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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 20:41:21 GMT -5
And now for the song that won the tiebreaker thanks in part to everyone putting it inside their top 20 and therefore giving it a lower standard deviation compared to "There's a New Kid in Town". edit: Oh, and talk about perfect timing for a new page  |
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 20:41:58 GMT -5
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Dec 14, 2020 20:47:06 GMT -5
I am so happy to see the correct version of "There's A New Kid In Town" make it the highest. I enjoyed the version with Chris Young but I love the version with Keith Whitley.
"Merry Christmas to Me" is a great song and I've always enjoyed this one as well.
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 20:48:37 GMT -5
Leaving first inside the top 10 and winning the tiebreaker is “Merry Christmas to Me” which also happens to be Alan’s solo writing credit on Honky Tonk Christmas. While this didn’t have quite as an impressive run inside the top 10 as “There’s a New Kid in Town” did, it did manage to garner two top 3 rankings from Kris Kringle and bboat11 with an additional top 5 from kw9461 (and there’s taylor is terrified with another perfect top 10 ranking!). Both LBTrocks and myself were the lowest ranking participants for this song and while I can’t speak for him I can only say that this is just a bit too sad for me. That isn’t to say I don’t like it, but rarely does the mood strike during the holiday season that I ever want to put this on. |
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 20:52:06 GMT -5
{Spoiler Alert!}Our first participant to lose their top ranking song is up next  |
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 20:55:25 GMT -5
Also bboat11 seems I was wrong about "Just Put A Ribbon In Your Hair" lol Thank goodness you were! |
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Cody Wants Out...
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Post by Cody Wants Out... on Dec 14, 2020 20:56:22 GMT -5
Oops! Totally expecting that to be my #1. Sure it's coming soon, though. :'(
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Dec 14, 2020 21:00:27 GMT -5
I think nostalgia for most of the other songs kept this one from being any higher on my list. I had never heard it prior to this so it was one of 2 songs I hadn't previously heard. I do really enjoy this song so I am not the least bit upset to see it make it to the top 10 at all.
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:02:18 GMT -5
“Just Put a Ribbon In Your Hair” is our next song to exit just inside the top 10 and with it we see bboat11 becoming our first participant to bid adieu to their top ranking song ( Cody Wants Out... yours is safe…for now!). This song was released in 2003 on the compilation album A Very Special Acoustic Christmas which was a series of albums released to benefit the Special Olympics. The exit of this song also means that all remaining songs are from Alan’s two holiday albums. This comes in as the third most polarizing song which kind of surprised me a little bit because I wasn’t expecting the results to be so mixed. But mixed they were as it received quite a bit of support up top including two additional top 5’s and top 10’s alongside two top 15’s. At the other end two others placed this just shy of their top 15 while it also garnered one bottom 5 and one bottom 3. |
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:04:25 GMT -5
I think nostalgia for most of the other songs kept this one from being any higher on my list. I had never heard it prior to this so it was one of 2 songs I hadn't previously heard. I do really enjoy this song so I am not the least bit upset to see it make it to the top 10 at all. That's a good point and I think that likely explains why this one ended up being more on the polarizing side. I'm sure this was a first-time listen for quite a few here and some either loved it right off the bat while others may have felt a bit indifferent towards it. I personally love it and I think it's one of those songs that the more you listen to it the more you like it. |
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:08:36 GMT -5
2. What will be #23? "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" maybe. I could see the Chipmunks duet being last too though I hope not cause that is a fun songhow is "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" still in.  |
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taylor is terrified
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Post by taylor is terrified on Dec 14, 2020 21:14:36 GMT -5
No one's ever gonna touch Martina's "Silver Bells" for me. The song is just perfect for where her voice was at the time and it's the one that I've always heard during the holidays. Her version just gives me such comfort.
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:16:48 GMT -5
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” leaves us next which is much to the cheer of castleoblivion26 I’m sure! Not for me though as I lose my second top ranked song while three others also lose a top 5. This was our sixth most polarizing song overall as it garnered two top 10’s, top top 15’s, two top 20’s, and one lone bottom 2 ranking from Ebenezer Scrooge. There’s no shortage of versions for this and more than not I like most of them, but Alan’s rendition is easily my favorite. I just as easily could’ve put this as my top ranking song because I play this one almost every other day during the holiday season (and probably twice a day every day the week of Christmas hehe). There’s just something I find to be so peaceful about this song and Alan’s especially as he just happens to capture the right mood that I envision for this song. |
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:21:15 GMT -5
Alrighties, I'm going to do one more reveal for the evening which will get us to the top 6! This also happens to be one of the more painful reveals as this song was not just a top 5 contender but both a top 2 and top 3 one as well...until the second to last list pushed this one back just enough that it wasn't able to recover.
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:24:18 GMT -5
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LBTrocks
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Post by LBTrocks on Dec 14, 2020 21:24:54 GMT -5
“Silver Bells” is easily one of my favorite Christmas tunes ever and while Alan’s is not one of my fav versions, it was destined to be high on my list regardless.
