Carrie Underwood - “I’m Gonna Love You” #1 All-Genre iTunes

[Typo]

01. #2 Black Cadillacs - I'm still floored by this song. The gleeful "bye bye"s in a murder ballad...
02. LOW - Sounds like it was transported in from a completely different era. The pain in her voice is so palpable.
03. Church Bells - Proof that she should never stop singing about murder. Every award show performance delivered (ACMs, CMTs, American Country Countdown Awards).
04. So Small - A good listen when you need to remember that sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand and what you've been out there searching for forever is in your hands and love is all that matters after all.
05. Ghost Story - I wish there was something more to the verses lyrically because I actually think this song is pretty dynamic in terms of melody and vocal.
06. Some Hearts - The fact this was previously recorded as a demo by Belinda Carlisle <3
07. Mama's Song - Carole's monologue in the video >

[musicfan134]

1. Low
2. So Small
3. Two Black Cadillacs
4. Some Hearts
5. Church Bells
6. Mama's Song
7. Ghost Story

[carrieidol1]

1) Low
2) Church Bells
3) Some Hearts
4) So Small
5) Two Black Cadillacs
6) Ghost Story
7) Mama’s Song

[tigerman2022]

God, this is tough. Those first three are truly among my favorites in her entire catalog. "Low" is incredible because the lyrics and the raw emotion in her delivery move me every time. No wonder she said she'd never perform it live. "Two Black Cadillacs" is pure drama musically and vocally. I honestly can't hear it without playing that killer video in my head (maybe the best video she has ever done). Love it. Love it. Love it. "Church Bells" is iconic Carrie and has become one of her signature songs for sure. Love it as well. "So Small" is a lost classic that I wish she'd bring back at least now and again. I didn't rank them, but "Blessed Assurance" and "Let There Be Peace" are both good tracks as well. Neither is the highlight of their respective albums, but good.

1a. Low
1b. Two Black Cadillacs
1c. Church Bells
4. So Small
5. Some Hearts
6. Ghost Story
7. Mama's Song

[musicfan134]

The track 3s truly are special among her catalog.

Track 4:

1. Jesus, Take the Wheel. This song is the most important song of her career. Maybe it was a little overplayed, but I stand by what I said. It's impact cannot be overstated.
2. Backsliding
3. Heartbeat
4. Just a Dream
5. See You Again
6. Hate My Heart
7. Change

2, 3, 4 and 5 can change *pun intended* at a moments notice so take that with a grain of salt.

I know 6 is literally the current single but meh at best.

7 is honestly one of the worst songs of her career.

[zdm1998]

Let's just do this for all the tracks lmao. I love seeing everyone's picks

Track 4:

1. See You Again -Something about this song is just really special. I remember when the album came out this was the one I was drawn to. And I remember the day she let the cat out of the bag on Twitter and announced it as the fourth single from Blown Away, and how happy I was. I think this was around the time I went from being a casual fan to a stan.
2. Just A Dream -I feel like this is signature Carrie and I think that she should put more ballads like this (and SS) in her setlist and remove some of the uptempos because I think she underestimates how much her fanbase loves her ballads.
3. Backsliding -This one has always been very interesting to me. I get chills during the outro. Kind of wish it was a single over LW in the CP era, because while risky, I think it could've had a great return.
4. Heartbeat -This one grew on me a lot, I was pretty meh about it when it first came out, but now I've grown to appreciate it. I do wonder why she chooses to never perform it anymore.
5. Hate My Heart -I was meh on this one when the album came out, but I do like it now and am happy it's doing well at radio.
6. Jesus Take The Wheel -This song is very important in her career, but for me personally I don't listen to it often. I prefer SITW, TH, and SYA amoung her religious songs better.
7. Change -I don't consider this one bad, but I don't return often. I read somewhere that it's eligible for gold certification, which I think is cool since it's an album track.

[schnetzka]

Guess we're on to #4s now lmao.

1. "Backsliding" - I want Carrie to do more full blown pop like this song. Sounds incredible!

2. "Just a Dream" - The storytelling is incredible and Carrie sounds fantastic.

3. "Hate My Heart" - I believe I didn't vibe with this song so much upon release but it has definitely grown on me.

4. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" - I am not religious but the storytelling is wonderful nonetheless.

5. "Change" - This (and a lot of 'Play On') has grown on me over the years.

6. "Heartbeat" - She sounds great but the song is a little too generic for my tastes.

7. "See You Again" - Unpopular opinion of the year - I know - but I absolutely do not like this song and never have. I couldn't tell you why but I almost never revisit it.

