The Biggest Country Music Flops in 2016
It was either feast or famine for country singles in 2016. As the rigged singles system that almost guarantees #1 songs for any releases from big-named artists metastasized at radio—creating an incredible volume of singles hitting #1 for a solitary week before immediately falling off a precipice—if a song happened to not fit into that rigged system, it seems like it was lucky to crack the Top 40. 2015 saw a few high-profile busts in the singles market, but 2016 was off the charts.
Let’s look at some of the biggest commercial flops in 2016.
The Band Perry – “Comeback Kid”
Oh the irony. “Comeback Kid” was supposed to be The Band Perry’s big comeback, and well, have you heard from them lately? It appears the song caught a haymaker in the 2nd round, started pouring blood out of a broken nose, and Mickey threw in the towel. Topping out at a paltry #39 on the Country Airplay chart, The Band Perry’s on again off again flirtations with the pop world, their ridiculous saga with “Live Forever” getting pulled and then rebooted, and just the general weirdness surrounding this entire project before and after they got canned by Big Machine makes “Comeback Kid” not just one of 2016’s biggest flops, but The Band Perry along with it.
Chase Rice – “Whisper” & “Everybody We Know Does”
Prefaced with a Chase Rice apology letter, “Whisper” faded with a whimper hard and fast, only finding its way to #56 on the Country Airplay chart before being summarily pulled. His next single “Everybody We Know Does” didn’t do much better, meandering to #42 before landing in the ditch. Don’t any of these idiotic radio programmers remember he co-wrote “Cruise”? Someone forgot to tell Chase it’s no longer 2013, and rapping about date raping some chick in your truck is no longer cool. Country music has moved on to talking about people’s feelings and junk like that. And who is this Sturgill Simpson guy anyway? Don’t worry Chase, there’s always The Voice.
Thomas Rhett – “Vacation”
Thomas Rhett initially promised he wouldn’t release this as a radio single, and it was just something fun for the fans. Well he should have stuck to his own promise because “Vacation” took a big ol’ belly flop right into the resort pool and came up redbellied. Though many artists would love to come out at #30 on the Country Airplay chart, that’s not really where Rhett is used to being, especially as Mediabase’s #1-spun artist in 2016. “Vacation” broke Rhett’s streak of six #1’s, and even his 5th single from his record Tangled Up is doing 20 spots better so far. The fourteen songwriters of “Vacation” and its rehashed melodies were even too much for country radio to take.
Gary Allan – “Do You Wish It Was Me?”
Man Gary, I feel for you. I thought your big bet on drunken carnival music being the next big trend in country would pay off.
The big sin of “Do You Wish It Was Me” was not that it was terrible. It was more an issue of being incredibly nondescript. A very strange pick for a single, especially after “Hangover Tonight” couldn’t crack the Top 40, “Do You Wish It Was Me” could only muster #57 on Country Airplay after being released in May. Gary Allan is not a bad artist. He’s had some great songs and been a breath of fresh air on mainstream radio in the past. But man, his prospects for a career resurrection on radio are looking pretty rough at the moment.
Steven Tyler – “We’re All Somebody From Somewhere”
You’re the lead singer for one of the biggest American rock bands of all time, and your album gets outsold by Sturgill Simpson’s latest by some 20,000 units. The album flopped, the singles flopped (“Red, White, and You peaked at #46, and the title track didn’t even register on the charts), oh and you pissed off Joe Perry and the rest of your band by acting like your country music lark had any sort of commercial viability or creative contributions to mankind. Once again this is an instance of Big Machine’s Scott Borchetta trying to live out his hair metal fantasy through a 70’s star and putting out a puke album. We’re All Somebody From Somewhere was country music’s popcorn fart of 2016.
Maddie & Tae – “Sierra”
Boy we were all falling over ourselves to lump praise on “Girl in a Country Song,” and for good reason. But even though the follow up “Fly” did very decent for a new act, cracking the Top 10, and “Shut Up and Fish” dug into the Top 25, four singles was apparently one too many, and “Sierra” stalled at #46 on the Airplay Chart. You have to believe the prospects remain favorable for Maddie & Tae moving forward. They proved they weren’t just a one trick pony, and Big Machine appears to be committed to them moving forward, which is a big part for young acts finding success.
