Tag Archives: Kelsea Ballerini

Album Review: Maddie & Tae–Start Here

Rating: 10/10

If you have read Female Fridays, you already know how I felt about Maddie & Tae up to this point. They are one of the main reasons I came back to country after losing all hope for the genre. I have recently become a reviewer of country music, but I am a fan first–those of us on independently-run sites are–and as a fan, I confess I had a lot of hopes for this album. I hoped it would be full of the country I heard on the EP. I could not bear to see another beacon of light for country become a singer of EDM (Zac Brown Band, talking about you), or some other trend. I am so glad to say this album reinforced my faith in Maddie & Tae and even gave me a shred of hope for country music.

The album opens with “Waitin’ on a Plane,” which is about a girl leaving town to chase her dreams. She’s sitting in seat 7A waiting for the plane to leave, thinking of the life she’s leaving and the future. Immediately I’m reminded of the Dixie Chicks’s “Ready to Run.” It’s not just the type of song, it’s their harmonies and style as well. People who said we’ll never hear anything like the Dixie Chicks again, think again, it’s here in Maddie & Tae. Next is their hit “Girl in a Country Song,” the anti-bro country anthem that put Maddie & Tae on the map. I wasn’t reviewing when this song came out, so I’ll say it now; this song is brilliant, and even more so in the context of an album. At the time of its release, many wondered why Maddie & Tae used hip-hop influences in their song and whether they would really be as “traditional” as they claimed. This song is the only one on the album with this type of influence, proving that along with the excellent, witty lyrics–which name-drop songs in clever, as opposed to obnoxious, ways–the instrumentation is there on purpose. They adopted the style to make fun of the trend while at the same time appealing to radio; if that song had been rife with steel guitar, it would never have gotten to radio, much less hit #1.

“Smoke” is a love song in which they are comparing a guy to “smoke.” I can’t help but think of the song by A Thousand Horses with the same name. In that song, a girl is “like smoke” because she is an addiction; in Maddie & Tae’s song, the “smoke” metaphor comes from this as well, but also lines like “You’re just like smoke blowin’ on the wind, one minute you’re by my side, and then you’re gone again.” This song has much better songwriting and paints a better picture of the guy described. “Shut Up and Fish” is one of my personal favorites; here, the narrator is fishing with “a city guy,” but all he wants to do is make out. He’s interrupting her while she’s trying to fish, saying, “It don’t get any better than this.” She responds, “Yeah, it could, if you would shut up and fish.” She ends up pushing him in the lake. I have unashamed bias toward this song because I am a female who both hates clinginess in guys and loves fishing. This song would be a great single.

The three other songs from the Maddie & Tae EP follow. “Fly,” their current single, is a nice inspirational song about not giving up and learning to fly. The lyrics could be a little better, but their harmonies are excellent, and this song should really connect with young girls everywhere. “Sierra” will connect with them as well–it’s a song where Maddie & Tae vent their frustration on a girl who ditches her friends, breaks boys’ hearts without caring, and generally acts like she’s better than everyone else. This might seem like just another song written by some teenage girls, but compare “Sierra, Sierra, life ain’t all tiaras” to Kelsea Ballerini’s “you can take your new blonde out to get your drink on” and tell me who writes better lyrics. “Sierra” would be a nice third single. “Your Side of Town” is an upbeat song with prominent country instrumentation that I could see as a single as well. It’s a song where they are telling some guy who broke one of their hearts to stay on his side of town and stay away from them.

“Right Here Right Now” has a little pop influence and is a youthful love song about taking the first step “right here right now tonight.” I love that I can write “a little pop influence”–it seems Maddie & Tae understand the difference between pop country and straight pop, an area in which the bros in their thirties and forties could take a lesson. “No Place Like You” is the actual country version of Kip Moore’s “Lipstick.” It actually tells the story of going to different places but still missing home and the one you love. This is actually country and does not go too far with the name-dropping, but rather balances out the place names with other details. “After the Storm Blows Through” is the most country song on the album and easily the best. This song about being there for a friend “after the storm blows through” features fiddles, acoustic guitars, and chilling harmonies. I feel like Maddie & Tae are singing to each other here, but I could be wrong. At any rate, this song gave me chills every time I listened to it and is one you definitely need to hear. The album closes with “Downside of Growing Up,” which is just that–an honest look at growing up that will be relatable to many young people.

