2016 YE Country RD (CAD) Due May 8

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#14 Dan Davidson - Found

Total: 100

Average: 14.29

Std Dev: 9.21
Chart Peak: #16

nuggie99 - 1
🌺CountryLineDancer - 6
.indulgecountry - 10
bboat11 - 15
tim - 18
LBTrocks - 24
castleoblivion26 - 26

Dan Davidson RD History

2019 #32 Can’t Help Myself

There was a tie at 100 points, so the one with higher standard deviation is leaving first. With the exit of Found, nuggie99 becomes the third participant to lose their #1 song. As the first charting song by Dan, this song went as high as #16 on the airplay chart, which is the highest record achieved by an independent artist in Canada. This is the second appearance of Dan, and definitely made improvement here, as his first attempt ended at the bottom of the list in 2019. Per Dan at the beginning of the video, the budget for this music video was $500. 

CLD's Thought

This song is extremely fun and catchy, and I also love the fiddle production. If I have to pick a favourite part of the song in terms of the melody, definitely the bridge ("Would You Marry Me..." part). Dan is also very likable, both on social media and in-person. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#13 Dallas Smith - One Little Kiss

Total: 100

Average: 14.29

Std Dev: 9.18 
Chart Peak: #5

🌺CountryLineDancer - 2
bboat11 - 3
LBTrocks - 12
tim - 16
.indulgecountry - 19
castleoblivion26 - 22
nuggie99 - 26

Dallas Smith RD History

2017 #10 Sky Stays This Blue
2018 #2 One Drink Ago (with Terri Clark)
2019 #25 DROP
2020 #11 Timeless

The second song with 100 points is One Little Kiss. This song received two top 3 rankings and one bottom 5 ranking. This song was originally recorded by Jake Owen in 2014 with the title One Little Kiss (Never Killed Nobody). Surprisingly, this is only the fifth appearance of Dallas in this series, as I have been excluding him for the last three years due to his low popularity in other RDs.

CLD's Thought

Another unfortunate reveal. This song has a great melody, and as a big Dallas fan, this is definitely high up in his catalogue. The melody of the intro is so infectious! I do like Jake's version as well, but due to the familiarity bias, I would definitely prefer the version released by Dallas. After all, I am glad that Dallas decided to cut the song as it could have ended up being just another album track in the Jake's album. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#12 Madeline Merlo - War Paint

Total: 97

Average: 13.86

Std Dev: 8.38
Chart Peak: #13

.indulgecountry - 5
LBTrocks - 7
castleoblivion26 - 10
tim - 11
🌺CountryLineDancer - 13
nuggie99 - 25
bboat11 - 26

Madeline Merlo RD History

2017 #1 Over And Over
2018 #20 Neon Love
2019 #16 Unraveling
2020 #17 Kiss Kiss
2021 #4 It Didn’t
2022 #5 Slide
2023 #3 Tim + Faith

The winner from the previous year is leaving next. This song received three top 10 rankings, as well as two bottom 10 rankings. Madeline is another act that has been showing up in the game every year, and while she was favoured enough to end in the top five four times, not this time. 

CLD's Thought

This song is not the best from Madeline to my ears, in terms of the melody, but it is unique in that there is a slight edgy and dark mood in the song. The wording/lyrical development also stands out. I must say, even though this kind of melody is not usually my favorite thing, through so many listens, it grew on me well enough to make me want to revisit it from time to time. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#11 The Lovelocks - Home Sweet Home

Total: 96

Average: 13.71

Std Dev: 7.83
Chart Peak: #44

nuggie99 - 7
tim - 8
🌺CountryLineDancer - 9
.indulgecountry - 12
castleoblivion26 - 12
bboat11 - 19
LBTrocks - 29

The last song to miss is Home Sweet Home by The Lovelocks. This is the first introduction to this bluegrass-influenced duo that separated in 2018. This song received three top 10 rankings and #29 ranking from LBTrocks , presumably because he thinks that they sound like a female version of High Valley.

CLD's Thought

This song is great, I dig this style of song, and their harmony sounds pretty pleasant. The melody is catchy af. Nothing special lyrically, but the mention of Canadian city is pretty unique, even by Canadian artists, so that's something nice to hear (what other mentions do we hear other than Hailey from Toronto lol). Also, not sure what is going with the members after the separation. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

Top 10

Dean Brody - Time
Meghan Patrick - Still Loving You ft. Joe Nichols
Tenille Arts - Wildfire And Whiskey
Small Town Pistols - Jester In A Crown
Genevieve Fisher - Blame It On You
Runaway Angel - Witness
Kira Isabella - I'm So Over Getting Over You
Lindsay Ell - All Alright
Lanie McAuley - Pour Me One More
Jess Moskaluke - Take Me Home

I will try to wrap this in the next few days. Meanwhile, drop your thought on the reveal so far + prediction for the top 10!