Cam – Mayday
After all of the critical and commercial success of “Burning House,” you though Cam would perform better than #36 with “Mayday,” but part of the issue facing female artists in country is the commitment their labels give to their singles. Cam actually had another single called “My Mistake” that flopped at #52 before “Burning House” was released. Perhaps country radio feels like they can fill their female quota with Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris better. Cam needs another hit, or she could find herself in the company of Kacey Musgraves: a successful and accomplished mainstream artist that radio completely ignores.
Jana Kramer – Said No One Ever
#57 Country Airplay
And to think we thought Jana Kramer had turned a page with “I Got The Boy.” The flavor of this bubble gum pop song lost it’s flavor real fast.
Clare Dunn- Tuxedo
#51 Country Airplay
If you’re going to put on a stern face and sell out as hard as you possibly can, you better hope it’s successful. For Clare Dunn, it wasn’t. This song is sincerely awful.
Joe Nichols – “Undone”
#46 Country Airplay
Poor Joe seems to be in the same position as Gary Allan—facing down being put out to pasture.
Jacob Ware
December 21, 2016 @ 9:48 am
Terrible just terrible excuse for music. But They just keep coming. At Least now the good is starting to balance out the bad.
Amanda
December 21, 2016 @ 10:48 pm
Vacation is simply gawd-awful. Let’s just hope and pray Thomas Rhett doesn’t release South Side, aka The Worst Song Ever In The History of Music, as his next single.
Anthony
December 21, 2016 @ 9:49 am
I think Randy Houser should be here too lol. And Kane Brown considering what was expected of him.
Bear
December 21, 2016 @ 9:57 am
Kane Brown… Is that anything like a kane toad?
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 10:03 am
Kane Brown’s singles have definitely been underperforming, but I wouldn’t call him a flop just yet. His album sales were surprisingly strong, but of course can we really trust ANY for the numbers put up by the Kane Brown camp? Radio is the one thing they couldn’t fudge the numbers with and so far he’s yet to have major success there. We’ll see…
seak05
December 21, 2016 @ 11:12 am
Kane’s sales numbers are really good, and unless they’re buying it themselves on itunes, not fudged. I think his is a case of radio politics not playing him, ironically the same thing that happens to older artists and women. His tour sales are also good, he played near me, and lots of screaming girls were lined up.
Also not sure I’d say you can’t fudge radio….it’s just a different form of politics.
Tom
December 22, 2016 @ 11:41 am
I’m also not sure how much is really expected of Kane Brown. It’s hard to consider someone a flop if the bar wasn’t set high in the first place.
Nadia Lockheart
December 21, 2016 @ 10:14 am
The only one of these I somewhat disagree with is “Vacation”.
I hate this song, but by other measures of impact, “Vacation” actually did very well commercially with impressive streaming and sales relative to its pathetic airplay.
The rest of those you listed are indisputable flops in every sense of the word.
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 10:51 am
Totally understand what you’re saying, but I think it’s a matter of scale. You have a group of male artists, Thomas Rhett included, that whenever they release a single it’s virtually guaranteed it’s going to hit #1 on radio. But when he releases a single and it can’t get above #30? I think that shows a clear rebuke by radio of the song, especially after six consecutive #1’s, and even if it did do decently in sales. It did find an audience though.
Nadia Lockheart
December 21, 2016 @ 11:08 am
I think, when there’s a double-digit spread between a single’s Hot Country Songs peak and Country Airplay peak that isn’t related to front-loaded digital sales hype, that’s a strong indicator of a mainstream track’s viability outside of radio.
Conversely, when there’s a wide discrepancy the other way around, it outs that given release as artificially propped by radio. “If The Boot Fits” by Granger Smith is a perfect example of this.
seak05
December 21, 2016 @ 11:15 am
Agree with Nadia, Vacation was a radio flop, but not a commercial one. Think it speaks more to the fact that while radio and sales often line up, they aren’t actually driven by the same factors. Sales are more driven by the number of people who feel strongly positively about a song, while radio is often driven by the number of people who feel strongly negatively about a song.
