Tag Archives: Brett Eldredge

Commentary

Random Thoughts of the Week: The Top Five Signs of Hope for Mainstream Country

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2015 has been the year of the sellout in country music. The two most disappointing sellouts of the year for me were easily the Zac Brown Band and the Eli Young Band, the former with the release of the EDM single “Beautiful Drug” to country radio, and the latter with the terrible single “Turn it On” and the subsequent EP, as well as the horrible “country remix” of “Honey, I’m Good” with Andy Grammer. Keith Urban was a close third, using his talent to give us the brilliant “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” a song that personally pisses me off about as much as “Kick the Dust Up” because Keith Urban knows better. Easton Corbin used his George Strait-esque voice, previously used for “A Little More Country Than That,” to record an album full of bro country pickup lines. Brett Eldredge, though never really carrying a torch for traditional country, was never really working aginst us until his recent r&b album Illinois. Danielle Bradbery has remade herself into a wannabe pop star for the sake of reviving an already struggling career. Even the legendary Alabama sunk to the low of releasing “Southern Drawl,” a desperate attempt to be cool that failed in every respect, coolness especially. And now, Eric Paslay’s new single, “High Class” seems to have finally pushed everyone off the deep end with its blatant metro-bro bullshit lyrics and style–and this coming from the person who obviously knows better, as “She Don’t Love You” so effectively proved. In times like these, people start saying we should forsake country altogether and start calling ourselves Americana fans, that we should just surrender our beloved “country music” to these sellouts, country carpetbaggers, and metro-bro douchebags, and go listen to Americana. They say that all hope for “country” as we knew it is lost.

Well, here are some signs of hope, in no particular order of importance.

Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley is not selling out, as his latest single, “Riser,” has proven. I will be incredibly shocked if he succumbs to the trends, as he has no reason to. He has found the perfect balance between quality and airplay and doesn’t seem to care that he often does not get the recognition he deserves. He has made quality music throughout his career and has no reason to change that now; he’s found a formula that works for him even in this country radio climate.

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is not a traditional country artist, but she’s here because she defines what actual pop country should sound like. She takes the best of pop and country and blends them well, offering songs that both display depth in storytelling and are radio-ready. Although I was not as impressed with her new single, “Smoke Break,” as many, it certainly does not follow the current trends, and her new album, Storyteller, could be a factor in turning back the tide of mainstream country music to a real pop-country sound–what we have now is straight pop poorly disguised and incorrectly labled as country.

Cam

True, Cam has only given us two singles and an EP so far, but the reason she’s in my top five signs of hope for mainstream country is that On the Verge supported her. Her first single, “My Mistake,” was a nice pop country blend, but “Burning House,” the sponsored single, is a completely acoustic, traditional country song. The fact that this program supported an artist like that signals change. Cam’s debut album cannot come soon enough!

Chris Stapleton

Some would argue whether Chris Stapleton is mainstream, but I don’t see why. He’s on a major label and has even received some airplay. Traveller is nominated for Album of the Year by the CMA, and Stapleton is nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Stapleton with three nominations is a sure sign of hope.

Maddie & Tae

I have written a lot about these ladies, but I’ll say it again–they can bring those that think “country” = Sam Hunt and Kelsea Ballerini back to country. Radio has actually given them a shot. They’ve proven they’re not afraid of fighting for country; they’ve spoken out against drum machines and their debut single was “Girl in a Country Song.” The fact that Scott Borchetta and Big Machine are behind them and that they’re actually getting played is a huge sign of hope.

Despite all the selling out, there are still a lot of reasons to hope for mainstream country, perhaps now more than ever. More and more independent artists are seeing success in album sales that mainstream Nashville can’t ignore. Country legend Merle Haggard, a name-drop in many of today’s songs, is openly speaking out. Represented above are established artists and newcomers alike, fighting for real country music. I didn’t even mention Mo Pitney, Ashley Monroe, Kacey Musgraves, Jon Pardi–the list goes on. Not to mention Tim McGraw’s new album will unashamedly be titled Damn Country Music. I wasn’t thrilled by the lead single, but the album title certainly intrigues me. The point of all this is that mainstream country is far from hopeless–in fact, after years of fighting, we are finally seeing numbers on our side, artists speaking out, and more traditional artists being signed and getting airplay. In short, although it is happening slowly, we are seeing results. Why should we give up now? The day we leave our own fight and run to Americana is the day that country music will be lost.

