sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on May 24, 2022 10:06:02 GMT -5
Artist: Cole Swindell Single: "She Had Me At Heads Carolina" Writers: Cole Swindell, Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure, Thomas Rhett, Mark D. Sanders, Tim Nichols Album: Stereotype Label: Warner Music Nashville/WMN Impact Date: June 21st, 2022
Just sent to country radio. Not sure why it has the impact date on a Tuesday, but that's what it said in the email lol.
Swindell and Rhett came to Jo Dee Messina and the writers of "Heads Carolina, Tails California" with the idea for the song, and they all signed off on the idea.
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raylatch98
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Post by raylatch98 on May 24, 2022 10:09:26 GMT -5
Seriously Cole Swindell is on a roll it feels like, between this and how big both "Single Saturday Night" and "Never Say Never" were he has really been hitting his stride. I love this song and can't wait to see it smash the charts.
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mnvikings
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Post by mnvikings on May 24, 2022 10:42:29 GMT -5
Yes!! I was hoping he would put this one out next. Jo Dee Messina could make a fun cameo in the video.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2022 10:52:53 GMT -5
This will be the biggest hit of his career!
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austin
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Post by austin on May 24, 2022 11:10:53 GMT -5
This seemed like a no-brainer to me. You don't sample a classic song so obviously and not release it to radio. The familiarity is going to propel this up the charts quickly, the original is one of the catchiest songs the format has ever seen.
I do like this, which makes the first time he has had two winners in a row with me.
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Post by countryisking on May 24, 2022 11:22:34 GMT -5
I am thrilled to see this. The song is, for obvious reasons, a smash. While it heavily follows the original, I really think the writers did a phenomenal job modernizing the melody and the instrumentation is near perfect. Part of me is just absolutely shocked that they are releasing this—oftentimes I feel that artists like Cole leave great songs as deep album cuts only. Not so here, and it’ll pay off big time I hope.
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🌺CountryLineDancer
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Post by 🌺CountryLineDancer on May 24, 2022 12:22:54 GMT -5
This song is fantastic. I usually enjoy his materials, but this is by far the best single by him to this date. Wish they added "feat. Madeline Merlo", for the background vocal though!
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on May 25, 2022 4:25:22 GMT -5
The obvious but smart choice. I expect this to have one of Cole’s fastest chart runs of his career, and could be a late summer / early fall smash. Could see this becoming his biggest hit since “Chillin’ It”.
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davidj
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Post by davidj on May 25, 2022 8:16:13 GMT -5
'She Had Me At "Heads Carolina"' is very clever. It's an answer record, but, unlike most answer records, it shares the same melody and instrumental riffs as the original. Obviously, the whole thing is deeply cynical: '90s country is popular right now, and the melody has already been road-tested in the sense that it has been a big hit. Yet the familiarity and the nostalgia is paired with some decent lyrics which actually acknowledges the fame of the song. Some such records act as sequels or variations to incidents in the original narrative, yet this one is meta-textual. The characters in the song know about the Jo Dee record, and they're not simply connected to the characters in it.
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mnvikings
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Post by mnvikings on May 25, 2022 9:23:22 GMT -5
This song is fantastic. I usually enjoy his materials, but this is by far the best single by him to this date. Wish they added "feat. Madeline Merlo", for the background vocal though! I did not know this! This is cool! It’s good to hear more Canadian country artists in Nashville.
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LBTrocks
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Post by LBTrocks on May 26, 2022 10:32:07 GMT -5
Guess I'm in the minority but songs like this don't excite me at all lol, I'd rather just listen to the original since it is so heavily sampled.
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2022 13:10:17 GMT -5
Guess I'm in the minority but songs like this don't excite me at all lol, I'd rather just listen to the original since it is so heavily sampled. I'm somewhere in the middle where I like this and acknowledge it is a rare "good" song from Cole Swindell -- someone who has an incredibly low bar as far as expectations of any kind of quality -- but still find it flawed. I said as much in the album thread, but the production on the song doesn't feel as authentic as a song like this should've been to truly nail it; it's very slick and even the steel guitar solo feels super polished/processed. He also has one of the flattest voices in Nashville so that doesn't help either, lol. Like yes, the melody of this IS incredible... but he also literally just lifted it from another song so I can't give him the credit for that, i.e. I'd give this maybe a C+/B- rating and I definitely enjoy it for what it is, but Jo Dee's original track is still the go-to and Cole's usual operating level of D-/F-level material makes this feel perhaps a bit better than it actually is.
