Tag Archives: Kelsea Ballerini

charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (July 18th)

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Billboard Country Airplay

1. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (2nd week at No. 1)
2. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (up 2)
3. Easton Corbin–“Baby, be my Love Song” (up 2)
4. Canaan Smith–“Love You Like That” (up 3)
5. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 3)
6. Brantley Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 3)
7. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 3)
8. Tim McGraw and Catherine Dunn–“Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” (down 5)
9. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 2) [OH God this shit has hit the top ten]
10. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 3)
11. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It” (up 1)
12. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 2)
13. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 2)
14. Sam Hunt–“house Party” (up 2)
15. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 3)
16. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (up 1)
17. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 2)
18. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (up 2)
19. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 3)
20. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 1)
21. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (up 4) [biggest gainer…sadly]
22. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 1)
23. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame” (up 1)
24. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 2)
25. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (up 2)
26. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 3)
27. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 1)
28. Reba–“Going out Like That” (up 2)
29. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (entering top 30)
30. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (entering top 30)

  • new No. 1: “Sangria” stays at No. 1 for a 2nd week
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Tonight Looks Good on You”
  • Carrie Underwood’s “little Toy Guns” fell from No. 2 to out of the top 30
  • Kelsea Ballerini’s “Love me Like You Mean It” fell from No. 6 to out of the top 30
  • Maddie & Tae and Reba are the only women left in this entire countdown outside of a group or collaboration

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real [debut]
2. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
6. Little Big Town–Painkiller
7. Eric Church–The Outsiders
8. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
9. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
10. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
12. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
13. Canaan Smith–Bronco
14. Luke Bryan–Spring Break, Checkin’ Out
15. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
16. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1
17. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
18. Chris Stapleton–Traveler
19. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
20. The Lax–Outlaw in me
21. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
22. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
23. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
24. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
25. Billy Currington–Summer Forever

  • Easton Corbin’s forgettable About to Get Real debuts at No. 1
  • Blake Shelton’s Bringing Back the Sunshine moved up 9 spots to No. 12
  • Cole Swindell’s self-titled debut moved up 6 spots to No. 19

Source: Billboard

Reviews

Single Review: Clare Dunn’s “Move on”

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Rating: 3/10

So, it’s no secret that I want to see more women getting country radio attention. And for anyone who knows me, it’s no secret that I like a little rock in my country, and love both sides of Miranda Lambert–the traditional country side of “Roots and Wings” and the pop rock side displayed on “Little Red Wagon.” So when Miranda Lambert selected Clare Dunn for her Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars tour, claming that
“you don’t see that many women who get up there and really slay a guitar and play some real rock ‘n’ roll country”
I was excited to hear Clare’s music. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when Clare’s new single “Move on” became the most added song to country radio after Lambert and Little Big Town’s “Smokin’ and Drinkin,” and I knew I had to review it.

But here’s the problem–where Miranda calls it “rock ‘n’ roll country,” I don’t hear anything country about “Move On.” It’s a pretty good song–certainly wouldn’t make me change the radio station–and that’s why it’s not getting a lower rating, but if this song were being sold as a pop or rock song, I would give it an 8 or 9. Sell it as country, and that’s why it gets a 3.

“Move on” is about a woman asking the man to hurry up and “move on” from pretending to be just friends when it’s obvious they both want more. She uses lines like “Sometimes I wish you just, Well, if I told you what I’m really thinkin’ it might make you blush.” She wants him to “move on, move on, move on, and make your move on me.” It reminds me a little of “Are you Gonna Kiss me or Not” by Thompson Square, and lyrically, it’s not a bad song.

Musically, it’s pretty good too–for a pop rock song. I love the electric guitars and drum loops–but nothing in it is country. This is Clare Dunn being the rock version of Kelsea Ballerini. Kelsea Ballerini is talented, but as a pop artist. Clare Dunn is talented, but as a pop or rock artist. Neither belong on country radio, and it is unfortunate that these women are getting airplay over more traditional artists like Sunny Sweeney or Kacey Musgraves. Apparently, in 2015, you can just write anything short of straight rap–and that’s probably coming–and decide it’s country. Clare Dunn, call yourself pop or rock, and this rating will change drastically.

Commentary

Random Thoughts of the Week: Introducing the “Tomatoes”

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I gave this the name “random thoughts” because basically that’s what you will find here. Think of the music version of a daily or weekly sports column with some news and/or opinions along with several random bits of information. Country Perspective has a similar Thursday column called “The Hodgepodge” and it is one of my favorite things to read from them, so I wanted to start something similar on my own blog.

One of the most irritating things for me in the wake of #SaladGate is the comment/defense that Keith Hill was merely stating facts of the music business right now. To be clear, country radio has far more problems than the lack of airplay for women. There is quality music being made by both men and women that is not getting the airplay it deserves, but I am truly tired of hearing, “Well, there really aren’t that many women right now,” or “he was just stating facts,” or the most infuriating, “of course that’s the statistic, how can you play women when there aren’t any?”

The thing is, my music collection is filled with women. There are plenty of great women artists, both mainstream and independent, but most casual listeners don’t know any names besides Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, or maybe Kacey Musgraves and Kelsea Ballerini now, but that’s being optimistic. A large part of this is that radio doesn’t play these women, and so people assume they don’t exist.