Nadia Lockheart
December 21, 2016 @ 12:49 pm
Brantley Gilbert’s “Kick It In The Sticks” is another perfect example of a single release driven exclusively by polarization.
It got intensely negative radio callout due to its overwhelmingly in-your-face, commercial metal-leaning production. But it was also overwhelmingly lauded and embraced outside the confides of radio as an unofficial party anthem for roughnecks and wide swaths of blue-collar Americans who may generally shy from country but were sold by his hard rock bravado. The total YouTube views that accompanying video has received is astronomical by mainstream country standards, and it sold better than most of his more radio singles have.
“Vacation”, to me, is arguably the closest thing to a “Kick It In The Sticks” in 2016 though obviously not nearly as likely to have broader cultural staying power.
Scotty J
December 21, 2016 @ 12:58 pm
Yeah and quality of music aside I don’t see anything wrong with an act having a song that is a fan favorite but not a big hit. ‘Whiskey River’ was never a top ten for Willie and ‘Fancy’ only made it to #8 For Reba McEntire yet they are both hugely popular for those artists. ‘Ol Red’ by Blake Shelton also would fit into that category.
It would be hard to make a career out of that but if you have other hits you can get away with it.
E
December 21, 2016 @ 11:20 am
I’m surprised it didn’t do better honestly. I hate the song, but they were sure playing it a let on the only country station we’ve got in Los Angeles, until the station switched to Christmas music 24/7 that is.
Scotty J
December 21, 2016 @ 12:51 pm
I think every now and then the record labels and radio try to poke the edges to see what they can get away with because they are always trying to expand the boundaries. That’s how you get ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ and ‘Drink To That All Night’ but then they go for ‘1984’ and ‘Donkey’ and it’s a step too far just as ‘Vacation’ was.
Sean Kelly
December 21, 2016 @ 10:23 am
Clare Dunn was my biggest diappointment. While she never was a hard core country artist, her independent singles had a rootsy, bluesy, almost Bonnie Raitt quality to them.
When I first heard Tuxedo, I thought “DEAR GOD, CLARE, YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL FOR THIS?!?”
hoptowntiger94
December 21, 2016 @ 12:09 pm
Too soon for Garth Brook’s, “Baby, Let’s Lay Down and Dance”?
It’s his worst performing lead single to date. While he’ll always be able to tour on his legacy, he’s not relevant in today’s country music landscape.
That disc buried in a box set – Gunslinger – is an embarrassment.
Ryan
December 21, 2016 @ 12:34 pm
Actually, I was thinking “People Loving People” might have been his worst performing lead single?? The box set was all about him adding to his sales to bolster “biggest selling solo act”…..130,000 box sets in its first week calculates to 1.3 million total credit discs being there is 10 discs in a set. Gunslinger had 2 good songs – Whiskey to Wine and Honkytonk Somewhere in my opinion…..
hoptowntiger94
December 21, 2016 @ 2:54 pm
They both peeked at #19. So, it’s a tie. They both were his worst performing lead singles.
Scotty J
December 21, 2016 @ 12:46 pm
Yeah I would put Gunslinger on this list. For someone with his track record to have the pathetic sales that this has had is pretty bad.
I would further add that this whole deal with Garth having four different items in the top ten on the album chart just by combining two of them and then releasing his umpteenth box set is an abomination. Seriously why not combine a few more records and go for the entire top ten.
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 1:14 pm
I was going to do an article about “Gunslinger” sales, but when you look at the numbers purchased within the box set, which is the way the majority of the purchases are being made, they’re actually not bad. Yes, it’s a marketing ruse, but that’s Garth. The son of a bitch could sell ice to Eskimos.
And “Baby Let’s Lay Down And Dance” actually got to #19 on Airplay. I’m surprised.
Scotty J
December 21, 2016 @ 1:19 pm
I guess though who knows how many sales were for Gunslinger and how many for the other stuff.
As Ryan up above mentioned this was all about goosing his sales for more RIAA certs.