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3chords
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Post by 3chords on May 26, 2022 17:50:47 GMT -5
As a casual listener to radio and dudes like Cole, I listened to this after reading praise on Twitter and didn’t make it through the song.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on May 26, 2022 19:00:11 GMT -5
The song that inspired Cole Swindell. Believe it or not, Jo Dee Messina opened for Brooks & Dunn at the time:
BILLBOARD TOP TEN FOR WEEK ENDING MAY 18, 1996: 1. My Maria-Brooks & Dunn-Arista 2. HEADS CAROLINA, TAILS CALIFORNIA-JO DEE MESSINA-CURB 3. Blue Clear Sky-George Strait-MCA 4. Someone Else's Dream-Faith Hill-Warner Bros. 5. Long As I Live-John Michael Montgomery-Atlantic 6. It's What I Do-Billy Dean-Capitol 7. All I Want Is A Life-Tim McGraw-Curb 8. I Think About You-Collin Raye-Epic 9. I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore-Bryan White-Asylum 10. Time Marches On-Tracy Lawrence-Atlantic
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trustypepper
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Post by trustypepper on May 26, 2022 19:26:11 GMT -5
This is good and obviously a no brainer single but the whole nod to classic country hits theme seems to be a bit tired based on the influx of singles doing it lately (whether it's just calling out classic songs or actually sampling them). But I guess it's better than some of the stereotypical themes that have existed in country music for years, lol.
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taylor
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Post by taylor on May 26, 2022 19:38:56 GMT -5
I’m so glad this is going to be next! Between this great song and “Never Say Never” which I’ve grown to quite enjoy as well, he’s two-for-two with me on an album that for the most part is his greatest imo. I’m SO excited to start hearing this on the radio! I hope he can somehow dig Jo Dee Messina out of retirement long enough for her to appear in the music video; that’d be really awesome.
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LBTrocks
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Post by LBTrocks on May 26, 2022 19:40:59 GMT -5
Guess I'm in the minority but songs like this don't excite me at all lol, I'd rather just listen to the original since it is so heavily sampled. I'm somewhere in the middle where I like this and acknowledge it is a rare "good" song from Cole Swindell -- someone who has an incredibly low bar as far as expectations of any kind of quality -- but still find it flawed. I said as much in the album thread, but the production on the song doesn't feel as authentic as a song like this should've been to truly nail it; it's very slick and even the steel guitar solo feels super polished/processed. He also has one of the flattest voices in Nashville so that doesn't help either, lol. Like yes, the melody of this IS incredible... but he also literally just lifted it from another song so I can't give him the credit for that, i.e. I'd give this maybe a C+/B- rating and I definitely enjoy it for what it is, but Jo Dee's original track is still the go-to and Cole's usual operating level of D-/F-level material makes this feel perhaps a bit better than it actually is. I mean, sure, I guess I "like" this because the original melody is so great but nothing that Cole Swindell added to it production wise or vocal wise enhanced anything about the original song. He made it modern and trendy... cool, I don't like modern and trendy lol. I heard this on the radio today and didn't have to scramble to change the station or anything, but I still see no point in purposely listening to this when the far superior original exists.
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mnvikings
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Post by mnvikings on May 26, 2022 20:04:04 GMT -5
I’m not sure why people are so hard on it. Its definitely its’s own song which borrows elements from the original but puts its own stamp on it. It’s far better than a list song and it would be cool if instead of note for note remakes of songs artists started looking at this style.
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2022 20:19:06 GMT -5
I’m not sure why people are so hard on it. I mean... there's been like maybe 3 of us total in this thread that are like "meh, could be better because of x, y, and z" and the rest of the replies are more along the lines of "this is one of the best singles of the year." More people are praising this than not, and I don't think it's "hard" on the song to find fault with obvious things like Cole Swindell's flat voice or the oddly slick production job on a song that's supposed to be a nod to the 90s era of country, lol. I just feel like this song would've been AMAZING in the hands of someone like Cody Johnson, but with Cole at the helm it's just kinda above-average.