People should know the “tomatoes” of the country world. Whether you like their music or not, they should at least have a chance to be heard, and so I will be featuring a woman on this site every Friday to help with this problem. Personal preference will not be taken into account–I hate Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line, but I got the chance to decide that because I heard them. So although I will comment on my personal preference, my main focus here is to fix this problem of people thinking there aren’t any women out there to fill the country airwaves.

Tomato of the Week: Katie Armiger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXI44BUDvJA

In light of her recent feud with her long-time label, Cold River Records, Katie is the first, and one of my favorite, underappreciated tomatoes. Check out her full article on Female Friday!

Random Country Suggestion: Shannon Brown

This song came on my iPhone on Shuffle, and I went to see what else she did (turns out nothing) and ended up buying this whole album.

Random Non-Country Suggestion: Selena Gomez–“The Heart Wants What it Wants”

I love country, but I like a little of everything else too, and I truly love this song. I have this version and a cover by our featured female–both are great.

That’s all for this week’s Random Thoughts!

charts

Billboard Country Airplay and Country albums Chart (July 11th)

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Billboard Country Airplay

  • 1. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (up 1)
  • 2. Carrie Underwood–Little Toy Guns” (up 1)
  • 3. Tim McGraw and Catherine Dunn–“Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” (up 2)
  • 4. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (up 2)
  • 5. Easton Corbin–“Baby, Be my Love Song” (down 1)
  • 6. Kelsea Ballerini–“Love Me Like You Mean It” (down 5) [biggest loser]
  • 7. Canaan Smith–“Love You Like That”
  • 8. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 1)
  • 9. Brantly Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 1)
  • 10. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 2)
  • 11. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 2)
  • 12. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It” (down 1)
  • 13. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 2)
  • 14. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy”
  • 15. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 1)
  • 16. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 2)
  • 17. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball”
  • 18. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
  • 19. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 1)
  • 20. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (up 1)
  • 21. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 1)
  • 22. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 (up 7) [biggest gainer]
  • 23. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight”
  • 24. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame”
  • 25. Jake Owen–“Real Life
  • 26. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 1)
  • 27. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (entering top 30)
  • 28. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 2)
  • 29. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (down 3)
  • 30. Reba–“Going out Like That” (down 2)
    • New NO. 1: “Sangria”
    • Next week’s No. 1: “Sangria” or “Tonight Looks Good on You” (Carrie has no chance)
    • biggest gainer: “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
    • Biggest Loser: “Love me Like You Mean It”
    • Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter’s “Wild Child” fell out of the top 30

    Billboard Top Country Albums

  • 1. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material(debut)
  • 2. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
  • 3. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
  • 4. Canaan Smith–Bronco (debut)
  • 5. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Voulume 8
  • 6. Little Big Town–Painkiller
  • 7. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
  • 8. Eric Church–The Outsiders
  • 9. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
  • 10. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
  • 11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
  • 12. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
  • 13. Luke Bryan–Spring Break, Checkin’ Out
  • 14. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
  • 15. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
  • 16. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits, Decade #1
  • 17. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
  • 18. The Lax–Outlaw in Me
  • 19. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
  • 20. Billy Currington–Summer Forever
  • 21. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
  • 22. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
  • 23. Corey Smith–While the Gettin’ is Good
  • 24. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
  • 25. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
    • Kacey Musgraves’s excellent Pageant Material debuts at No. 1, replacing Jekyll + Hyde
    • Canaan Smith’s Bronco debuts at no. 4
    • Kelsea Ballerini’s The First Time moved up 6 spots from no. 25 to No. 19
    • after debuting at No. 12 last week, Big Smo’s EP Bringin’ it Home fell out of the top 25
    • Hank Williams Jr.’s 35 Biggest Hits album fell out of the top 25 after last week’s debut at No. 16

    Have a great Independence Day weekend!

    Source: Billboard

    Commentary

    What Kelsea Ballerini’s No. 1 Single has to Say About Women in Country Music

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    Kelsea Ballerini’s debut single, “Love me Like You Mean It,” made history this week when it became the first debut single by a female to hit No. 1 on the billboard country charts since Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel” in 2006. Kelsea hit No. 1 on both the Billboard Country Airplay and mediabase country charts. I wonder what Keith Hill is saying about women in country now. (For those of you who don’t know, radio executive Keith Hill made himself a household name and a chauvinistic douchebag all in one day about a month ago when he compared women in country to tomatoes and said they should be taken out of radio completely.)

    So what does this say about country? Well, it proves that country radio is not sexist, even if Keith Hill is. However, Kelsea sounds like a pop artist or at best a Taylor Swift, and what this does say is that women have to sound like pop singers to get on the radio. Also, there are plenty of women out there making great country albums who are being snubbed by country radio–Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe, and Sunny Sweeney, just to name a few. Just proves that women are making more quality country music and therefore getting less airplay. So while it is a great day for the “tomatoes,” it is a sad day for country in general. Give Kacey or Ashley a NO. 1 instead. All the same, congratulations to Kelsea Ballerini for breaking this ridiculous nine-year drought.