[carriefan15]

1. See You Again (by farrrrrrrr my fav track 4)

………..

2. Just A Dream

3. Jesus Take The Wheel
4. Change
5. Hate My Heart
6. Heartbeat
7. Backsliding

[jenglisbe]

3s
1) Low
2) So Small
3) Some Hearts
4) Two Black Cadillacs
5) Church Bells
6) Ghost Story
7) Mama’s Song

4s (my least favorite grouping so far actually)
1. See You Again
2. Just A Dream
3. Jesus Take The Wheel
4. Hate My Heart
5. Backsliding
6. Heartbeat
7. Change

[God]

1. Church Bells
2. Two Black Cadillacs
3. Low
4. Some Hearts
5. Ghost Story
6. So Small
7. Mama's Song


1. Jesus, Take the Wheel
2. Just a Dream
3. Heartbeat
4. Hate My Heart
5. See You Again
6. Backsliding
7. Change

[kath2833]

My track 4s:

1. Backsliding
2. Just a Dream
3. Heartbeat
4. Jesus Take the Wheel
5. Hate My Heart
6. Change
7. See You Again

[tigerman2022]

My Track 4 Rankings:

1. Jesus, Take the Wheel - this started it all. has to be #1.
2. See You Again - would love her to slow this down and play on piano more often. 
3. Just a Dream - a seemingly lost classic from Carrie. she should perform this one more often. it's like she's forgotten about it.
4. Hate My Heart - hoping it returns her to the top of Billboard
5. Heartbeat
6. Backsliding 
7. Change

[daddy]

1. "Just A Dream" - I don't listen to this one as much anymore (overplayed it), but it was my favorite Carrie song until "Blown Away" came out.

2. "See You Again" - I found SYA a bit generic when I first heard it, but watching Carrie discuss and perform this song, made it click for me. I love the glass-half-full take on death she presents here. It's aged really well and is one I still listen to pretty often. Agreed she should strip this one back or play it on the piano in concert. It really suits the song and heightens the emotions.

3. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" - Some of these lists are challenging because older songs that I find to be better songs, I've just tired of from years of constant replay. Yet, I can't in good faith put this one any lower than #3, even if I rarely play it. For many, this was her introduction as an artist, and it was a huge moment for her.

4. "Heartbeat" - I feel like this is a country love song that's very true to Carrie as a person. I can see her and Mike doing exactly what's written in the song. I haven't tired of it at all.

5. "Backsliding" - This was one of my favourite songs from the CP album and think it would have made for a strong single. I love the reflective take on a dissolving marriage. I do wonder if it's at all autobiographical (I know, not really our business, but an interesting song on an album she deemed very personal). This one suffered on this list from overplay. But I do love it.

6. "Hate My Heart" - For a song that was initially my least favourite on its album, it's grown on me immensely. I do enjoy it, but just find it less substantial than these other songs, which are oddly enough, all quite serious in tone (more my style than light, fun songs).

7. "Change" - Feels like a one-off charity single, not really an album track.

[pnobelysk]

The album is at 67k pure sales at the end of 2022. It’s a pretty steep decline i didn’t anticipate at All, the Christmas album is around 387k while my savior is over 300k. Prior to these releases her album sales were always stellar.

[daddy]

Jan 16, 2023 23:34:00 GMT -5 pnobelysk said:

The album is at 67k pure sales at the end of 2022. It’s a pretty steep decline i didn’t anticipate at All, the Christmas album is around 387k while my savior is over 300k. Prior to these releases her album sales were always stellar.

Why just mention pure sales? What are her total sales for these projects?

The D&R numbers don't seem good, but I'm not familiar with what her peers are pulling. While I enjoy the album, I do feel a bit of a disconnect with it from Carrie. Maybe it's the “it's my fun album” isn't really working for me?

I foresaw this drop happening when they made it so tour bundles don't contribute to album sales, as that seemed to really bolster Cry Pretty’s debut weeks, which makes this drop seem worse than it likely would have been.

[tigerman2022]

Jan 17, 2023 4:00:10 GMT -5 daddy said:

Jan 16, 2023 23:34:00 GMT -5 pnobelysk said:

The album is at 67k pure sales at the end of 2022. It’s a pretty steep decline i didn’t anticipate at All, the Christmas album is around 387k while my savior is over 300k. Prior to these releases her album sales were always stellar.

Why just mention pure sales? What are her total sales for these projects?