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#10 Lanie McAuley - Pour Me One More

Total: 94

Average: 13.43

Std Dev: 5.13
Chart Peak: #47

tim - 5
bboat11 - 10
LBTrocks - 11
.indulgecountry - 15
nuggie99 - 15
🌺CountryLineDancer - 18
castleoblivion26 - 20

The first song to exit in the top 10 is Pour Me. This is the first song without any bottom 10 rankings, and bboat11 scored the perfect ranking. This is the first and likely the last appearance of Lanie in this game, as this is her only song that is on her Spotify and looking at her IG, she seems to be not actively working on music. She only has 91 monthly listeners, and pretty sure that is an inflated number thanks to your streaming, if you use my Spotify playlist.

CLD's Thought

This is a cute song. I think I kind of underrank this song as I haven't really listened to this song as much as other songs on the list, but I do enjoy the production and chorus melody, despite being a simple song and average vocal performance.  

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#9 Small Town Pistols - Jester In A Crown

Total: 86

Average: 12.29

Std Dev: 9.45
Chart Peak: NA

castleoblivion26 - 2
LBTrocks - 2
tim - 9
.indulgecountry - 13
bboat11 - 13
nuggie99 - 18
🌺CountryLineDancer - 29

The last duo is leaving. This song received two top 2 rankings and one bottom 2 ranking. tim scored the perfect ranking. Small Town Pistols is the dup formed after the separation of The Wilkinsons by the same member; Amanda and her brother. This is the last single released by Small Town Pistols before their second separation in 2015. 

CLD's Thought

This is another song that I was not really familiar with and due to the familiarity bias, it did not go high up on the list. It has a good energy, but I found the melody and their chemistry as a duo was not as strong as other materials that I encountered listening to The Wilkinsons, and Amanda's vocal was also not as engaging as her solo materials I heard. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#8 Kira Isabella - I'm So Over Getting Over You

Total: 85

Average: 12.14

Std Dev: 5.08 (5th Lowest)
Chart Peak: #8

tim - 7
castleoblivion26 - 8
.indulgecountry - 9
LBTrocks - 10
🌺CountryLineDancer - 14
bboat11 - 16
nuggie99 - 21

Kira Isabella RD History

2017 #9 Little Girl
2018 #13 Danger Danger

One of the least polarizing songs is leaving. This song received four top 10 rankings and only one bottom 10 ranking. castleoblivion26 scored the perfect ranking. This is Kira's highest performance in this series so far. As I repeatedly mention every time her name shows up, it is a mystery why she disappeared from the music scene, and I hope she comes back from the retirement. 

CLD's Thought

This one is one of my favs from Kira for sure. The energetic vibe and vocal of the song suits her youthfulness (she was 22 back then?) and vibrant personality and the chorus melody is excellent. I could definitely ranked this a few spots higher in a hindsight.  Oh and she looks great in the music video 

[.indulgecountry]

This isn't one of my favorites by her by any means, but I miss Kira Isabella. Always thought she had some great stuff, more so in the first half of the '10s than the back half. Did she retire from music? :'(

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#7 Runaway Angel - Witness

Total: 83

Average: 11.86

Std Dev: 6.12
Chart Peak: NA

nuggie99 - 5
LBTrocks - 5
tim - 6
.indulgecountry - 16
bboat11 - 17
castleoblivion26 - 17
🌺CountryLineDancer - 17

The next up is another newly introduced act to the game; Runaway Angel. They are a trio from Ontario, and to my knowledge, they never had radio exposure aside from getting a couple of random adds. The ranking of this song was kind of interesting as it was all around #5 or #17. 

CLD's Thought

This is another cute song with a nice energy. There is not much of a vocal depth to the song, but the hook is not bad and the chorus melody is quite catchy. I think they were on hiatus for a while around 2020, but looks like they are back with more new music, so hoping to try out more of their sound. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#6 Dean Brody - Time

Total: 78

Average: 11.14

Std Dev: 7.24
Chart Peak: #2

tim - 3
castleoblivion26 - 5
bboat11 - 7
.indulgecountry - 8
nuggie99 - 14
🌺CountryLineDancer - 20
LBTrocks - 21

Dean Brody RD History

2017 #16 8th day
2018 #14 Good Goodbye
2019 #14 Black Sheep
2020 #10 Canadian Summer
2021 #20 More Drinkin’ Than Fishin’ with Jade Eagleson/#25 Boys ft. Mickey Guyton
2022 #18 I'd Go To Jail
2023 #30 Right Round Here

The last male song is bowing out right before the top 5. This song received four top 10 rankings and only one bottom 10 ranking. This is Dean's highest performance in this series and second time entering the top 10. 

