Tag Archives: Little Big Town

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 22nd)

Billboard Country Airplay

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

  • new No. 1: “Kiss You in the Morning”
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Loving You Easy”
  • Jana Kramer’s “I Got the Boy” and Hunter Hayes’s “21” fell temporarily out of the top 30 this week

Billboard Top Country Albums

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

  • Zac Brown Band’s Greatest Hits So Far… moved up from No. 17 to No. 3
  • Ashley Monroe’s The Blade fell from No. 2 to No. 13
  • unfortunately, Sam Hunt is back at No. 1

Source: Billboard

Album Review: Luke Bryan–Kill the Lights

Rating: 2.5/10

When an album is preceeded with “Kick the Dust Up” and
“Strip it Down,”
you can only assume the album will be more of the same. So when I listened to Kill the Lights, I was expecting an album of trend-chasing, radio-ready singles and hoping for at least one or two good country songs thrown in at the end as an afterthought. I should expect more from an artist like Luke Bryan, but that’s unfortunately not the case. I can be thankful, I guess, that the album does offer a few good songs at the end, although this leaves me wondering why Luke Bryan uses his status and potential to churn out shit like “Kick the Dust Up.” Oh, wait…because quality doesn’t equal airplay. So unfortunately, most listeners will not get to the end and hear the good on this album.

“Kick the Dust Up” opens the album, and I am not going to waste my time explaining why this is horrible. If you’ve heard it, you know it’s terrible bro country garbage, and if you like it, you aren’t going to be persuaded by my bashing of it, so let’s move on. Next is “Kill the Lights,” which is another boring bro country anthem, infused with more pop elements so that it is hard to tell whether he’s trying to keep his core fans or appeal to Sam Hunt fans. It mixes the worst of both of those trends to make a completely obnoxious song that will probably be a massive radio hit. Also, the chorus sounds remarkably close to his 2013 hit “That’s My Kind of Night” in terms of rhythm. I hated that song the first time, and this version isn’t any better. I already explained my problems with “Strip it Down,” and actually, hearing it in the context of the album, it’s not that bad. This speaks to the quality of the album rather than the quality of “Strip it Down.” It is another trend-chasing song, only now he is chasing the “Burnin’ it Down” trend established by Jason Aldean. Three songs, and I haven’t heard any country whatsoever–unless you count the references to back roads, present in all three songs, which I don’t.

The scene shifts from the back roads to a club with “Home Alone Tonight,” a duet with Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild. This had potential to be one of the better moments on the album, but it boils down to a song about taking a “payback picture” and sending it to their exes, followed by a text saying they aren’t going “hhome alone tonight.” Instead, they are going “shot for shot for shot” with a stranger and then hooking up. Karen Fairchild should be embarrassed to be included in this song; this is the same voice that gave us “Girl Crush,” and now she is using it for evil.

From there, Kill the Lights moves up from terrible to songs that are more mediocre and forgettable. “Razor Blade” is a straight pop song that deals with a woman who “won’t cut you like a knife, like a knife, that little look in her eyes will cut you like a razor blade.” “Fast” is a boring song infused with hip-hop beats about how life goes by too fast. Six songs in, and still no country. Next is “Move,” a rocking song about watching a girl move in the moonlight. Aside from being a bro country dance mix, this song loses hope when Luke Bryan does a spoken-word bit in the middle; also he says “M-o-v-e” way too many times. Having said that, it’s much less annoying/offensive/obnoxious than his previous bro country material. Next is “Just Over,” a breakup song that uses the word “over” to explain that he thought she would “come over, stay over, wake up hung over, still head over heels for me” but “it’s just over.” This is decently written, but its main problem is production; eight songs in, and no country. However, he could release worse singles than “Just Over.”

“Love it Gone” brings in the first country touches. This is a song about “loving gone” all of his woman’s troubles. This is still a forgettable song to me, but at least it sounds like pop country. “Way Way Back” reverts back to pop and sings of getting “way way back” to the early days of a relationship. Apparently their relationship started on a back road though, as he goes to this yet again.

All of a sudden, “To the Moon and Back” comes on. I hear acoustic guitars and stripped-down instrumentation. Here is a country love song about loving a woman “to the moon and back.” I hope this will be a single. It should be noted that this is the first time Luke Bryan sounds like he is not bored singing. This is the Luke Bryan that sang “Do I,” “Rain is a Good Thing,” and “All My Friends Say.” “Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day” is next, and you will either hate it because it has clichés, or you will like it because it has country instrumentation and sounds believable. Personally, I enjoy this song because Luke sounds like he believes what he is singing. It talks about country life, but not in the cartoonish way that “Kick the Dust Up” does. It proves a song can be lighthearted and talk about country life without being offensive. Last is “Scarecrows,” a song that reminds me of Florida Georgia Line’s “Dirt.” It reflects on the mark left on those old back roads, saying, “we’ll always be here wherever we go, just like the scarecrows.” This is a heartfelt country song and one of my favorite Luke Bryan songs to date. You will never hear “To the Moon and Back” or “Scarecrows” if you do what I would have done and ignore this album because of “Kick the Dust Up” and “Strip it Down.” I only heard these songs because I reviewed it, and they proved that Luke Bryan is capable of so much more than the crap he releases to radio. So, I would not recommend this album by any means, but do listen to the last three songs.

Listen to Album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCRmSaUSU7I

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

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (August 8th)

Billboard Country Airplay

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

  • new No. 1: “one Hell of an Amen”
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Kiss You in the Morning”
  • Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Blake Shelton’s “Sangria” fell from No. 3 and No. 7, respectively, to out of the top 30
  • an actual good song enters the top 30 (Chris Young) but is balanced by crap entering as well (Parmalee)

Billboard Top Country Albums

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

  • Jason Isbell and Alan Jackson score a huge victory for country music by taking the No. 1 and No. 2 spots this week
  • Canaan Smith and Kelsea Ballerini are no longer in the top 25…Kelsea’s album came out on May 19th, and Canaan’s came out on June 23rd…look at their staying power
  • after a long absence, Miranda Lambert’s Platinum is in the top 25 again this week

Source: Billboard