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raylatch98
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Post by raylatch98 on May 26, 2022 20:22:19 GMT -5
I know it's a matter of opinion but I will never get the hate for Cole Swindell's voice, like it's a bit bland but he can definitely sing and I overall think he is a pretty good singer overall and his voice on this song is pretty good vocally imo.
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mnvikings
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Post by mnvikings on May 26, 2022 21:14:53 GMT -5
I know it's a matter of opinion but I will never get the hate for Cole Swindell's voice, like it's a bit bland but he can definitely sing and I overall think he is a pretty good singer overall and his voice on this song is pretty good vocally imo. This is kind of random but I always liked his voice because I can hear every word he says, his voice is very clear.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on May 26, 2022 21:42:54 GMT -5
Nobody is going to confuse him for Chris Stapleton or Axl Rose, but his voice is fine. He knows his range and tends to stay in that lane. Seems like a decent guy too.
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3chords
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Post by 3chords on May 27, 2022 9:13:47 GMT -5
My first comment came off kinda rude, and to clarify, I don’t listen to a lot of male country guys so I went to the song after seeing a lot of praise for it, which probably wasn’t the best way to go in. I think it will be very successful on the radio, just doesn’t do much for me personally.
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LBTrocks
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Post by LBTrocks on May 27, 2022 10:00:19 GMT -5
Nobody is going to confuse him for Chris Stapleton or Axl Rose, but his voice is fine. He knows his range and tends to stay in that lane. Seems like a decent guy too. I agree with this and find him quite likable, I don’t have a problem with his voice either. I actually think he sounds great on “Never Say Never” with Lainey.
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SoMuchToSay
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Post by SoMuchToSay on May 29, 2022 11:11:43 GMT -5
I'm honestly surprised so many people are liking this. When I first heard it, I literally cringed hearing bro country lyrics on a classic like Heads Carolina Tails California.
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Post by Tylerjamesnerd on May 29, 2022 11:18:44 GMT -5
I'm honestly surprised so many people are liking this. When I first heard it, I literally cringed hearing bro country lyrics on a classic like Heads Carolina Tails California. You hear truck in a song and it’s automatically bro country?? This isn’t about some hot lady with some hot bikini in a pickup.. 😆 it’s about falling in love over a karaoke song and their love over 90s country music. At least in my opinion. What is bro country about this to you?? I am genuinely curious.
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SoMuchToSay
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Post by SoMuchToSay on May 29, 2022 11:31:13 GMT -5
I'm honestly surprised so many people are liking this. When I first heard it, I literally cringed hearing bro country lyrics on a classic like Heads Carolina Tails California. You hear truck in a song and it’s automatically bro country?? This isn’t about some hot lady with some hot bikini in a pickup.. 😆 it’s about falling in love over a karaoke song and their love over 90s country music. At least in my opinion. What is bro country about this to you?? I am genuinely curious. Pick up trucks, girls, bars, etc. Each person is allowed to have their own opinion and interpretation on a song. Though I will say this isn't as extreme "bro country" as stuff from a decade ago.
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on May 29, 2022 12:48:20 GMT -5
You hear truck in a song and it’s automatically bro country?? This isn’t about some hot lady with some hot bikini in a pickup.. 😆 it’s about falling in love over a karaoke song and their love over 90s country music. At least in my opinion. What is bro country about this to you?? I am genuinely curious. Pick up trucks, girls, bars, etc. Each person is allowed to have their own opinion and interpretation on a song. Though I will say this isn't as extreme "bro country" as stuff from a decade ago. If bars and falling in love with a someone make it bro country, then pretty much ALL of country music (from men AND women) is bro country.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on May 30, 2022 0:57:39 GMT -5
I wish he could have convinced Jo Dee to contribute some vocals to it since he apparently got her blessing to make the song! But Madeline Merlo still does a great job with the female vocals.
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davidj
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Post by davidj on May 31, 2022 3:27:07 GMT -5
I wish he could have convinced Jo Dee to contribute some vocals to it since he apparently got her blessing to make the song! But Madeline Merlo still does a great job with the female vocals. That would be cool. Maybe they're waiting to see how it does and, when/if airplay starts to drag, they can get more interest in the song with a cameo during a repeat chorus. Brooks & Dunn didn that back in 2008 with Reba on "Cowgirls Don't Cry". I wondered about the female voice. Wasn't sure if they'd dropped in Jo Dee's voice from the original version, like in the very beginning of the track, but it was too faint to tell for certain.
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