. This time around, "Wild Angels" was able to elbow past both "Concrete Angel" AND "A Broken Wing" to secure a top 2 finish for itself! And this was a decisive move! You can see from the graphs that ABW was at #2 for more of the time, but in the end WA finished like 25 points ahead of it, which is a pretty significant margin considering the fact that most people ranked both of them really high.

As her first and second #2 hits, they are also among her most enduring all-time classics. "A Broken Wing" is a favorite of the entire music industry as a whole, as its impact has been felt even in the all-genre crowd thanks to Martina's many noteworthy performances of it as well as all the people who have covered it on reality competitions like American Idol in the past 10-15 years. This is the song that Martina is probably most-known for in a live setting. This is the song that always guaranteed her a 5+ minute standing ovation for nearly her entire career.

"Wild Angels" may not be as widely recognized as a live staple, but it is still a fan favorite that she literally could not exclude from the setlist even if she wanted to. This was her first #1 it, and it continues to be incredibly well remembered and loved even though it's not one you hear on the radio a lot anymore.

Of course, there was no doubt that "Independence Day" was going to finish at #1 here. This song is THE Martina McBride song. It's her signature for a reason! Martina's vocals and Gretchen Peters' lyrics are literally a captivating and magical force when they unite on this perfect song. I don't know what to say about this one other than it remains one of her most widely-known and recognized songs despite not even making the top 10 on country radio. It has literally launched careers (hello Carrie Underwood)! This is one of many songs that FEELS like it was a #1 hit for her.

[castleoblivion26]

Surprised to see "Wild Angels" get ahead of both "Concrete Angel" and "A Broken Wing" though I'm not upset with that at all. "Wild Angels" was the first video of hers that I absolutely loved and I remember watching CMT's year-end biggest videos the year this song was out and watching it as part of that. That night is one I'll never forget due to what happened right after that video played (not something good and something I'd rather forget tbh). That being said it brings me back to being 10 years old and before some things really took a negative turn.

What haven't I said about "Independence Day". This song just remains timeless. It transcends everything else she has ever recorded in a big way. As much as I would have loved to rank songs like "Whatever You Say", "Where Would You Be", "Anyway", or "Wrong Again" at #1 there is just no comparing to ID. This is Martina at her finest and it is insane to think this song missed out on Billboard's Top 10 altogether at the time of release. Also of the songs I mentioned can you believe the only one that hit #1 was "Wrong Again", still a bit of a head-scratcher that all of these songs missed out on #1!

She should really have more than 5 #1 Country hits! Technically she does have 6 #1's as "This One's For The Girls" hit #1 on AC stations.

bboat11 thanks for taking us back on this ride! The original rankdown for this was only my 2nd rankdown I ever hosted and I feel like helped shaped how I went about doing rankdowns afterwards. Always excited for any excuse to rank Martina's music!

[bboat11]

Dec 30, 2020 11:18:25 GMT -5 taylor said:

LOL @ "Independence Day" once again running away with it completely   That's truly her most iconic, timeless, and enduring song. She'll still be remembered for that one long after she's dead. Goes without saying, but it's another one of my favorites.

"Wild Angels" is great and that intro is iconic, but of my favorites from her, it's never been one that I revisit often so I stuck it at the bottom of my Top 10.

"A Broken Wing" is iconic. I love that the ending can be interpreted a number of ways. Makes it feel tastefully done imo. It can be interpreted as the woman having committed an irreversible thing (which it sounds obvious at a glance but at the same time it's really not; if it was it'd be my instant last place song in this RD), or it can be interpreted as her simply finding her courage and getting up and leaving while her abusive husband was gone at church. And that vocal is incredible. That NOTE at the end!

Thanks for hosting bboat11 ! It was great to go through her catalog and be able to stick my two cents in this time around!

Martina has adamantly insisted through the years that the woman in the song did not die (same with the woman in "Independence Day"). In fact, in the music video she made sure to include the shot panning down to the ground so that people didn't draw the wrong conclusion, lol.

But I do like the fact that it's left open for interpretation as well, in both songs. They are perfect examples of songs where the lyrics allow you to take whatever you need to from them, rather than telling you specifically what to think.

[taylor]

Dec 30, 2020 11:25:56 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Of course, there was no doubt that "Independence Day" was going to finish at #1 here. This song is THE Martina McBride song. It's her signature for a reason! Martina's vocals and Gretchen Peters' lyrics are literally a captivating and magical force when they unite on this perfect song. I don't know what to say about this one other than it remains one of her most widely-known and recognized songs despite not even making the top 10 on country radio. It has literally launched careers (hello Carrie Underwood)! This is one of many songs that FEELS like it was a #1 hit for her.