Start Here is an excellent album. I have never heard anything resembling Dixie Chicks harmony and style before, but I hear it now in Maddie & Tae. The first country group I ever liked was the Dixie Chicks. I remember Wide Open Spaces was one of the first country albums I ever owned, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. That’s what Maddie & Tae can do. They can bring young people back to country. They can bring the ones who think of “country” as Sam Hunt and Kelsea Ballerini back to real country music. Pop makes an occasional appearance on this album, but mostly, we hear fiddles, acoustic guitars, and mandolins. Their songwriting is excellent, especially for a debut album–they co-wrote each of these tracks. Maddie & Tae have brought hope to country music, and Start Here is one of the best albums of 2015.

Listen to Album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qnOuh_BIO0

Female Fridays: Featuring Maddie & Tae

Their first full-length album is available today, so today is all about Maddie & Tae. As usual, the album review will come later.

How You Might Know Maddie & Tae

Unlike the others I have featured, most of you probably do know Maddie & Tae, and if you’re just a casual mainstream country listener, you should still know their breakthrough hit “Girl in a Country Song.”

Bio

From Maddie & Tae’s Web site:

“We are Country,” says Maddie. “We love all music, but we’re girls from where Country comes from. It’s who we are; it’s how we live. And that’s the music we want to make. It makes us happy, but like what we write about, it’s also who we are.”

“Honesty’s always the best policy,” says Tae. “We’re telling our stories and hope people can relate.”

Madison Marlow (born July 7, 1995, from Sugar Land Texas), and Taylor Dye (born September 18, 1995, from Ada, Oklahoma), became Maddie & Tae when they met in high school through a mutual vocal coach. After high school, they moved to Nashville and gained a publishing deal with Dot Records, which is, shockingly, an imprint of Big Machine. That’s right, the duo who released “Girl in a Country Song” is on the same label as Taylor Swift and Florida Georgia Line. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2014, Maddie & Tae sat down to write “Girl in a Country Song” after Maddie expressed a heartfelt sympathy for the girls mentioned in bro country songs who are good for little more than sitting on tailgates in cut-off jeans. Together with Aaron Scherz, the duo wrote what would become an anti-bro-country anthem and a breakout hit for Maddie & Tae. It went to #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in December 2014, becoming the second debut single by a female duo in history to do so.

Maddie & Tae released an excellent EP in November 2014, featuring the songs “Sierra,” “Your Side of Town,” and the current single, “Fly,” which has reached #12 on Billboard Country Airplay and will most likely go recurrent shortly after the album release. It is worth noting that Maddie & Tae came on the scene during a time when I had all but alienated myself from country music. I talked about this in my
Random Thoughts column this week. The Maddie & Tae EP, with its fiddles, banjos being used correctly, and country lyrics, was the thing that started to bring me back to country. I hoped an EP was not all we would get from them, and thankfully, now we have a full-length album. Their long-awaited debut album, Start Here, is finally here today, and a review is coming.

Why Maddie & Tae Belong on Country Radio

I’ll keep this short, since they’ve already had radio success. Mainly, I just want to see that success continue. They deserve to be on country radio because they bring a youthfulness and relatability, the kind that Kelsea Ballerini and Taylor Swift bring. However, Maddie & Tae are actually country, as Maddie points out in her quote. Kelsea Ballerini is “calling dibs” on being the girl in the truck; Maddie & Tae are calling out the bros for their sexist lyrics. Kelsea Ballerini is using slang and straight pop instrumentation; Maddie & Tae are using catchy country lyrics backed by fiddles and mandolins. Most of all, Tae talks about honesty in the above quote, and isn’t that what country is all about? These two are going to be integral in bringing the teenage fan base back to country, and they have the ability to make actual country cool.

Tracks I Recommend

I recommend the entire Maddie & Tae EP. But all those songs are on the album, so just wait for the review.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYpUKsBuU

Here’s a song which I hope will be a single and which could probably do a lot better at radio than “Fly.”

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (September 5th)

Billboard Country Airplay

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

  • new #1: “Young and Crazy”
  • next week’s #1 prediction: “house Party”
  • “Kick the Dust Up” mercifully fell out of the top 30 from #11. I hope I never hear that shit again.
  • Kelsea Ballerini’s “Dibs” fell from #30 to #31
  • Hunter Hayes’s “21” fell from #29 to #33
  • when you look at 13-17, suddenly 13-15 and 17 look like gems thrown in next to the atrocity that is “Strip it Down
  • Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break” enters with Jason Aldean’s “Gonna Know We Were Here” to fulfill the “crap must enter with each good song” quota

