Midland f/ Jon Pardi - "Longneck Way to Go"

[Darkest Hour]

Artist: Midland (ft. Jon Pardi)
Single: Longneck Way to Go
Album: The Last Resort: Greetings From
Label: Big Machine Records
Impact Date: July 18th, 2022 (AllAccess)
Writers: Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Rhett Akins & Ashley Gorley

The second single of the era.

[.indulgecountry]

The correct choice. Not only is this their best song since their debut single, but it's also the smartest choice for radio they've made since it as well. This is a make or break release for them, and I think it's their best shot at getting back to the upper echelon of the charts. If this doesn't hit big for them, then I don't think Midland is ever going to have another major hit.

[Deleted]

Jun 18, 2022 0:23:32 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

The correct choice. Not only is this their best song since their debut single, but it's also the smartest choice for radio they've made since it as well. This is a make or break release for them, and I think it's their best shot at getting back to the upper echelon of the charts. If this doesn't hit big for them, then I don't think Midland is ever going to have another major hit.

I think this one will take them back into the top 10 maybe even all the way to #1. It’s super catchy and with Pardi attached that can only help.

[Music Fan]

This song already has 1/3 of the streams on Spotify when compared to Sunrise Tells the Story, so this is clearly the smartest and best choice given general audience reception. I'm willing to bet this could become their biggest hit and turn their trajectory back around.

[phil1996]

I can’t see this not being a smash. Pardi is also putting it on his forthcoming album

[dm2081]

This has become one of my favorite songs of the year. That chorus is so insanely catchy, and the song just has so much energy and life to it. Everybody on this song just sounds like they’re having the time of their life. Really hope this can crack the top 5, it deserves to be heard.

[countryisking]

Really like this, for obvious reasons. We’ve certainly had a resurgence of traditional sounds in the past few years, but to my knowledge this may be the first radio single in a while with that driving banjo that prominently finishes out the song. Reminds me of the 80s.

[gardyfan]

I'm not going to get my hopes up since radio has been lukewarm at best for Midland since Drinkin' Problem. IMO they're one of the best acts out there and their music is great. Too bad radio doesn't like them much.

[.indulgecountry]

Jul 22, 2022 15:59:48 GMT -5 gardyfan said:

I'm not going to get my hopes up since radio has been lukewarm at best for Midland since Drinkin' Problem. IMO they're one of the best acts out there and their music is great. Too bad radio doesn't like them much.

This is always a weird take for me that I still see pop up about Midland from time to time. Radio DID like them at first, until they realized people were only buying and streaming their debut single. Everything they've put out since then has been something that tested poorly and barely moved the needle with consumers, so they gradually lost momentum. I can see this one being a return to the form of their debut single's success in that it actually grabs people's attention again. Radio was the one metric they started out having going for them, it was just everything else that was lacking, so the incentive to keep playing them quickly dissipated.

[gardyfan]

Jul 22, 2022 19:05:37 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Jul 22, 2022 15:59:48 GMT -5 gardyfan said:

I'm not going to get my hopes up since radio has been lukewarm at best for Midland since Drinkin' Problem. IMO they're one of the best acts out there and their music is great. Too bad radio doesn't like them much.

This is always a weird take for me that I still see pop up about Midland from time to time. Radio DID like them at first, until they realized people were only buying and streaming their debut single. Everything they've put out since then has been something that tested poorly and barely moved the needle with consumers, so they gradually lost momentum. I can see this one being a return to the form of their debut single's success in that it actually grabs people's attention again. Radio was the one metric they started out having going for them, it was just everything else that was lacking, so the incentive to keep playing them quickly dissipated.

Not sure what's weird about what I said. It's pretty much what happened.

[.indulgecountry]

Jul 22, 2022 19:59:08 GMT -5 gardyfan said:

Jul 22, 2022 19:05:37 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

This is always a weird take for me that I still see pop up about Midland from time to time. Radio DID like them at first, until they realized people were only buying and streaming their debut single. Everything they've put out since then has been something that tested poorly and barely moved the needle with consumers, so they gradually lost momentum. I can see this one being a return to the form of their debut single's success in that it actually grabs people's attention again. Radio was the one metric they started out having going for them, it was just everything else that was lacking, so the incentive to keep playing them quickly dissipated.

Not sure what's weird about what I said. It's pretty much what happened.

Radio was very initially enthusiastic about them and they had several hits despite having terrible callout, poor streams, and sales. Radio wasn't the problem. If anything "Burn Out," matching the peak of "Drinkin' Problem" despite being 1/3 the hit of it and following a song that flamed out in the top 15 because of incredibly poor testing is proof. 🤷‍♂️

"Longneck" sounds like a song that will potentially get them back on track, but they need to stop releasing duds that no one cares about.