Thank you Martina!!!  :kii:

[toomuchboy]

I'm glad Independence Day won. I was hoping it would be either it or ABW, no offense to Wild Angels.

[bboat11]

Dec 30, 2020 11:28:24 GMT -5 castleoblivion26 said:

Surprised to see "Wild Angels" get ahead of both "Concrete Angel" and "A Broken Wing" though I'm not upset with that at all. "Wild Angels" was the first video of hers that I absolutely loved and I remember watching CMT's year-end biggest videos the year this song was out and watching it as part of that. That night is one I'll never forget due to what happened right after that video played (not something good and something I'd rather forget tbh). That being said it brings me back to being 10 years old and before some things really took a negative turn.

What haven't I said about "Independence Day". This song just remains timeless. It transcends everything else she has ever recorded in a big way. As much as I would have loved to rank songs like "Whatever You Say", "Where Would You Be", "Anyway", or "Wrong Again" at #1 there is just no comparing to ID. This is Martina at her finest and it is insane to think this song missed out on Billboard's Top 10 altogether at the time of release. Also of the songs I mentioned can you believe the only one that hit #1 was "Wrong Again", still a bit of a head-scratcher that all of these songs missed out on #1!

She should really have more than 5 #1 Country hits! Technically she does have 6 #1's as "This One's For The Girls" hit #1 on AC stations.

bboat11 thanks for taking us back on this ride! The original rankdown for this was only my 2nd rankdown I ever hosted and I feel like helped shaped how I went about doing rankdowns afterwards. Always excited for any excuse to rank Martina's music!

Something else about the "Wild Angels" video is that I literally cannot watch it without getting chills now because of the World Trade Center constantly showing up in the background... It's such an iconic and recognizable building, and knowing what happened to it just a few years later, and the fact that none of them had any clue what a meaningful backdrop it would become at the time, is just utterly chilling to me...

[bboat11]

Also how bizarre is it that this was only recorded SIX YEARS before 9/11. "Wild Angels" was literally the same age at the time of the tragedy that "Something In The Water" is now

[castleoblivion26]

Dec 30, 2020 11:37:56 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Also how bizarre is it that this was only recorded SIX YEARS before 9/11. "Wild Angels" was literally the same age at the time of the tragedy that "Something In The Water" is now

That is crazy. I haven't watched the video for "Wild Angels" in so long, I'll have to make an effort to do so tonight when I get home from work.

[bboat11]

Album: Evolution (1997)

Tracklist:

1. I'm Little But I'm Loud
2. Happy Girl
3. Be That Way
4. A Broken Wing
5. Wrong Again
6. Keeping My Distance
7. Still Holding On - ft. Clint Black
8. Whatever You Say
9. I Won't Close My Eyes
10. I Don't Want To See You Again
11. Some Say I'm Running
12. Here In My Heart
13. One Day You Will
14. Valentine


Performance in this rankdown:
34. Still Holding On
24. Valentine
20. Happy Girl
10. Wrong Again
6. Whatever You Say
3. A Broken Wing

SPOILER: Click to show

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

[bboat11]

Album: Wild Angels (1995)

Tracklist:

1. Wild Angels
2. Safe In The Arms Of Love
3. Phones Are Ringin' All Over Town
4. A Great Disguise
5. Swingin' Doors
6. All The Things We've Never Done
7. Two More Bottles Of Wine
8. Cry On The Shoulder Of The Road
9. You've Been Driving All The Time
10. Born To Give My Love To You
11. Beyond The Blue


Performance in this rankdown:
31. Swingin' Doors
26. Cry On The Shoulder Of The Road
25. Phones Are Ringin' All Over Town
8. Safe In The Arms Of Love
2. Wild Angels

SPOILER: Click to show

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

[bboat11]

Album: The Way That I Am (1993)

Tracklist:

1. Heart Trouble
2. My Baby Loves Me
3. That Wasn't Me
4. Independence Day
5. Where I Used To Have A Heart
6. Goin' To Work
7. She Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
8. Life #9
9. Strangers
10. Ashes




Performance in this rankdown:
42. Heart Trouble
40. Where I Used To Have A Heart
29. Life #9
12. My Baby Loves Me
1. Independence Day

SPOILER: Click to show

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

[bboat11]

Final Recap:

50. It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas (962)
---Album: It's The Holiday Season---
49. Silver Bells (904)
48. Marry Me (887)
47. For These Times (868)
46. O Holy Night (809)
---Album: White Christmas---
45. It's My Time (779)
44. I Still Miss Someone (757)
43. That's Me (754)
42. Heart Trouble (748)
41. (I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden (738)
---Album: Timeless---

