It's been awhile since I did a top twenty ranked at least for the ARIA singles chart but here's the one disadvantage of doing that sort of ranking format...you find yourself talking about the same songs every time you go to do the ranking and I do want to save my opinions on the hits of 2021 for year end best and worst lists (coming in January some time hopefully) but there will be a brief look at the state of the ARIA top 50 singles top 20 at the end of this.
However I did want to do a ranking and while I considered the top twenty of the Billboard Adult Alternative chart, I remembered a Aussie chart that website The Music Network hosts thanks to Radio Monitors called the "Countrytown Top 50" which ranks the top 50 most played country music songs which was ideal because I don't get the opportunity very often running a blog that is so ultra focussed on the ARIA singles chart to talk about a genre of music I do love like country music especially as country songs hitting the top 50 is so few and far between (especially on the good side of country but that's another story entirely).
The week I'll be covering is the week of 6th November, if you want to see the full list of not just the top twenty but the entire top 50 then the link is right here: Countrytown Top 50 (The Music Network)
You all know how this works...let's get this show on the road with...
Shit Tier
Geezus, I hoped I'd never have to discuss loathsome piece of shit song ever again but I guess by choosing this chart I did ask for this...
20. "Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes
Quite simply this song is an affront to country music...the younger brother of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road" only somehow ten times WORSE. I said everything that needed to be said about this song when it debuted on the ARIA singles chart a few weeks ago and if it becomes a hit, I'll have more to say when it inevitably appears high up on the worst list. Fuck this trash.
Bad Tier
19. Country Outta My Girl" by Morgan Evans
So there's two Morgan Evans songs inside the top twenty and of the two...this one isn't good...it's this cliched country song but how you can take Morgan's girl anywhere but you can't take the country out of the girl and while I can appreciate the very country production here and Morgan selling the song with some enthusiasm, the lyrics are utterly cringe.
18. "If I Didn't Love You" by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood
What is it with artists I like making bad songs in 2021? I like Carrie Underwood but this song with Jason Aldean just has nothing to it, there's no dramatic stakes or anything that makes me want to engage with the song which is all the more telling with Jason Aldean's flat delivery and the lack of chemistry between Aldean and Carrie Underwood. This song could have worked if it was two people who still love each other but the relationship has hit breaking point but that isn't the case here especially when it feels like 2021's "Nobody But You" by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. I get why people like it but's not an interesting song to say the least and Carrie did better on "Remind Me" with Brad Paisley.
17. "Cold Beer Calling My Name" by Jameson Rodgers feat. Luke Combs
Anyone else tired of songs about beer and the fact there's songs about inanimate objects like a can of cold beer calling their name. Seriously?. I like Luke Combs and there'll be more of him later on the list but my god, this just feels like a song doing the standard bros in country music tropes...cold beer, pretty girls and having a good time...these sort of country songs almost need to be extraordinary in the production for me to care about them or even like them as most of these are so ridiculously formulaic, it's not worth it.
16. "Same Boat" by Zac Brown Band
So Zac Brown Band's newest album "The Comeback" is thankfully a return to form after the 2019 disaster that was "The Owl" but why on earth was this song chosen as the single from it when there is better on the album? The clunky production and generic lyrics about how we're all fishing in the same boat and pulling fish from the same hole...I get what the song is trying to do in terms of bringing people together in the midst of a divisive time in America's history but it doesn't get there.
15. "Wild Hearts' by Keith Urban
I was all set to put this in the good tier but I've since heard it a couple more times and yeah no the instrumentation doesn't cover how pathetically cliche and limp the lyrics of this song are. Maan, Keith Urban has gone backward as a writer since "Fuse".
Meh Tier
14. "Waves" by Luke Bryan
Look, Luke Bryan has a really good voice but dear god the material he records and releases are some really either forgettable or just plain awful nonsense and "Waves" falls into the former category, I couldn't tell you anything about this song other than it's a thing on country radio for some reason.
13. "Justified" by Kacey Musgraves
I actually think this song is pretty good, it's in the meh tier here because I don't believe that this is functionally a country song therefore shouldn't be on a country airplay chart and god damn it...the next two songs here have the same issue...fuck...
12. "Kids on Cassette" by The Wolfe Brothers
So The Wolfe Brothers are the first act of several here that will require some explanation for those reading this in other parts of the world. The Wolfe Brothers are essentially a country rock band comprised of brothers Tom and Nick Wolfe along with childhood friends Brodie Rainbird and Casey Kostiuk with this song being the title track from their fifth studio album "Kids on Cassette" and much lke "Justified"...this doesn't belong on country radio because it's more a pop song with some country elements...that's it.
11. "Run Out of Road" by Melanie Dyer
Shame this sort of country pop from Aussie singer/songwriter Melanie Dyer leans way too far into pop and little less into country but otherwise it's objectively fine even if it doesn't belong on country radio.
Decent
10. "God Took His Time On You" by Casey Barnes
So here's an Australian Idol alumni with the latest single and while "Come Turn Me On" is one of my favourite songs of 2021, "God Took His Time On You" is a slower ballad and it all sounds really nice instrumentally but I don't know I am not a huge fan of songs that invoke religious figures to talk about how hot a girl is, it's a bit cringey and definitely lowered the song to the decent tier.