Tomato of the Week: Jamie Lin Wilson

I featured her friend and fellow Texas country artist, Courtney Patton, last week, so this week, I am covering Jamie Lin Wilson. Check out her full article on Female Friday!

Random Country Suggestion: Randy Rogers Band–Burning the Day

A great album from one of my favorite Texas/Red Dirt bands.

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No non-country suggestion, just go listen to these glaring signs of hope.

Reviews

Album Review: Brett Eldredge–Illinois

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Rating: 3.5/10

“Country” has become nothing more than a label put on albums for marketing purposes. “Country” no longer has a definition other than “whatever won’t make it in another genre.” Therefore, as a reviewer, I find myself in a curious position of reviewing albums like Kip Moore’s Wild Ones, a decent rock album incorrectly labeled as country. Sam Hunt and Kelsea Ballerini slapped country labels on their pop albums, making Sam Hunt’s album crap in two genres and Kelsea’s an incorrectly labeled album that would have been decent in the correct genre. In the case of Brett Eldredge, I find myself reviewing a decent, if generic, r&b album slapped with a country label, thereby turning it into a pretty bad country album.

The album begins with “Fire,” an upbeat, infectious song in which Eldredge is caught up in a woman’s “fire.” I commend him for the energy and life brought to this song, but there’s one glaring problem: it’s blatantly far from country, and this is the opener. And the search for country begins. I don’t find it on the next track, an r&b song called “You Can’t Stop Me.” Here is a party song made intolerable to listen to by the inclusion of Thomas Rhett, the poster child for this trend in country music. Next is the single, “Lose my Mind,” which is about a woman who makes him “crazy, and I kinda like it.” This suffers from the obvious problem of the stupid line about being in a straightjacket, as well as the same problems as “Fire”–Brett brings energy to this song certainly, but it’s still not country. Still, “decent but not country” is better than whatever I just heard with “You Can’t Stop Me.”

“Wanna be That Song” is a decent love song with lyrics that paint some nice pictures–“every life has a sound track,” and he wants to share those moments and be a part of hers. This song is pretty well-written; I only wish it had more country instrumentation because it is just a well-written r&b song. But there is heart in this song, and it is appreciated. Next is “Time Well Spent,” a beach song with the premise “wasted time is time well spent.” I find nothing especially noteworthy or offensive about it; it’s just there. “If You Were my Girl” is a love song listing all the things he would do if this were the case; it has the same problem as “Time Well Spent”–nothing stands out here at all. This is a problem throughout the album; the lyrics are bland in many of the songs. The title track, “Illinois,” shows some more heart–Brett Eldredge is from Illinois, and this is a nice ode to his home state, the “wild blue yonder.” This is a rare personal moment from Brett and the most country song on the album. I might call this “r&b country.”

“Just a Taste” sees Brett once again singing a forgettable song about a girl, whom he refers to as his “favorite flavor”–enter the token bro country offensiveness. “Drunk on Your Love” is a terrible R&b song about waking up with someone and still being “drunk on your love.” This is the worst song on the album, and if they labeled it r&b, it would still suck. Next is “Lose it All,” a song in which Brett seems to be warning a friend that he will “lose it all” if he doesn’t change his ways. Brett says, “Take it from a man who knows just how to break a heart, listen hard and listen close, I got it down to an art.” This is a surprisingly well-written song, and a bright spot on Illinois.

“Shadow” is next–here is another good song about a “shadow,” his alter ego, following him around; there’s one glaring problem, however–this is blatantly a rock song. If anyone here is familiar with the Christian rock band Skillet, you will understand when I say it’s so much a rock song that they could pull it off if they wanted to. It’s a good rock song and actually one of the better songs on the album, but to call it country is laughable. This is probably the most hated and polarizing song on Illinois, but I disagree here. Now, here’s my unpopular opinion: on an album of actual country songs, this song would have stood out as a fun experiment that worked, and people would have loved it. Think of Zac Brown Band’s “Overnight,” the r&b standout on the otherwise country Uncaged. As it is, “Shadow” is just another non-country song badly labeled as such on Illinois, an album already full of such material. The album closes with “Going Away for a While,” a catchy song about leaving to get away from the pressures of life.