CLD's Thought

This song has one of the strongest lyrics in this game. It's not something I often revisit, but it is still a well-written song with lyrics that are relatable to many people, and Dean's vocal delivered it well. The melody has room for improvement but the production is beautiful. 

[.indulgecountry]

Definitely one of Dean Brody's better songs, so nice to see it be his best-performing track in the series so far.

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

Time to Wrap This!!

#5 Lindsay Ell - All Alright

Total: 75

Average: 10.71

Std Dev: 9.30
Chart Peak: #9

.indulgecountry - 2
castleoblivion26 - 3
LBTrocks - 4
tim - 10
🌺CountryLineDancer - 11
nuggie99 - 17
bboat11 - 28

Lindsay Ell RD History

2017 #2 Waiting On You
2018 #1 Criminal/#8 The Worst Kind w. Tim Hicks
2019 #1 I don’t lovE you
2020 #2 wAnt me back
2021 #6 good on you
2022 #1 Right On Time
2023 #21 Sweet Spot

The first song to exit in the top 5 is All Alright by Lindsay Ell. This song also ended at #5 in the Lindsay Ell album RD. This song received four top 10 rankings and bboat11 became the last participant to get rid of their bottom 10 ranking with this reveal. This song was released in between By The Way and Waiting On You but unlike those two songs, it did not impact the US radio. She recovered from her flop in the 2023 RD by coming back to her regular spot within the top 5 with this tune. 

CLD's Thought

This song is pretty catchy but also quite poppy and fluffy melodically and lyrically, compared to more powerful tune like Criminal or deep tune like i don't lovE you, so I am honestly glad that this did not go to the top 3, despite liking the song itself quite well. She seems to be taking break from music recently, and 2024 RD may be the first year that she misses this series. 

[LBTrocks]

bboat11 being savage

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#4 Meghan Patrick - Still Loving You ft. Joe Nichols

Total: 70

Average: 10

Std Dev: 8.33
Chart Peak: #10

.indulgecountry - 1
bboat11 - 1
tim - 4
castleoblivion26 - 9
LBTrocks - 16
🌺CountryLineDancer - 19
nuggie99 - 20

Meghan Patrick RD History

2017 #3 Country Music Made Me Do It
2018 #16 Wild As Me
2019 #5 Things I Shouldn’t Say
2020 #19 My First Car
2021 #17 Never Giving Up On You
2022 #19 Cool About It
2023 #2 Greatest Show On Dirt

The only one song with multiple #1 rankings is leaving. This received three top 5 rankings, including two #1s from .indulgecountry and bboat11 . On the other hand, this received three rankings that are in the bottom half of the list. Joe Nichols also becomes the last male voice to leave this game. Per Spotify, this was produced by Chad Kroeger from Nickelback.

CLD's Thought

Meghan's vocal sounds perfect in this song, and the harmony is one of the strongest ones that you hear on the list. I was not really familiar with this song, as I was not the biggest fan of the Meghan's debut album, so I initially was not big on the melody of this one, but now that I hear this more often throughout this RD, I am seeing myself enjoying it more and more. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#3 Genevieve Fisher - Blame It On You

Total: 61

Average: 8.71

Std Dev: 5.41
Chart Peak: NA

🌺CountryLineDancer - 1
.indulgecountry - 4
castleoblivion26 - 6
LBTrocks - 9
bboat11 - 11
tim - 14
nuggie99 - 16

Genevieve Fisher RD History

2017 #17 You Me We
2021 #12 Then There’s You with David James
2023 #8 Best Thing About the Rain

The next up is Blame It On You. This song received two top 5 rankings, including my #1, and only one ranking from the bottom half of the list. This song is also one of the few songs that picked up that did not enter the airplay chart. Independent release. This is Genevieve's first entry to the top 5, after coming close in the 2023 RD with Best Thing About the Rain. 

CLD's Thought

The melody itself is amazing enough to give A+ to this song. I think the production and vocal could be a little better, maybe if she had more funding from the label backup, but that did not take away my enjoyment from this song. This was released even before Genevieve scored minor hits on the radio, so it is sad that this is not receiving the recognition it deserves, but happy that this managed to make it as high as #3 in this game. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

#2 Jess Moskaluke - Take Me Home

Total: 53

Average: 7.57

Std Dev: 4.65 (4th Lowest)
Chart Peak: #7

bboat11 - 2
.indulgecountry - 3
nuggie99 - 6
🌺CountryLineDancer - 7
LBTrocks - 8
tim - 12
castleoblivion26 - 15

Jess Moskaluke RD History

2017 #6 Elevator
2018 #3 Drive Me Away
2019 #3 Save Some Of That Whiskey
2020 #12 Country Girls
2021 #1 Leave Each Other Alone ft. Travis Collins
2022 #11  Knock Off
2023 #9 Heartbreaker