40. Where I Used To Have A Heart (724)
39. How I Feel (722)
38. Trip Around The Sun (710)
37. Just Around The Corner (686)
36. The Time Has Come (677)
35. There You Are (653)
34. Still Holding On (647)
33. Girls Like Me (630)
32. In My Daughter's Eyes (629)
31. Swingin' Doors (624)

30. Teenage Daughters (606)
29. Life #9 (587)
28. Make Me Believe (581)
27. Cheap Whiskey (574)
---Album: The Time Has Come---
26. Cry On The Shoulder Of The Road (541)
25. Phones Are Ringin' All Over Town (540)
24. Valentine (534)
23. I Just Call You Mine (530)
22. Reckless (497)
---Album: Reckless---
21. God's Will (492)

20. Happy Girl (473)
19. Ride (472)
18. I Love You (465)
17. I'm Gonna Love You Through It (390)
---Album: Eleven---
16. Blessed (379)
15. How Far (368)
14. This One's For The Girls (368)
---Album: Martina---
13. Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong (343)
---Album: Shine---
12. My Baby Loves Me (337)
11. When God-Fearin' Women Get The Blues (332)

10. Wrong Again (317)
09. Love's The Only House (316)
---Album: Emotion---
08. Safe In The Arms Of Love (307)
07. Anyway (301)
---Album: Waking Up Laughing---
06. Whatever You Say (267)
05. Where Would You Be (260)
04. Concrete Angel (226)
03. A Broken Wing (211)
---Album: Evolution---
02. Wild Angels (187)
---Album: Wild Angels---
01. Independence Day (66)
---Album: The Way That I Am---

[tim]

There’s just something exquisite about “A Broken Wing” that almost always gives me the chills whenever I hear it. The way in which Martina sings this is what really makes it stand out and is a song that I could listen to over and over again. This song takes me right back in time to the holiday season of 1997 as it was just peaking on the charts then.

I share in castleoblivion26 ’s nostalgia for “Wild Angels” as I too have fond memories of watching the music video on CMT back in the day. I love this song just as much today as I did then and I never tire of hearing it. I’m so glad to see this finish in the top 2 because it really is right up there with her all-time classics. This also makes me ever more anxious to get around to the 1996 year-end rankdown as I’m sure it’ll be just as a strong of a contender there.

There’s not much more I can add to the conversation regarding “Independence Day” as it really is the defining song of Martina’s career. Wouldn’t have guessed anything other than this to win otherwise.

Having missed the first singles rankdown I’m glad we got the chance for a Martina McBride redux! Thanks as always for another great rankdown bboat11!

[schnetzka]

Thanks bboat11 for the wonderful rankdown. Hopefully we'll have a new album in the next year or so for us to listen to for some more Martina.

[bboat11]

I just calculated the average of the placements for each studio album, to see which albums did best/worst overall!

1. Greatest Hits: 9
2. Evolution: 16.17
3. Shine: 18.33
4. Wild Angels: 18.4
5. Martina: 20.5
6. The Way That I Am: 24.8
7. Emotion: 27
8. Reckless: 29.5
9. Waking Up Laughing: 31
10. Eleven: 31.67
11. The Time Has Come: 35.33
12. Timeless: 42.5
13. White Christmas: 47.5
14. It's The Holiday Season: 50

[bboat11]

Oop, I was also able to average the standard deviations for the songs from each album to determine which album era of her career was overall most/least polarizing on Pulse

I don't think any of this actually means anything, it's literally just a reference point for how polarizing each album was compared to the others.


Least:
It's The Holiday Season: 5.51
The Way That I Am: 8.668
White Christmas: 8.901
Wild Angels: 9.539
Waking Up Laughing: 9.942
Reckless: 9.808
Eleven: 10.088
The Time Has Come: 10.357
Timeless: 10.579
Greatest Hits: 10.718
Shine: 11.320
Martina: 11.455
Emotion: 11.536
Evolution: 11.870
Most:

[taylor]

How do you calculate closeness stats? I wanna see how close I was in my rankings

[bboat11]

Dec 30, 2020 13:45:05 GMT -5 taylor said:

How do you calculate closeness stats? I wanna see how close I was in my rankings

Hahaha I honestly have no idea! tim tried to explain it once, but I didn't get it. I probably just didn't try hard enough ;)

I just sent Tim the data sheet though, and he's going to try to figure it out for us :) Stay tuned (maybe!)