AT
December 21, 2016 @ 6:34 pm
I’d be very interested in an article pertaining to “Gunslinger.” When I saw the first-week sales of 134,000, I wasn’t sure if that meant 134,000 people purchased box sets, or if 13,400 people purchased the set, and since there are ten discs, it results in a sales of 134,000. Also curious how the RIAA certification works in this situation. Wasn’t sure if they certified exclusive releases, as this is set is only available at Target. But then “Gunslinger” was made available everywhere physically + digitally later in November. Curious if RIAA will take into consideration those initial box set sales that include “Gunslinger” and count them for the album individually.
ElectricOutcast
December 21, 2016 @ 7:14 pm
From what I’m hearing at the rumor mill, Garth said that he planned to release a ballad as the next single, don’t know which one though. I would rather support that one than the first single.
Raymond
December 21, 2016 @ 1:06 pm
Its a shame that talent like Maddie & Tae and Cam flopped as hard as they did. Also a shame that acts like Lindsay Ell and Brooke Eden couldn’t get any success either.
There’s a lot of female taleny and I hope that maybe next year we see some of these women get success like the above mentioned artists and other females like Runaway June, Danielle Bradbery and The Church Sisters. All very talented women.
I also wonder what the future holds for Jana Kramer she has such on and off success I would not rule her coming back in 2017. Clare Dunn on the other hand I hope she flops.
So many singers in country music that it’s do hard to stand out. I am excited for what 2017 brings for the mainstream country music.
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 1:12 pm
I think Maddie & Tae and Cam have the best prospects of anyone on this list of rebounding in the future. Maddie & Tae can at least say they’ve had two Top 10 hits. Kacey Musgraves can’t say that.
Raymond
December 21, 2016 @ 1:42 pm
With Kacey Musgraves I have accepted that’s she’s not going to break out. For Cam and Maddie & Tae they have critical acclaim and radio likes both acts a lot. “Fly” did better than it should have and radio initially jumped all over “Shut Up and Fish” and “Sierra”.
I wouldn’t rule out either Lindsay Ell or The Church Sisters having a great 2017. Lindsay Ell is dating Bobby Bones and I can see that helping her a bunch. For The Church Sisters they haven’t even released a song to radio yet so the jury is out on that one.
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 7:56 pm
Once country radio turns sour on you these days, there’s not chance for a resurrection. If you’ve had a few hits and have a bad single, perhaps they’ll give you a second chance. But Kacey Musgraves could release the second coming of “Cruise” with a million-dollar radio budget, and it wouldn’t budge in the charts.
Raymond
December 21, 2016 @ 8:05 pm
I’m confused on why you replied to my post. Since large in part I agree with this.
I will say though that if a song sells as well as “Cruise” radio can’t ignore it. They just couldn’t, that’d be them shooting themselves in the foot multiple times. It’s like with “Girl Crush”, radio couldn’t ignore it as it was so huge, same thing with Sam Hunt (say what you want about the guy, but this dude sells like hotcakes).
If there is one artist who has had the definition of inconsistent success it’s Jana Kramer. Yes “Said No One Ever” was a really big flop. But I have learned to never ever rule her out, if she releases the right type of song she could get another hit.
I wonder what female artists will hit the Top 5 on country radio besides Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Kelsea Ballerini. Maybe Lauren Alaina or Maren Morris will see some strong radio success in 2016. Maybe an unconventional choice for OTV leads to a Top 5 (I know Lauren Alaina was selected for OTV and despite me loving this girl to pieces, I am not confident enough to say that her current single will hit the Top 5. Top 10 yes, Top 5 eh I don’t know)
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 8:19 pm
Sorry Raymond if I somehow came across as combative. I was responding because I agreed with you as well and wanted to share an observation.
I think Maren Morris is going to be the next female with major radio impact. She is finding a lot of favorability in many sectors of country music.
Dave
December 23, 2016 @ 5:37 am
Re Kacey Musgraves, she has been dipping her toe into the UK scene over the last year or so. She’s was at the Country 2 Country event and also at the 2015 Royal Variety Performance in front of Prince Harry and she gets occasional airplay here too. The last country stars to make it here was Taylor. For what that’s worth.