#1 Wildfire and Whiskey

Total: 42

Average: 6

Std Dev: 3.61 (Lowest)
Chart Peak: NA

tim - 1
LBTrocks - 3
bboat11 - 5
🌺CountryLineDancer - 5
castleoblivion26 - 7
nuggie99 - 10
.indulgecountry - 11

Tenille Arts RD History

2017 #11 What He’s Into
2018 #4 I Hate This
2019 #13 Mad Crazy Love
2020 #1 Somebody Like That
2021 #2  Give It To Me Straight
2023 #6 Girl To Girl

This is it! The finale was the battle of two queens for the second crown, and Tenille Arts sits on the throne. This is her second victory since the first game I hosted; Somebody Like That. tim becomes the sole perfect ranker and all the rankings to this song came from the top half of the list. This song also shared the crown with Run Out Of You in her the artist RD, so it's its second time celebrating the victory. This is also the first time in this series that a non-charting single won the game. Jess Moskaluke went for her first #1 as a solo artist, but fell short by 11 points. Take Me Home also received all the rankings from the top half of the list, but no #1, and bboat11 scored the perfect ranking. 

CLD's Thought

Great top 2; I like both songs for sure. I ranked Wildfire and Whiskey as my #2 song in the artist RD after Run Out Of You, but I ended up including W&W in this list, as although it was not formally pushed for the radio, it received a music video treatment. W&W has an excellent melody and one of my fav tracks from Tenille Arts (prob the best one among the songs that appeared in this series), and happy that she often includes it in her concert setlist. Take Me Home is also amazing, and one of the strongest ballad songs that Jess released. The vocal and melody is exceptional. Overall, Jess is above Tenille vocally, but melody wise, Tenille deserves the crown. 

[🌺CountryLineDancer]

Closing Thought:
Thank you all for the participation. It became a smaller RD that I wanted it to be, but glad to see your lists in this game. The result wise, the Pulse's favourite Jess, Tenille, Lindsay, and Meghan continued to do well, it was also interesting to see other movements, such as Dean Brody managing to go as high as #6, Genevieve Fisher making it to the decade end RD, debuting of the old faces that are no longer relevant to the current scene (Autumn Hill, Small Town Pistols, George Canyon etc). I was hoping to also do the 2015 in the late summer, but since this one took longer than expected, I may just do it in the next spring. As we go further back into the years, we will start losing Meghan Patrick/Tenille Arts, but start seeing more of Terri Clark/Paul Bradt/Doc Walker etc, so the result would be interesting, and hoping to see more participants. Likely to see you all in the 2024 YE RD in November!

Final Result
1 Tenille Arts - Wildfire And Whiskey (42)
2 Jess Moskaluke - Take Me Home (53)
3 Genevieve Fisher - Blame It On You (61)
4 Meghan Patrick - Still Loving You ft. Joe Nichols (70)
5 Lindsay Ell - All Alright (75)
6 Dean Brody - Time (78)
7 Runaway Angel - Witness (83)
8 Kira Isabella - I'm So Over Getting Over You (85)
9 Small Town Pistols - Jester In A Crown (86)
10 Lanie McAuley - Pour Me One More (94)
11 The Lovelocks - Home Sweet Home (96)
12 Madeline Merlo - War Paint (97)
13 Dallas Smith - One Little Kiss (100)
13 Dan Davidson - Found (100)
15 Brett Kissel - Pick Me Up (102)
16 Autumn Hill - Mixtape (110)
17 Jessica Mitchell - Workin' On Whiskey (113)
18 James Barker Band - Just Sayin' (123)
19 Chad Brownlee - I Hate You For It (124)
19 George Canyon - Daughters Of The Sun (124)
21 The Washboard Union - Shot Of Glory (126)
22 Jason Blaine - Back To You (127)
23 Gord Bamford - Breakfast Beer (133)
24 The Abrams - Fine (138)
25 Leaving Thomas - Waiting Kind Of Girl (140)
26 David James - Lonely Girl (147)
27 Aaron Goodvin - Woman In Love (154)
27 Cold Creek County - Beer Weather (154)
29 Aaron Pritchett - Out Of The Blue (159)
30 Wes Mack - I Lost Count (161)

Perfect Rankings
tim - 4
bboat11 - 3
LBTrocks - 3
.indulgecountry - 1
castleoblivion26 - 1
nuggie99 - 0
🌺CountryLineDancer - 0

tim scored the most perfect ranking, including his #1

[.indulgecountry]

Literally everything in the top 5 was in my personal top 4, except the winner. 😭

[LBTrocks]

Yay happy Tenille Arts won! LOVE that song and her voice, the right song won thankfully.