[Darkest Hour]

Debut at #59 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.

[The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷]

[raylatch98]

Fell out of the Billboard Country Airplay Top 60 tonight after charting for 17 weeks so I have to think this song is probably done after only making it to #52 on Billboard. Kind of sad to see this go but it has been doing nothing for a long time now.

[.indulgecountry]

If they couldn't even get this one out of the 50s? RIP Midland.

[Fanstar1]

yeah RIP Midland. Don't think I've ever been a huge fan of this song but they probably deserve better than stalling in the low to mid 50s for a few months before getting dumped.

[bdrm87]

I honestly forgot this had ever gone to radio. Midland deserves so much more radio success than they’ve been getting so this is disappointing.

[carriekins]

Such a disappointment, this song is a jam.

[Troublemaker]

Still can’t believe everything after Burn Out has struggled. I just hope they don’t get dropped

[Deleted]

This might go down as one of the biggest flops ever in country music. This song is such a jam and even has an A list country singer attached to it.

If songs were stocks I’d be busted because I would have bet the farm this would have been a huge hit. It makes no sense that radio will play no name new artist like Nate Smith and Cory Kent but not this.

[Darkest Hour]

Jan 21, 2023 1:47:16 GMT -5 @jacobl18 said:

It makes no sense that radio will play no name new artist like Nate Smith and Cory Kent but not this.

They have Tiktok popularity though. The hype for Midland is non-existant since a few years ago.

[mnvikings]

I sometimes don’t get the charts, this sounded like a smash hit. Midland does pretty big tours also.🤷‍♂️

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2023 11:13:28 GMT -5 mnvikings said:

I sometimes don’t get the charts, this sounded like a smash hit. Midland does pretty big tours also.🤷‍♂️

They just sold out a 4000 seat venue where I live. No offense to Nate Smith or Cory Kent but they couldn’t fill a high school gym.

[.indulgecountry]

Jan 21, 2023 14:24:14 GMT -5 @jacobl18 said:

Jan 21, 2023 11:13:28 GMT -5 mnvikings said:

I sometimes don’t get the charts, this sounded like a smash hit. Midland does pretty big tours also.🤷‍♂️

No offense to Nate Smith or Cory Kent but they couldn’t fill a high school gym.

I would be willing to bet that this is probably false, lol.

[dwindeezy]

Jan 21, 2023 17:11:15 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Jan 21, 2023 14:24:14 GMT -5 @jacobl18 said:

No offense to Nate Smith or Cory Kent but they couldn’t fill a high school gym.

I would be willing to bet that this is probably false, lol.

Yea me too. I especially think Nate Smith is going to be a force in the format over the next couple years.

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2023 17:28:18 GMT -5 dwindeezy said:

Jan 21, 2023 17:11:15 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

I would be willing to bet that this is probably false, lol.

Yea me too. I especially think Nate Smith is going to be a force in the format over the next couple years.

I'm talking about right now lol. No way either one of them could draw more than 500 people without a bigger star headlining. Russell Dickerson played at the same venue that Midland sold out (4000 ppl) and he sold 600 tickets. 

[raylatch98]

Jan 21, 2023 17:56:21 GMT -5 @jacobl18 said:

Jan 21, 2023 17:28:18 GMT -5 dwindeezy said:

Yea me too. I especially think Nate Smith is going to be a force in the format over the next couple years.

I'm talking about right now lol. No way either one of them could draw more than 500 people without a bigger star headlining. Russell Dickerson played at the same venue that Midland sold out (4000 ppl) and he sold 600 tickets. 

Russell Dickerson doesn't equal Corey Kent or Nate Smith though. Also how well someone tours shouldn't be a sole factor in what is and isn't played on radio at least imo.

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2023 19:13:04 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Jan 21, 2023 17:56:21 GMT -5 @jacobl18 said:

I'm talking about right now lol. No way either one of them could draw more than 500 people without a bigger star headlining. Russell Dickerson played at the same venue that Midland sold out (4000 ppl) and he sold 600 tickets. 

Russell Dickerson doesn't equal Corey Kent or Nate Smith though. Also how well someone tours shouldn't be a sole factor in what is and isn't played on radio at least imo.

You’re right he doesn’t equal them….He’s a much bigger star with multiple huge hits.

[Darkest Hour]

Jan 21, 2023 22:53:19 GMT -5 @jacobl18 said:

You’re right he doesn’t equal them….He’s a much bigger star with multiple huge hits.

I agree Nate Smith and Corey Kent may not be able to sell well on their tours, but using Russell Dickerson as a comparison point is moot. As I said in another thread, he is one of the popular artists that nobody actually cares about, because the listeners like the songs but not the person who sings them.

Plus is selling out 4000 tickets in a venue that remarkable?