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights (This makes me want to throw up)
2. Elvis Presley–Elvis Forever [debut]
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Pat Green–Home [debut]
6. Eric Church–The Outsiders
7. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
8. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free
9. Little Big Town–Painkiller
10. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
11. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
12. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
13. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
14. Michael Ray–Michael Ray
15. Luke Bryan–Crash My Party
16. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
17. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
18. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
19. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
20. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
21. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
22. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
23. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1
24. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
25. Miranda Lambert–Platinum

  • Michael Ray follows in the footsteps of Canaan Smith, Kelsea Ballerini, and Easton Corbin, falling from his debut at #4 to #14
  • Texas artist Pat Green’s Home debuts at #5
  • at least Luke Bryan no longer has three albums on this chart

Source: Billboard

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (August 29th)

Billboard Country Airplay

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

  • new No. 1: “Loving You Easy
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Young and Crazy”
  • Luke Bryan has two terrible songs in the top 30 at once
  • the top 30 takes a hit with the addition of the terrible “Strip it Down” and “Dibs” and the re-entering of “21”…no good songs entered this week
  • Brantley Gilbert’s “One Hell of an Amen” and Jason Aldean’s “Tonight Looks Good on You” fell from No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, out of the top 30
  • Tim McGraw’s “Top of the World” fell from No. 30 to No. 33
  • Billboard Top Country Albums

    1. Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights [It kills me to type this] [debut]
    2. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
    3. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free
    4. Michael Ray–Michael Ray [debut]
    5. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
    6. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
    7. Eric Church–The Outsiders
    8. Little Big Town–Painkiller
    9. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
    10. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
    11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
    12. Luke Bryan–Crash My Party
    13. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
    14. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
    15. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
    16. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
    17. Luke Bryan–Spring Break…Checkin’ Out
    18. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
    19. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
    20. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
    21. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
    22. Ashley Monroe–The Blade
    23. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
    24. Miranda Lambert–Platinum
    25. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1

    • Luke Bryan’s train wreck Kill the Lights debuts at the top of the chart
    • Luke now has THREE albums on this chart….
    • Michael Ray’s self-titled debut album debuts at No. 4 (this album was actually better than I expected…far from good, but certainly not terrible)

    Source: Billboard

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (August 15th)

Billboard Country Airplay

1. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 3) [really?]
2. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 1) [again, really?]
3. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 3)
4. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 1)
5. Brantley Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (down 4)
6. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (down 4)
7. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night”
8. Sam Hunt–“House Party”
9. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 2)
10. Chris Janson–“Buy Me a Boat” (up 2)
11. Brett Eldredge–“Lose My Mind” (up 3)
12. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
13. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (up 2)
14. Kenny Chesney–“Save It for a Rainy Day” (up 3)
15. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 1)
16. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 3)
17. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (up 1)
18. Cole Swindell–“Let Me See Ya Girl” (up 3)
19. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 3)
20. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 5) [biggest gainer]
21. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame” (down 1)
22. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 1)
23. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (up 2)
24. Cam–“Burning House” (up 2)
25. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 2)
26. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (up 2)
27. Parmalee–“Already Callin’ You Mine” (up 2)
28. Chris Young–“I’m Comin’ Over” (up 2)
29. Jana Kramer–“I Got the Boy” (entering top 30)
30. Hunter Hayes–“21” (entering top 30)

  • new No. 1: “Kick the Dust Up”
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Kiss You in the Morning”
  • Luke Bryan and Michael Ray have albums coming out Friday, and they have the No. 1 and No. 2 slots…how convenient
  • once again, a good song (Jana Kramer) enters the top 30 and is balanced by crap (Hunter Hayes)
  • Brad Paisley’s “Crushin’ It” and Canaan Smith’s “Love You Like That” fell from No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, to out of the top 30

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Alan Jackson–Angels and Alcohol
2. Ashley Monroe–The Blade [debut]
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Jason Isbell–Something More Than Free
5. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
6. Eric Church–The Outsiders
7. Little Big Town–Painkiller
8. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
9. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
10. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
11. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
12. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
13. Luke Bryan–Crash My Party
14. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
15. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
16. Luke Bryan–Spring Break…Checkin’ Out
17. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
18. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real
19. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
20. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
21. Big Smo–Bringin’ It Home (EP)
22. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
23. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1
24. Miranda Lambert–Platinum
25. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time

  • Alan Jackson’s Angels and Alcohol hits No. 1 after all
  • Ashley Monroe’s mostly great album The Blade debuts at No. 2
  • Luke Bryan will probably have three albums on this chart next week…
  • if Sam Hunt weren’t in the way, this would be the best top five albums I’ve seen in awhile…sadly, he is infecting it
  • who is buying these Now That’s What I Call Country albums???

Source: Billboard