9. "Cold As You" by Luke Combs
It's solid for what it is but when Luke Combs has done better and has better coming to the charts with his new single "Doin' Time", I doubt I will come back to this all that often even if it does all the basics well.
Good Tier
8. "23" by Sam Hunt
Yeah I know...I'm in shock myself, I still think "Southside" is a terrible album and one of the worst albums of 2020 but "23" is actually proof that Sam Hunt is capable of writing a decent song with "23' being a wistful memory of a relationship when both he and this woman were 23 but it won't matter what she does in her life or what he does in his but they can't take back the time they had together when they were both twenty three however he still wishes her well with whatever she does in her life.The song is pretty solid. I'll take it.
7. "Love Is Real" by Morgan Evans
So this is the second Morgan Evans song to wind up here and you know...I can kind of get behind this one even if I do think the lyrics are a bit cliched...I mean really...we get it...love is a real thing but you know it's at least got a bit driving momentum and Morgan Evans sounds like he is trying his damn best to sell the song...yeah by Morgan Evans standards, this is fine.
6. "Composure" by Southbound
So we now have an Australian all female country rock trio comprising Missy Lancaster, Sara Bernardo and Andrea Krakovska, they've had at least one Australian country airplay number one with "This is Us" but honestly "Composure" is their statement single because yeah, this is pretty good, I like how the song while being obviously rock but still manages to have its country groove in the guitars, I also like how the trio harmonise here. This was soo close to the excellent category...just a few small production issues that knocked it back.
Great.
5. "Raised Like That" by James Johnston
So James Johnston is a new face in Australian country, he definitely seems to have a fan base too with both his singles doing well on the iTunes chart that I suspect a breakthrough on the ARIA top 50 singles chart might be in order if his label can get the streaming game right (he already has over 200,000 listeners a month on Spotify which is impressive for a new artist) and I do get why because "Raised Like That" is about growing up in the small NSW town of Wingham and reflecting on how he was raised to work hard and give back and is well aware that he probably wouldn't be making country music right now if he wasn't raised to have a work ethic and work hard which is something he is thankful for. I like how catchy the song is. Looking forward to an album from James sometime in 2022!
4. "One Mississippi" by Kane Brown
Kane Brown has frustrated me especially with his more bent toward kind of insipid pop country so when I first heard about this song, I was worried and turns out I shouldn't have been because yeah this is a song I have listened to A LOT in 2021 since it was released. It reminds me a lot of the sounds and tones that were on Randy Hzouser's 2019 album "Magnolia" and that hook kind of cements that with the subject matter being two people meeting at a bar to catch up and maybe go home together or maybe not but either way it's fine, I like how much of this song is just an absolute blast to sing along too. Less pop, more country would be fine by me though, Kane!
3. "Whatchawanna" by Cornell and Carr
So here's a duo that's going to take some explanation, Matt Cornell and Mike Carr are members of fellow country singer Adam Brand's backing band...a group that has found plenty of award success in the Australian country scene so yeah I wasn't really surprised that this song as a duo turned out to be just that perfect Sunday afternoon at the pub sing a long, it's just a really fun song and the attitude of both Cornell and Car carries this. Its a unapologetically silly do whatever the hell you want country song that harks back to the good old days of the pub sing along
2. "My Boy" by Elvie Shane
Oh I wanted to talk about this song months ago and honestly writing about it now is a good reminder that I need to hear that Elvie Shane album that dropped a few weeks ago because "My Boy is genuinely one of the most heartfelt country songs of the year, Shane is talking about being a step dad to his partner's son and how while the boy may not be his child by blood, he is still his and he will still be a father figure to the boy, it's a subject that's not commonly brought up in music so it kind of sticks out in the memory a bit. Great song!
1. "Live A Little" by Cass Hopetoun
'And the number one is from an Australian singer/songwriter hailing from the Blue Mountains, Cass Hopetoun has been notching success in the Australian country scene for the last couple of years and collabed with fellow Australian country star Andrew Swift on "Say the Word" for his most recent album but "Live A Little" might be Cass Hopetoun's best song to date, it's a song that goes for the route of Hopetoun urging people to take risks, step outside their comfort zone and live life rather than sticking with the same old routine as they have always done and I love how the guitar sounds on this song. Please check this song out if you get the opportunity.
So to sum up this season of country music, we've got one shit song, five bad songs, four meh songs, two decent songs, three good songs and five excellent songs for a score of 57 out of 100 which is not that bad but it could always be better.
Anyway before we go...as I promised a quick ranking of the current ARIA singles top 20 from November 7.
Shit.
No songs in this tier
Bad
20. "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals
19. "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber
18. "Woman" by Doja Cat.
17. "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa
16. "Beggin'" by Maneskin
Meh
15. "Meet Me At Our Spot" by The Anxiety.
14. "Love Nwantiti (ah ah ah)" by Ckay
13. "Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran
Decent.
12. "Moth to a Flame" by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd
11. "Shivers' by Ed Sheeran (Yeah, this song grew on me...)
Good.
10. "Ghost" by Justin Bieber
9. "My Universe" by Coldplay feat. BTS
8. "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat. SZA
Excellent
7. "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" by Lil Nas X
6. "Levitating" by Dua Lipa
5. "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow
4. "That's What I Want" by Lil Nas X
3. "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish
2. "Easy On Me" by Adele
1. "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo.
Score: 64 out of 100. Pretty good!
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