Overall, Illinois is generic and forgettable. It’s mostly an r&B album, and as such, it would be a decent but bland album. However, someone thought to give this album the designation “country.” “Country” it is most certainly not, and although there are a few good songs and personal moments, this fact can’t be overlooked. It says a lot to me that what I consider the best song on this album, “shadow,” is the most blatantly non-country song of them all. So, would I recommend this album? Well, if you like r&b, maybe. If you like rock, listen to “Shadow” certainly–in fact, that’s what I’ll post here. If you were hoping for country, then keep looking.

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charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (September 26th)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
2. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
3. Chris Janson–“Buy Me a Boat” (up 1)
4. Kenny Chesney–“Save It for a Rainy Day” (up 2)
5. Brett Eldredge–“Lose My Mind” (up 2)
6. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (down 5)
7. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (down 2)
8. Luke Bryan–“Strip it Down”
9. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes”
10. Maddie & Tae–“Fly”
11. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 1)
12. Old Dominion–“Break Up With Him” (up 2)
13. Cole Swindell–“Let Me See Ya Girl”
14. Carrie Underwood–“Smoke Break” (up 3)
15. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You”
16. Blake Shelton–“Gonna”
17. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (up 2)
18. Jake Owen–“Real Life”
19. Cam–“Burning House” (up 3)
20. Chris Young–“I’m Comin’ Over”
21. Tim McGraw–“Top of the World” (up 2)
22. Jason Aldean–“Gonna Know We Were Here” (up 5) [biggest gainer]
23. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 1)
24. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (up 1)
25. Parmalee–“Already Callin’ You Mine” (up 1)
26. Kelsea Ballerini–“Dibs” (up 2)
27. LoCash–“I Love This Life” (up 2)
28. Jana Kramer–“I Got the Boy” (up 2)
29. Hunter Hayes–“21” (re-entering top 30)
30. The Band Perry–“Live Forever” (entering top 30)

  • new #1: “Crash and Burn”
  • next week’s #1 prediction: “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
  • Eric Church’s “Like a Wrecking Ball” and Kip Moore’s “I’m To Blame” fell from #11 and #21, respectively, to out of the top 30
  • Hunter Hayes’s “21” re-enters the top 30 this week, along with The Band Perry’s terrible new pop single, “Live Forever”
  • at least “Strip it Down” has stalled a little in its ridiculous climb to the top

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights
2. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
3. Maddie & Tae–Start Here
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Eric Church–The Outsiders
6. Elvis Presley–Elvis Presley Forever
7. Kip Moore–Wild Ones
8. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
9. Little Big Town–Painkiller
10. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
11. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
12. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
13. Chris Stapleton–Traveller
14. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
15. Various Artists–Mud Digger, Volume 6
16. Luke Bryan–Crash My Party
17. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
18. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free
19. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
20. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
21. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
22. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
23. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
24. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
25. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1

  • Luke Bryan is still at the top
  • Maddie & Tae sit at #3 like beacons of hope…they really have the top country album, because neither Kill the Lights nor Montevallo are country albums
  • Chris Stapleton’s Traveller moved up 7 spots from #20 to #13 this week

Source: Billboard

charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (September 19th)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 1)
2. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
3. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 2)
4. Chris Janson–“Buy Me a Boat”
5. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (down 4)
6. Kenny Chesney–“Save It for a Rainy Day” (up 2)
7. Brett Eldredge–“Lose My Mind”
8. Luke Bryan–“Strip It Down” (up 5) [biggest gainer]
9. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 1)
10. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (down 1)
11. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball”
12. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight”
13. Cole Swindell–“Let Me See Ya Girl” (up 2)
14. Old Dominion–“Break Up With Him” (up 2)
15. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 2)
16. Blake Shelton–“Gonna” (up 2)
17. Carrie Underwood–“Smoke Break” (up 5)
18. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (up 1)
19. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (up 1)
20. Chris Young–“I’m Comin’ Over” (up 4)
21. Kip Moore–“I’m To Blame”
22. Cam–“Burning House” (up 1)
23. Tim McGraw–“Top of the World” (up 4)
24. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 1)
25. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (up 1)
26. Parmalee–“Already Callin’ You Mine” (up 2)
27. Jason Aldean–“Gonna Know We Were Here” (up 2)
28. Kelsea Ballerini–“Dibs” (up 2)
29. LoCash–“I Love This Life” (entering top 30)
30. Jana Kramer–“I Got the Boy” (re-entering top 30)

