Podcast - Chart Talk: Summer 2023 Edition
Diving into the current state and what's happening at country radio in this podcast.
Crossover songs are ruling from Jelly Roll, Parmalee, and Luke Combs but at what point are songs no longer considered country?
Country's leading females - Lainey Wilson, Kelsea Ballerini, Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce - deliver the best of the genre.
New songs from Chris Janson, Brothers Osborne, and Darius Rucker are poised for strong finishes.
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Welcome to another edition of Chart Talk – this is where I dive into the current country music radio chart.
Because it still takes forever for songs to peak, if it feels like I am talking about the same songs I was talking about 4 months ago, it’s because I am. I’m ready for some new songs on the radio!
There’s a lot of just okay songs out right now. I love a good summer up-tempo jam – I think that’s why I’m really into Cole Swindell’s “Drinkaby” – they got the production right on that one. It’s not something you take too seriously, but it serves its purpose.
Kane Brown and Jon Pardi are giving us good up-tempo songs.
I was really hoping for an up-tempo Carly Pearce song but hopefully somewhere down the line we will – “Next Girl” is one that I play a lot on my radio show! Her song “We Don’t Fight Anymore” is off to a great start on radio!
“Fast Car” continues to be the single of the summer. Tracy Chapman did put out a statement congratulating Luke Combs on his success. There are so many articles discussing this song and whether Luke should’ve recorded it. I was surprised it was released as a single and I don’t think it matters what Luke releases, it’s going to dominate radio. Historically, cover songs are a major part of country music. In the 60s and 70s you would have a big mainstream pop song and it wasn’t unlikely to have a country artist record their own version. “Delta Dawn,” “City of New Orleans,” to name a few. In the 90s, John Michael Montgomery had “I Swear” and “I Can Love You Like That” when R&B group All-4-One released them the same time. Mark Wills and Brian McKnight had “Back at One” on the charts – and even performed it together at the Miss USA pageant back in the early 2000s.
I understand the timelessness of “Fast Car” – that to me is a definitive song in American culture. Luke stayed true to the original production; he didn’t add anything to it. Therefore, was releasing it as a single necessary? Not really. I couldn’t see someone covering “Friends in Low Places” or “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” But I hope what it did was make country fans aware of Tracy Chapman’s legacy.
Jelly Roll scores his second number one single with “I Need A Favor” – there are a lot of songs being played on country radio that I wouldn’t consider country. “I Need A Favor” is on the rock charts at number two sandwiched between Staind and Avenged Sevenfold, which I feel like is the perfect grouping. Hardy’s “Truck Bed” is another one. Bailey Zimmerman has had a very good stride on radio – “Religiously” is already in the top ten.
Parmalee is in the top ten – this is their 6th single to make it to the top ten. To compare that – Little Big Town has had 8 top ten singles in their 20+ year career.
Chris Young is climbing fairly fast with “Looking For You.”
Tim McGraw – “Standing Room Only” – Tim’s been hit or miss with singles for me the past decade. I would put this in the “ok” category and am just happy that he’s on the charts.
A trio of females are in the top twenty – Hailey Whitters, Kelsea Ballerini, and Lainey Wilson. The majority of the “countriest” songs on this chart are from females.
Ashley McBryde is just outside the top twenty – very glad to see her single progress. This is good writing. This is what we need.
I am hearing a lot of weak writing on songs – that’s been the trend for the past 15 years. There’s not a whole lot on this current chart that I will look back 5 years from now and say, “That song has really held up well.”
Nashville is a treasure trove with hundreds and thousands of songs from songwriters. The trend now is just writing with the same group of people, and everything is starting to sound stale. Everyone wants a co-write with these top-performing artists. We need artists to dig into the catalogs of other writers. Stop just writing with someone because they are your friend, and they want to make money.
Tell me what songs you are loving at radio right now – what do you think deserves more airplay? Let’s keep the conversation going on social media!
That wraps us this edition of Across the Country with Amanda – thank you so much for being here with me!