Derek Sullivan
December 21, 2016 @ 2:21 pm
While Shut and Fish did reach the top 25, it really turned off a lot of people. Go to the Vevo comments on YouTube and a lot of people didn’t like how the girl in the song or the video treated the guy. The public just didn’t seem to get in on the joke and it really stalled things. There were probably five good singles on that CD and I bet Sierra would have done better if it followed Fly. I enjoyed Shut Up and Fish, but I think I was in the minority.
Nate
December 21, 2016 @ 4:00 pm
That’s too bad. Too me it felt like the female version of “I’m Gonna Miss Her” by Brad Paisley. Just a tongue in cheek song about a girl who loves to fish. When I first listened to the album, “Sierra” jumped out as the obvious radio choice and I honestly didn’t know until reading this that they even attempted to release it. At least I heard “Shut up and Fish” a couple times on the radio. It’s such a shame, I really like these girls.
albert
December 21, 2016 @ 4:50 pm
I’m a huge fan of SHUT UP AND FISH and of Maddie and Tae. One of my favourite recent albums due , in no small part , to the excellent songwriting . Shut Up And Fish is a shuffle and as such sounded dated with mostly un-danceable ,cut-time southern rock -sounding songs on ‘country’ radio right now .It was actually fresh in that respect but I think the demographic didn’t get that rhythm . Lyrically it is clever as hell and their vocal performances were stellar .
Amanda
December 21, 2016 @ 6:45 pm
I love Shut Up and Fish. It’s witty, clever, and undeniably country. In a just world, it would have been a hit.
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 7:57 pm
I think Maddie & Tae’s space is as the fun and sassy duo that’s a little more traditional than most country. I think they do it very well, and there’s an audience for that if they’re just given a chance.
albert
December 22, 2016 @ 10:09 am
Not just a hit , Amanda …I believe in a different ‘ country ‘ music climate ” Fish ‘ could have become a much needed STANDARD . There are no ‘ standards ‘ being written , it seems . So few songs will stand the test of time in terms of sentiment ( universal appeal ) and absence of trendy ” of -the-time ” production / sonic elements . Shut Up And Fish is an absolute gem of a song because it didn’t bend to ‘ current ‘ trend and delivered its message in a fresh , fun , clever and VERY singable manner . Its lack of significant success was disappointing . But I suppose we should be used to being disappointed by mainstream country radio by now .
albert
December 21, 2016 @ 4:46 pm
” Burning House ” was an absolute fluke, I believe . It isn’t country , it isn’t bluegrass or pop … it isn’t a GREAT song…but it is a good one …its a nondescript piece of music with a hooky vibe and Cam is pretty enough to sell it . I will be very very surprised to see Cam’s career develop into anything of significance until / unless she stops riding the musical fence .
The other BIG factor missing from most of the artists above is PERSONALITY . You need more than a good / great song to get noticed in a world awash with folks clamoring to be famous- talented or not . You need to have charisma that drips out of a talk show TV screen …you need to be larger than life …you need to ooze personality (Miranda , Garth , Gaga , Boy George and Madonna ( in their day ) ) you need to play the sex card ( Shania , McGraw ,Buble ,Timberlake ) or be outrageous in some respect in order to really sustain audience attention over a long period of time . Sure you can get your 15 minutes ( Cam , James Blunt ) ….but man if you are in it for the long haul you need to know that a song is only ONE part of what you need to be able to sell on a consistent basis .
Jamie
December 21, 2016 @ 2:11 pm
It’s too bad Maddie & Tae’s “Sierra” flopped. That would’ve been a fun song to hear on the radio, but unfortunately they had lost too much momentum by then. Even “Shut Up And Fish” should’ve done much better, imo. I hope you’re right that they have a good chance of rebounding in 2017. They’re one of my favorite new artists right now. Hopefully radio’s willingness to now play a few more traditional leaning songs will help them out, too.
I personally didn’t care too much for “Mayday,” but I do hope Cam can also recover with her next album. She’s another one of the better new artists out right now, imo.
The Joe Nichols song is not too bad, but he can definitely do better. I hope he has better luck with the next single, so he can finally get the new album out.