  • new #1: “Hell of a Night”
  • next week’s #1 prediction: “Crash and Burn”
  • Jana Kramer adds quality to the top 30 with the re-entrance (finally) of “I Got the Boy”
  • this is balanced by LoCash’s “I Love This Life
  • Frankie Ballard’s “Young and Crazy” and Zac Brown Band’s “Loving You Easy” fell from #6 and #15, respectively, to out of the top 30
  • Luke Bryan has hit #8 with “Strip it Down” after only 5 weeks…draw your own conclusions about this

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights
2. Maddie & Tae–Start Here [debut]
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Eric Church–The Outsiders
6. Elvis Presley–Elvis Presley Forever
7. Kip Moore–Wild Ones
8. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
9. Little Big Town–Painkiller
10. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
11. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
12. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
13. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
14. Luke Bryan–Crash My Party
15. Various Artists–Mud Digger, Volume 6 [debut]
16. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
17. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
18. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free
19. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
20. Chris Stapleton–Traveller
21. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
22. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
23. Michael Ray–Michael Ray
24. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
25. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell

  • Luke Bryan is still at the top of this chart….
  • Maddie & Tae’s excellent Start Here debuts at #2

Source: Billboard

charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (September 12th)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 1)
2. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 1)
3. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
4. Chris Janson–“Buy Me a Boat” (up 1)
5. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
6. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (down 5)
7. Brett Eldredge–“Lose My Mind” (up 1)
8. Kenny Chesney–“Save It for a Rainy Day” (up 1)
9. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 3)
10. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 1)
11. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball”
12. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 1)
13. Luke Bryan–“Strip It Down” (up 3)
14. Cole Swindell–“Let Me See Ya Girl” (up 1)
15. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (down 8)
16. Old Dominion–“Break Up With Him” (up 1)
17. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 1)
18. Blake Shelton–“Gonna” (up 4) [biggest gainer]
19. Jake Owen–“Real Life”
20. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love”
21. Kip Moore–“I’m To Blame”
22. Carrie Underwood–“Smoke Break” (up 2)
23. Cam–“Burning House”
24. Chris Young–“I’m Comin’ Over” (up 1)
25. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 1)
26. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (up 1)
27. Tim McGraw–“Top of the World” (up 2)
28. Parmalee–“Already Callin’ You Mine”
29. Jason Aldean–“Gonna Know We Were Here” (up 1)
30. Kelsea Ballerini–“Dibs” (re-entering top 30)

  • new #1: “House Party”
  • next week’s #1 prediction: “Hell of a Night”
  • Michael Ray’s “Kiss You in the Morning” fell out of the top 30, only to be replaced by Kelsea Ballerini’s “Dibs”
  • hope for country music exists, as Maddie & Tae are inside the top ten with “Fly”

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights [please, someone take this slot back from this horrendous album]
2. Kip Moore–Wild Ones [debut]
3. Elvis Presley–Elvis Presley Forever
4. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
5. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
6. Eric Church–The Outsiders
7. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
8. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
9. Little Big Town–Painkiller
10. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
11. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free
12. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
13. Luke Bryan–Crash My Party
14. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
15. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
16. Michael Ray–Michael Ray
17. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
18. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
19. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
20. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
21. Pat Green–Home
22. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
23. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
24. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
25. Chris Stapleton–Traveler

  • Luke Bryan remains at #1…I don’t think I need to explain how thoroughly depressing this is
  • Kip Moore’s pretty good rock album Wild Ones debuts at #2
  • after a debut at #5, Pat Green’s Home falls all the way to #21
  • A Thousand Horses moved up from #29 to #19 with Southernality

Source: Billboard