The D&R numbers don't seem good, but I'm not familiar with what her peers are pulling. While I enjoy the album, I do feel a bit of a disconnect with it from Carrie. Maybe it's the “it's my fun album” isn't really working for me?

I foresaw this drop happening when they made it so tour bundles don't contribute to album sales, as that seemed to really bolster Cry Pretty’s debut weeks, which makes this drop seem worse than it likely would have been.

I unfortunately agree with you. I do feel a bit of a disconnect at this point as well. I guess I'm at a point with Carrie where I have to accept this is the direction she is choosing to go. I just wish she would do a pure country album (instrumentation, storytelling, vocals) at some point in her career. The cry in her voice is absolutely made for it. But, if it's not in her heart to do that, so be it. I still support her and enjoy her music.

[pnobelysk]

Jan 17, 2023 4:00:10 GMT -5 daddy said:

Jan 16, 2023 23:34:00 GMT -5 pnobelysk said:

The album is at 67k pure sales at the end of 2022. It’s a pretty steep decline i didn’t anticipate at All, the Christmas album is around 387k while my savior is over 300k. Prior to these releases her album sales were always stellar.

Why just mention pure sales? What are her total sales for these projects?

The D&R numbers don't seem good, but I'm not familiar with what her peers are pulling. While I enjoy the album, I do feel a bit of a disconnect with it from Carrie. Maybe it's the “it's my fun album” isn't really working for me?

I foresaw this drop happening when they made it so tour bundles don't contribute to album sales, as that seemed to really bolster Cry Pretty’s debut weeks, which makes this drop seem worse than it likely would have been.

For transparency I only mentioned pure sales because it’s what I enjoy tracking/ following. She had the 8th best selling country album for pure sales of 2022 in regards to her peers. I agree the tour bundles would make the drop seem larger, but even so to me these numbers are lower than I would have predicted.

[carrieidol1]

I think we’ve already kinda discussed how sales are lackluster across the board… Carrie ranked #10 overall (Country artists) and was the #1 country female of 2022 on Billboard. The numbers relative to past albums look terrible, but she’s actually performing pretty well relatively speaking. Streaming continues to be the issue. It’s hard to bump up streaming numbers when a large chunk of the fan base are music purchasers. I try to stream her stuff, but I buy her music and often play the CD or downloaded album due to data/costs. Obviously that’s not the only issue, but I think it’s something she and many country artists from her generation are grappling with as new artists continue popping up and blowing up via streaming services.

[tigerman2022]

"Hate My Heart" just entered the Top 30 on Mediabase.
Mediabase Country Chart

[musicfan134]

Jan 17, 2023 4:00:10 GMT -5 daddy said:

Jan 16, 2023 23:34:00 GMT -5 pnobelysk said:

The album is at 67k pure sales at the end of 2022. It’s a pretty steep decline i didn’t anticipate at All, the Christmas album is around 387k while my savior is over 300k. Prior to these releases her album sales were always stellar.

Why just mention pure sales? What are her total sales for these projects?

The D&R numbers don't seem good, but I'm not familiar with what her peers are pulling. While I enjoy the album, I do feel a bit of a disconnect with it from Carrie. Maybe it's the “it's my fun album” isn't really working for me?

I foresaw this drop happening when they made it so tour bundles don't contribute to album sales, as that seemed to really bolster Cry Pretty’s debut weeks, which makes this drop seem worse than it likely would have been.

To clarify, do you mean to say you feel Carrie isn't as passionate about this album as she has been with previous albums?

If that's what you're saying, I have to agree with you. I would even take that a step further and say I feel like her main priority at this point is touring. I can understand why she is prioritizing the tours, but I do wish she would spend more time and effort on things like song/album production, songwriting, marketing and promotion, etc. She is starting to feel like a legacy act, which isn't a bad place to be per se. But I don't feel like she has to be there yet.

[daddy]

Jan 18, 2023 1:03:21 GMT -5 musicfan134 said:

Jan 17, 2023 4:00:10 GMT -5 daddy said:

Why just mention pure sales? What are her total sales for these projects?

The D&R numbers don't seem good, but I'm not familiar with what her peers are pulling. While I enjoy the album, I do feel a bit of a disconnect with it from Carrie. Maybe it's the “it's my fun album” isn't really working for me?

I foresaw this drop happening when they made it so tour bundles don't contribute to album sales, as that seemed to really bolster Cry Pretty’s debut weeks, which makes this drop seem worse than it likely would have been.

To clarify, do you mean to say you feel Carrie isn't as passionate about this album as she has been with previous albums?