The rest I can say I’m not sad at all that they flopped. At least radio gets it right every once in a while.
PETE MARSHALL
December 21, 2016 @ 2:27 pm
George Strait ” Going, going, gone didn’t chart and Randy Houser last 2 singles flopped badly.
Tom
December 22, 2016 @ 12:14 pm
Strait is essentially retired, I don’t think his single was really pushed at all so I wouldn’t necessarily call it a flop.
Good call on Randy Hauser, though.
Hank
December 21, 2016 @ 3:29 pm
Along with Houser’s recent failures, I’d throw “Cigarette” from Frankie Ballard on that list as well. Do you guys think artists such as Ballard, Hunter Hayes, or Kip Moore who have previously had stints of mainstream success, will ever have it again?
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 8:04 pm
Man it’s really hard once you have even one single flop to find traction on country radio again. The quality of the song has nothing to do with it. It’s how connected the artist is to the insular radio system.
Amanda
December 21, 2016 @ 4:11 pm
Some of these I believe, are a deserved flop (Vacation, Tuxedo, Said No One Ever, and Steven Tyler, anyone?), but some of them are just depressing. I love Maddie and Tae. Their album was hands-down my favorite album of 2015. Shut Up and Fish is hilarious, and I’ve definitely come across a few Sierras in my life. As a young woman myself, I find their music very relatable. The other depressing flop, in my opinion, is Gary Allan. I love Gary Allan. And not just for the shallow reasoning that I think he is hot. He has had some amazing songs throughout his career. Hell, Smoke Rings in the Dark is tied with Ashley Monroe’s Two Weeks Late as my favorite song of all time. Hell, I hope this isn’t the end of the careers of both Gary Allan and Maddie and Tae.
albert
December 21, 2016 @ 4:32 pm
The closer a ” country “song gets to sounding pop , the more it gets compared to REAL pop . And most of the time it can’t .It can’t live successfully in two worlds . Most of the above songs tried to do that . Real country fans hate that approach , of course , and REAL pop fans hear enough traces of ‘ country ‘ to ignore it because REAL pop is so much ‘ poppier’…younger -sounding , more dance able, sexier , more energy ( not these cut time dirges country spews out ) . Oh yeah ….and most of these were just NOT great songs no matter the genre . Its tough enough finding ONE great song to fit ONE genre …much less finding one to fit ALL sizes . ‘Shit or get off the Pop’…..
TheKillerRocksOn
December 21, 2016 @ 5:45 pm
if we are talkin about personal disappointments Im gonna throw Sturgill Simpson under the bus. Grammy nod you say? selling out theaters you say? still love from this site you say?…Sailors Guide was about as ‘country’ as Metallica’s new album. You guys gave him a pass based on his first two GREAT albums, but Sailors was a momentum killer as far as his traditional country wave. I don’t hate Sailor, but soul country was not the direction I had hoped. I get his reason behind it, but I also am also one that pre-ordered it and got a head scratching version of In Bloom..bring on the ‘you are in the minority’, but my 67 year old mother, who LOVED his last album, asked me ‘why did he do that ?’ I had nothing…I won’t pre-order his next album until I hear his direction first.. that, to me, is disappointing.
Bolivwx
December 21, 2016 @ 6:38 pm
I feel you on Sturgill’s new album. I didn’t even like it. All of these people are swearing up and down about how “country” it is, and what I’m getting is its closest thing to a sellout that we’ll get from him for now. I hope we can see him turn his next work to another Metamodern Sounds or High Top Mountain.
Cameron
December 21, 2016 @ 7:10 pm
With you on that man
Corncaster
December 21, 2016 @ 7:40 pm
sturgill has a really fine band, good pipes (and improvablebtechnique), a full fifth of attitude, and a strong passion — but even his first two records are far from stellar in the lyrics — what I cheered for in them was more the promise than the execution, a criticism sturgill himself tried to forestall with that line about “still working on the sound” — he’s good, but I have my doubts he’s a pro writer. attitude only gets you so far. even Merle learned that lesson early. I’m fine with Sturgill doing whatever he wants, but it’s a mistake to think he’s Moses. more like a desert prophet at this point. only time will tell.