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:33:07 GMT -5
Unfortunately, “There’s a New Kid in Town” with Keith Whitley exits two spots shy of the top 5 where it held steady for its entire run up until the very end. Just looking at the trajectory graph is a tad bit painful because this was even a top 2 contender for a solid run. Reactions were a bit mixed, however, as this was our fourth most polarizing song. Both castleoblivion26 and Kris Kringle lose their second top ranking song while Cody Wants Out... and myself lose a top 5. Flops has a reputation to live up to and henceforth LBTrocks is not only our lone non-top 20 ranking but also our lone bottom 2. “There’s a New Kid in Town” was co-written by the late Keith Whitley in the mid ‘80s and has since been covered by the likes of George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Kathy Mattea, The Oak Ridge Boys, and as a duet with Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson. I'm not sure if it was George's or Alan's version of this song that I heard first, but either way it has long been one that I've loved. I'd even go so far as to say it has cemented itself as a classic country Christmas song that'll likely be covered for years to come. It pained me not to be able to squeeze this into my top 2 or 3 because I tried, but honestly everything in my top four is rather fluid and I love all of them equally. |
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LBTrocks
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Post by LBTrocks on Dec 14, 2020 21:37:12 GMT -5
“There’s A New Kid In Town” is so BLAND! The version with Chris Young is way better, but still nothing I’d go out of my way to hear
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Dec 14, 2020 21:37:56 GMT -5
so I don't hate "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" at all but I just don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy most of the songs on this list so I definitely think it way overstayed!
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:37:59 GMT -5
Oh by golly we've reached the Top 6!A Holly Jolly Christmas
Honky Tonk Christmas
I Only Want You for Christmas
If We Make It Through December
Let It Be Christmas
The Angels Cried (with Alison Krauss)Songs Remaining Per Album:{Honky Tonk Christmas}A Holly Jolly Christmas
Honky Tonk Christmas
I Only Want You for Christmas
If We Make It Through December
The Angels Cried (with Alison Krauss) {Let It Be Christmas}Let It Be Christmas
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Dec 14, 2020 21:40:28 GMT -5
“There’s A New Kid In Town” is so BLAND! The version with Chris Young is way better, but still nothing I’d go out of my way to hear  |
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Post by tim on Dec 14, 2020 21:42:00 GMT -5
And with that we're down to only six songs leaving Alan's first holiday album Honky Tonk Christmas with five songs remaining while Let It Be Christmas only has the title track. Which song will exit before the top 5??? Which songs might make the top 3??? I'll return tomorrow evening to unwrap those questions and more!
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Post by Kris Kringle on Dec 15, 2020 12:15:43 GMT -5
I have to admit, I had never heard "There's A New Kid In Town" until last week, but it's now one of my favorites
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 15, 2020 13:42:40 GMT -5
I could see the title track "Honky Tonk Christmas" missing out on the top 5 considering everything that is left. SO happy that "Just Put A Ribbon In Your Hair" managed to make the top 10 at least!!! While it was a discovery for me, it completely blew me away. While Honky Tonk Christmas now feels very early '90s and Let It Be Christmas now feels very early '00s, this one feels much more modern to me. I am shocked to see it was from 2003, because I honestly figured it was from 2016 or something based on how well-mixed it is! The lyrics and Alan's delivery work together to paint such a warm, romantic picture that feels like the love that we all want to have by our side on Christmas Morning. I love everything about it  I always used to think "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" was one of my favorite Christmas songs....based on Martina's version. But as I have listened to more versions through the years, I have come to the realization that this song is painfully boring like 99% of the time. Martina's is the one exception worth listening to, probably because it has a bit of tangible energy to it, and swells/flows in a way that gives the song structure and shape. Everyone else makes it soooooooo unnecessarily slow and subdued, it's like a funeral procession. Alan's is definitely one of the better ones that I have heard, but still found its way to the lower regions of my list. |
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Post by tim on Dec 15, 2020 14:03:51 GMT -5
I could see the title track "Honky Tonk Christmas" missing out on the top 5 considering everything that is left. I was just about to post which song will miss the top 5, so this seems like the perfect segue into revealing it. Let’s see if that prediction holds any water shall we! |
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Post by tim on Dec 15, 2020 14:04:40 GMT -5
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Post by tim on Dec 15, 2020 14:06:45 GMT -5
As bboat11 just correctly predicted, the title track to Alan’s fourth studio album and first Christmas album exits just before the top 5 which it missed by a mere four points. “Honky Tonk Christmas” was an early top 5 contender until back-to-back bottom 4 rankings came along from bboat11 and someguy . This almost pushed it outside of the top 15 altogether until it was given a boost by a top two ranking from LBTrocks . That was followed up by kw9461 who unfortunately becomes our second participant to lose their top ranking song. It was then able to find its way back into and hovering just outside of the top 5. Had it not been for the two lower rankings Cody Wants Out... ’s top 3 likely would’ve kept this as a strong top 4 contender. |
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Post by tim on Dec 15, 2020 14:12:33 GMT -5
Go ahead and tie a ribbon around it as I present to you the Top 5!
A Holly Jolly Christmas
I Only Want You for Christmas
If We Make It Through December
Let It Be Christmas
The Angels Cried (with Alison Krauss)
Any guesses or predictions for the top 5?!? I’ll be back later this evening to unwrap the ribbon!
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Post by Kris Kringle on Dec 15, 2020 14:55:29 GMT -5
"Let It Be Christmas" is ranked too high
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kw9461
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Post by kw9461 on Dec 15, 2020 15:13:14 GMT -5
Pretty great top 5, though I'm sad that "Honky Tonk Christmas" came up just short. My whole top 4 was pretty interchangeable, but I've been really into that one this year for some reason, and I bumped it up to #1 at the last second. Love the word play with the song titles, plus the melody is excellent.
My guess at the top 5:
5. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. The Angels Cried
3. If We Make It Through December
2. I Only Want You For Christmas
1. Let It Be Christmas
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