If that's what you're saying, I have to agree with you. I would even take that a step further and say I feel like her main priority at this point is touring. I can understand why she is prioritizing the tours, but I do wish she would spend more time and effort on things like song/album production, songwriting, marketing and promotion, etc. She is starting to feel like a legacy act, which isn't a bad place to be per se. But I don't feel like she has to be there yet.

Correct.

I feel like she gushed over "Cry Pretty" around its release and how it was so personal to her. The miscarriage interview on CBS Sunday Morning interview really drove that home and revealed additional layers to some songs on the album. 

Then she followed CP with "My Gift" and "My Savior", where she doesn't even have to try to sell her connection to these albums, because she does it so effortlessly when singing about her faith. During the interviews she did for these projects, she also really communicated how much they mean to her, rather effortlessly. 

With "D&R", all the interviews I've watched where she discusses the album have been about how she just wanted to make a fun album that's fun to perform live post-Covid peak, how she let her musical influences take over, and how she loves wearing D&R. I'm just not sure marketing an album as providing good material to sing live really sells an album, that, well, isn't live? 

I think we discussed on here prior to the album's release, the possibility of this being a double album, the Denim (country-country) and the Rhinestones (Pop-country? Rock-country? General outside influences?). Personally, I think this would have been a more marketable sell for an album that's heavily influenced by other genres. 

At the end of the day, I think she's just investing more time in her family and personal life and less into promoting her music (outside of her tour), which is obviously totally cool.

Personally, I think my disconnect with the album stems from it being more upbeat and light. While it's very listenable, I miss the drama, the stories, and the emotions that Carrie sings about really, really exceptionally. For example, after over half a year, my favorites on the album are Burn, She Don't Know, and Ghost Story 

[zdm1998]

The biggest gripe I see from the general public is that they miss “the old Carrie.” Any time I see a post regarding her that is always the main comment that has a significant number of likes (thousands.)

I kind of agree though, to me everything post Storyteller (minus the two passion projects) kind of feels like a different Carrie to me. I still like her stuff however, but I used to be overly through the roof about her older material. I remember literally shaking from excitement when she was about to debut “Church Bells” for the first time on the ACMs for example, but now I just kinda tune in idk.

What’s ironic is I see comments claiming that her label is probably forcing her to release generic/safe stuff when it’s actually her that’s calling the shots, and the stuff the GP does love her for is actually the stuff the label (Sony) was wanting her to release.

[jenglisbe]

Age is a factor, I think; both hers and ours/fans. It's just normal and natural that as artists and fans age, other things take priority. That's one reason longevity in general is so rare in music. Carrie is already among a very small percentage of artists who have been able to have hits, win awards, sell out shows, etc for nearly 20 years.

Jan 17, 2023 15:45:22 GMT -5 carrieidol1 said:

I think we’ve already kinda discussed how sales are lackluster across the board… Carrie ranked #10 overall (Country artists) and was the #1 country female of 2022 on Billboard.

I'm assuming this was in part due to My Savior and "If I Didn't Love You," or no? My only point in saying that is I don't think that's purely based on her new solo music of D&R/"Ghost Story."

Regardless, Carrie is still doing well enough compared to other women in country; even women who are able to get top 10 songs aren't necessarily able to sell albums and/or sell out shows. It's a very different situation in music than when Carrie debuted, and she either hasn't fully figured out how to adapt or doesn't have any desire to do so.

[carrieidol1]

Jan 18, 2023 12:53:56 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

Age is a factor, I think; both hers and ours/fans. It's just normal and natural that as artists and fans age, other things take priority. That's one reason longevity in general is so rare in music. Carrie is already among a very small percentage of artists who have been able to have hits, win awards, sell out shows, etc for nearly 20 years.

Jan 17, 2023 15:45:22 GMT -5 carrieidol1 said:

I think we’ve already kinda discussed how sales are lackluster across the board… Carrie ranked #10 overall (Country artists) and was the #1 country female of 2022 on Billboard.

I'm assuming this was in part due to My Savior and "If I Didn't Love You," or no? My only point in saying that is I don't think that's purely based on her new solo music of D&R/"Ghost Story."

Regardless, Carrie is still doing well enough compared to other women in country; even women who are able to get top 10 songs aren't necessarily able to sell albums and/or sell out shows. It's a very different situation in music than when Carrie debuted, and she either hasn't fully figured out how to adapt or doesn't have any desire to do so.