Trigger
December 21, 2016 @ 8:09 pm
“A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” is very far from a flop, especially now with the Grammy nomination. But I have said numerous times in print that Sturgill lost some momentum with that record, and it was specifically because he went away from the traditional country sound that earned him such a rabid fan base. I wrote numerous articles on this subject when the album was released, and also addressed it in my album review. Nonetheless, how can you not be happy that someone with such an independent spirit as Sturgill is finding success? He’ll make another country record, and has said as much numerous times. This was a “pause” in his career to do something special for his family. Hard to fault the dude for that.
Brad
December 21, 2016 @ 8:35 pm
It might have been a momentum killer if not for the Grammy nods which I’m sure led to a spot on SNL. Selling out theaters all across the country to play that album from start to finish with horns also kind of disproved that as well. While undoubtedly he lost some fans he gained far more. I compare it to The Avett Brothers releasing I And Love and You and upsetting their long time fans with the new sound but also gaining far more. Not going to please everybody all of the time so might as well please yourself
I think Sturgill lives that motto and kudos to him for getting a major label to let him do what he wants. We criticize other acts for doing what’s expected of them, we should applaud him for not.
TheKillerRocksOn
December 21, 2016 @ 8:45 pm
As a father I understand his reason, but as a consumer I stand by my disappointment. I also would like to add that the grammy nod means nothing more than wider recognition. They gave one to Milli Vanilli for dammit sake. What Sturgill choses to do with this moment, besides selling an unwearable t-shirt on his site, will be a bigger pivital moment than he probably ever saw coming. Sailor’s Guide will be a represenative of ‘country’ in 2016 at the grammys, but it didn’t even place in this sites top ten of the year…His past credits and his future potential doesn’t give him a pass on Sailor.
Brad
December 22, 2016 @ 8:06 am
My point on the Grammy was exactly that, wider recognition, which means his momentum was surely not slowed. Strictly from a business standpoint this album did nothing to slow him down, in fact I’d argue it did the opposite. It doesn’t have to be his “best” album to end up being the most important in his career. Sturgill marches to the beat of his own drummer and will definitely rub some people the wrong way but so far it seems to be working just fine.
hoptowntiger94
December 21, 2016 @ 9:37 pm
This must have been what it was like when Willie Nelson released Stardust in 1978. Intolerant folk losing their GD minds!
As an artist, you can’t put the same album out turn after turn. Guess what? When the next stone cold country album is released by Sturgill, it will sound even sweeter because you (we) missed it. And more importantly, Sturgill will love it (we just don’t want him going through the motions).
TheKillerRocksOn
December 22, 2016 @ 8:33 pm
My disappointment meant MY, not his or yours. I loved his first and would put Metamodern in my personal top 10 of all time country releases. I was beyond stoked for his third when Sailors was released..damn. That was not the album I expected and will argue that it was a big let down and by no means country. I wore out High Top and still crank Metamodern around the house, but Sailor hasn’t been played completely since its release. My disappointment doesn’t mean it was anyone elses and I still hold out hope that Nashville killer in his pocket that I hoped he had..
Jack Williams
December 22, 2016 @ 9:05 am
I have similar feelings, although to a lesser extent. I merely like the album as opposed to loving it. I didn’t have it in my personal top ten nor as one of my six honorable mentions. Musically, it’s still in my roots music wheelhouse but I was personally disappointed that it had so little country music on it (I’d call Sea Stories close enough for country and think it would have been at home on MMSICM). It’s a good listen, but there’s not a lot of magic there for me. I did see him do it live from start to finish once and that was a great live experience, but that in itself didn’t make me love the album more. Shit, I remember watching Bryan Adams’s set on TV from the Live Aid concert and thinking that he kicked ass, but that didn’t make me want to buy any of his albums.
I’ll definitely be pre-ordering the next one. I would have to have really disliked ASGTE to not pre-order the next one. For example, when the North Mississippi All-Stars put out their third album Polaris after putting out two very strong albums (Shake Hands With Shorty and 51 Phantom). Now that one was a major disappointment. Skipped the next one altogether and it took a while for me to eventually came back to the fold.