[bboat11]

Merry Christmas from tim!!! ;)

Closeness Stats:
1. fearlessarrow - 5.2
2. kansasmeetsmo - 5.64
3. bboat11 - 6.2
4. Cody Wants Out... - 7.4
5. CoJoFan - 7.52
6. castleoblivion26 - 7.68
7. codyj100 - 7.92
8. tim - 8.08
9. austin - 8.28
10. fireflies - 8.72
11. taylor - 9
12. Ginger Spice - 9.04
13. someguy - 9.04
14. schnetzka - 9.6
15. ClevelandRox - 10
16. Troublemaker - 10.24
17. George Strait Junkie - 10.36
18. .indulgecountry - 10.56
19. toomuchboy - 10.64
20. Kanenrá:ke - 11
21. Juanca - 11.28


at fearlessarrow the first time around tanking songs like "Anyway" and "Wild Angels" because he had such floppy Martina Taste, and now having the closest taste to the actual results on the second try

[Juanca]

7. Anyway (7): I heard this song first in American Idol and I really liked it. I love her vocal delivery, and I definitely dig the late 90s epic ballad production (especially the strings), plus the "God is great" always reminds me of 90s classic ballad "One of Us". I also like the hopeful, positive lyrics very much . Great to have a perfect pick here!

6. Whatever You Say (46): Oh! This was a first listen and, I'm sorry, but this is one of the very few songs where her vocals got into slightly unbearable / unpleasant territory to me. That chorus feels like she's yelling at me the whole time -and staying in that high zone with sustained notes is not something I like, especially if it's for each and every chorus. I guess I'm with Martina in terms of not liking her vocals The production and melody are also just ok to me. Nothing bad, but I like the melody of ~40 other songs in this list.

5. Where Would You Be (26): Just like Anyway, I really like the 90s ballad production here quite a bit, as well as the overall melody. I also like the story told in the lyrics. My biggest problem, like with WYS, is that I'm not a big fan of the "where would you GOOOOO" and "who would you LOOOOOVE". I mean, I know she has an amazing voice, and great capacity for sustained notes, but that part of her range makes me mute/ turn the volume down, especially when it's heard many times in a song. I'd like it much more if it were sung when the instrumental goes epic in the bridge or last chorus... In this case, had those parts been slightly lower or less intense, I would've ranked this song in my top 20. [By the way. I LOVE Celine, for example, but I hate when she sings "AnymOOOOOOre" practically a cappella and for several seconds in her "All by Myself" cover.]

4. Concrete Angel (6): Oh my gosh, this is such a powerful song... I heard it first in the 00s and I liked the melody and vocals quite a bit. After several listens, I paid attention to the lyrics, and it hit harder. Then I watched the video not so long ago, and hit even harder. She does an amazing job vocally here, with heart, strength, compassion. I'm flabbergasted that she hasn't won a Grammy yet when she's had not only great vocals, but also production and lyrics. And how did Mean win over I'm Gonna???!!!! !!!1

3. A Broken Wing (5): It was quite difficult to rank this group of gems. I heard this in the 90s, too. Great melody, classic instrumental and production (including that choir) that sound timeless instead of dated. Plus, her strong vocals made me rank it in my top 5 (she hit the perfect high note to me). And the lyrics are also strong -and I interpret the ending as her finally leaving the abusive relationship.

2. Wild Angels (21): This was another nice discovery. Good production, energy, vocals. I could've ranked it about 4 spots higher, but not more than that, as I found the melody and production of the songs in my top 16 much more interesting than this one.

1. Independence Day (2): How did this peak only at #12?!!?!!!! I heard this in a Casey's Countdown show, and I loved it, to the point of making it enter my personal chart -after Valentine- and reaching my top 3. Great melody, production (bells!), vocals, lyrics. Definitely a defining song of the 90s, that I still enjoy listening to --and yes, I remember Alone and this being key performances from Carrie in Idol.


This has been another great experience for me, as I've discovered so many good songs, learned more about Martina, and having a better appreciation of her great catalogue. I don't mind being at the bottom of closeness at all, as I know I'm an outsider here, but I've truly enjoyed participating in this RD, and sharing some of my personal experiences with these songs. [I'm planning to buy The Essential CD soon, btw ]
Thanks a lot bboat11 for a great rank down, with lots of info that has been very insightful to me as a new Martina fan. And thanks also castleoblivion26 for your comments :)

[.indulgecountry]

I knew "Independence Day" was taking this one again (and rightfully so), but yassss @ "Wild Angels" besting "A Broken Wing" for the #2 this time!! I've never been able to get into "Wing," while I love "Angels," so that was just a lovely surprise to see.