IIDLY saw the bulk of its success in 2021, of which December and some of November is included in the 2022 chart (I believe), so yes, definitely a factor. Less so “My Savior” as it came out in early 2021. My point was not to credit her success on Billboard’s year-end charts to a specific project, but to reiterate the fact that she still ranks pretty high annually as a culmination of her work within and around any given year since 2005. In every year she releases music she ranks inside or near the top 10 for overall country artists, and I’m pretty sure she’s always in the top 3 for females, if not #1.

D&R’s numbers are lacking, there’s no denying it. But if the worry is that Carrie isn’t connecting, or that Carrie has changed and alienated some fans, it may be true, but the impact is negligible at best from a macro/chart level. The entire music industry has shifted multiple times since Carrie came onto the scene, but she still consistently ranks high all these years later. What’s behind her overall ranking may change through the years, but #1 female and #10 overall country artist doesn’t exactly point to “legacy act”, imo, even if the current album isn’t smashing like it absolutely deserves to.

So if Carrie hasn’t figured out how to adapt, so hasn’t pretty much every country artist who isn’t Luke Combs or Morgan Wallen (with maybe a few others mixed in)…

[schnetzka]

Chiming in because others have but I actually disagree with the so-called disconnect on Carrie's part that a lot of you feel about this era. There has been nothing about this era, in my eyes at least, that have been different about her previous eras other than it not selling as well. Originally, I was quite nervous about that because it was quite a giant plummet from even 'My Savior' which was released only one year prior. However, her sales are pretty on par with her peers and just country music in general except for a few (like Morgan Wallen). I'm quite enjoying this era as is.

[desertfloods]

I will be honest, had I not been a Carrie fan for so long since Idol days, most likely her new albums wouldn't make me that big of a fan. Maybe just casual listeners who would like a song or two.

As much as she is known for her big vocals, these type of vocals don't seem to appeal to younger generation and "current" crowd anymore. How often do you see Carrie's songs being used in Instagram stories, Tik Tok etc, for example? Also proven by incredibly low streaming numbers. Personally, I think her slightly old-fashioned image and personality is not helping to attract young fans either.

She's at that point where she kept some long-time fans, but lost some old fans who didn't like the newer materials/got bored/moved on. But the key is, she didn't gain many new fans to fill the sales void left by the fans who moved on.

Cutting down on promo, focus on touring, releasing My Gift and My Saviour etc, she kind of made it clear she wants to move on to the legacy act phase imo. I wish she didn't though, at least not yet.

[zdm1998]

^
agree with all of this. It’s sad because I feel like she leaning into it a little too early. I’m aware of her age, but radio still seems to be in her corner (even despite this new material being lackluster in sales/streams). So I believe if she stuck to her original formula she had when she consistently churned out hits she could have another album era or two on the level she used to have. Maybe that’s just her choice, but it’s still sad (at least for me it is).

[desertfloods]

Jan 18, 2023 21:07:52 GMT -5 zdm1998 said:

^
agree with all of this. It’s sad because I feel like she leaning into it a little too early. I’m aware of her age, but radio still seems to be in her corner (even despite this new material being lackluster in sales/streams). So I believe if she stuck to her original formula she had when she consistently churned out hits she could have another album era or two on the level she used to have. Maybe that’s just her choice, but it’s still sad (at least for me it is).

I like that she tried to freshen up her materials, finally going into producer role. I was getting bored with same type of songs myself.

Experiments, change of directions are risky moves and rarely done right. It's unfortunate that she hasn't found that right new formula yet.

[jenglisbe]

Jan 18, 2023 20:22:12 GMT -5 desertfloods said:

Cutting down on promo, focus on touring, releasing My Gift and My Saviour etc, she kind of made it clear she wants to move on to the legacy act phase imo. I wish she didn't though, at least not yet.

That all makes sense, and more so it gives me hope that the next album could be the scaled down country album we've been wanting for years. I think it makes sense she did D&R after the holiday album and My Savior as she likely wanted to do something really different from those projects (especially heading into a tour). The nice thing about settling into a 'legacy phase' is it means the pressure is off doing well commercially with new releases so you just do whatever you want as an artist and then tour off your catalog. Not that we necessarily know what direction she wants to go next, but maybe...

[j54]

I might be in the minority, but I really like the D&R music that she’s put out and it feels “her” leaning into the rock element that she’s always been passionate about.

I can’t remember if it was Amazon or another concert for the album launch, but I remember watching it thinking “man, she’s really having fun and enjoying this.” I think she’s finally doing what she wants, is having a blast doing it and doesn’t care about sales/charts anymore. She has nothing left to prove and sales, awards or not, it seems like she’s happy and really having fun these days.