Marky Mark
December 23, 2016 @ 9:28 am
Well, maybe you should go buy Reckless and Cuts Like a Knife. I believe those albums have held up well and have shown the Bryan Adams at a lot more to him then he was given credit for at the time. I mean, seriously, have you ever met anyone that didn’t like Summer of 69?
Jack Williams
December 23, 2016 @ 9:54 am
No, I don’t think I will. Hey, I don’t hate his music. Just never liked it enough to the point where I felt compelled to buy one of his albums. Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy some of his songs when I heard them on the radio. Cuts Like A Knife is probably the first song I ever heard by him. I like it. I like Run To You, too. I’m sure there are others.
AT
December 21, 2016 @ 6:49 pm
For me, I found the major headlining tours to be completely disappointing. There are a lot of big-name acts that I don’t necessarily listen to their radio hits, but I enjoy seeing them perform live. This year, it seemed like most of the arena/amphitheater acts had awful opening acts, leaving me to decide to spend my money elsewhere. I think back to Eric Church’s tour when I stayed in my seat the entire time through amazing openers like Brothers Osborne and Dwight Yoakam. But then you’ve got Kenny Chesney, who I love hearing the 94 – 07 stuff, but he’s got Sam Hunt and Old Dominion opening. The pattern continues with other A-list acts. The lack of solid entertainment at those big summer shows was disappointing for me.
Amanda
December 21, 2016 @ 7:29 pm
Holy shit, Steven Tyler looks like Chewbacca from Star Wars in that picture above.
Corncaster
December 21, 2016 @ 7:45 pm
tyler is like an old mannequin at rock’s crumbling five and dime
Brett dale
December 22, 2016 @ 3:23 am
In all its formats boxsetr and standalone and with the Xmas album gunslinger has sold over 500k. Its doing well.
albert
December 22, 2016 @ 10:17 am
That fact alone should tell ‘ country’ radio something …no ?
Michigan Music
December 22, 2016 @ 12:33 pm
Maybe not a perfect entrant, but Little Big Town’s never-noticed pop album disaster with Pharrell was released this year (many people are reading that sentence and not believing it, thinking its 100% fiction). The fact they went from such critical acclaim on the country award circuits, to this album that no one bought or paid any mind to.
I envision Zac Brown and his horrid poppy/dance Mr Roosevelt album to be an equal unmitigated disaster in 2017. He is going to alienate ALOT of his traditional, original fans with that mess.
nick
December 22, 2016 @ 1:36 pm
I would choose Randy Houser’s Song Number 7 as the biggest flop of 2016. After 4 straight top 3 songs, this song was unbearable for country radio, and that’s saying a lot.
Erik North
December 22, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
Again, I must apologize profusely for the dread Steven Tyler invading country and making what amounts to audio porn with his lame-brained attempt at Bro-Country. It’s got nothing to do with him being from New England and all (after all, Lori McKenna is from there as well, and she has a good understanding of country via its folk roots), but a total lack of understanding of the genre, combined with an opportunistic streak to cash in on a toxic fad that is still corroding the credibility of the genre, makes him just the worst musical carpetbagger in the world.
With respect to Jana Kramer’s and Claire Dunn’s flops–it isn’t that they’re terrible songs that’s the problem. It’s that they are inherently Mediocre; and it seems that a lot of listeners basically accept mediocrities like those. But if they do anything good for the genre in general, and for the womenfolk in particular, it is to remind us of just how good Margo Price and Kelsey Waldon were in 2016.
And when it comes to The Band Perry’s “Comeback Kid”–well, this is a group that I have never been able to warm up to, even with their ultra-traditional first hit “If I Die Young”, which was at least quite good; and this latest clinker from them is a reason why. I think it has a lot to do with Kimberly Perry’s voice; it has always been problematic. At times, she can try to sound so “mountain girlish” that she warbles; and when she tries to “rock”, like she does on “Done”, it comes off as forced and strained, proving that she isn’t in the league of somebody like Linda Ronstadt or Pat Benatar.
Greg Green
January 6, 2017 @ 7:12 pm
I’m surprised this list included Jana Kramer – Said No One Ever.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.