Why Jerrod Niemann’s “Donkey” Was His Waterloo
When you live by the bit, you die by the bit. And Jerrod Niemann has just been bitten in the ass by a “Donkey.”
I remember when Trace Adkins released a song called “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” in late 2010. Adkins it can be argued is the King of modern day country music bit songs. He took “Honky Tonk Badonka Donk” to the top of the country music charts in 2005, and it put him on the country music map. “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” didn’t fare as well however. At the behest of Adkins himself, the song was released as a single. “I said, ‘Let’s just throw a hand grenade in the room right off the get-go.’” And it blew up in his face. A video was made for the song featuring puppets getting it on in a barn while farm animals watched. People were not impressed, and the song flopped. Eventually Trace was forced to admit, “I guess I went to that well one too many times.”
Jerrod Niemann was very much a middling country music star looking for his niche when he decided to release country music’s first outright EDM song “Drink To That All Night” in October of 2013. For a while it looked like the song might flop too. Maybe it was a little too fey, even for the wide berth country music is cutting these days. But with strong backing from his label and a moderately-successful video, “Drink To That All Night” eventually reached #1 on the Country Airplay chart on April 26th of this year. Niemann had taken a big gamble to be one step ahead of the competition, and that gamble had paid off for him. All of a sudden he was a trend setter, and when it was announced that a remix of the song had been made with Pitbull and a remix video was upcoming, it appeared like “Drink To That All Night” could become the “Cruise” of the summer of 2014: rising slowly, presenting a false fade, and then coming back strong on the back of a remix with a popular rapper.
A few days after the solstice however, and “Drink To That All Night” can’t be found anywhere, despite the release of the Pitbull remix, and the rumored remix video still in the offing. Part of the reason is because in lieu of continuing to push “Drink To That All Night” exclusively, Niemann’s label decided to double down on Jerrod’s new direction and release the ridiculous bit song “Donkey.” Like “Drink To That All Night”, the song has a very metro vibe, pseudo rap lyrics, and a ridiculous premise. But hey, it is a brave new world in country music. If “Drink To That All Night” can reach #1, why couldn’t “Donkey”?
READ: Jerrod Niemann’s “Donkey” (Review & Rant)
But just like other candidates for country music’s worst song ever like Jason Aldean’s “1994”, Tim McGraw’s “Truck Yeah”, and the aforementioned “Brown Chicken Brown Cow”, Niemann and “Donkey” went too far. Even before “Donkey” was released to radio on May 19th, some radio programming gurus were sounding off. “I think we are already at a tipping point regarding ‘Bro Country’ and this song doesn’t help either way; it doesn’t advance Country music,” said Scott Husky of the influential Rusty Walker Programming Consultants. “My fear is that we have brought some new folks into the format lately with the appeal of newer music, this song might just point out why those folks didn’t listen to Country before. It will re-ignite the stereotype.”
Adam Jeffries, the Program Director at KJUG said to All Access, “I thought ‘Drink To That All Night’ was right on the line, but ‘Donkey’ is over it as far as being too rappy.”
Not according to Jerrod Niemann though. When talking to Rolling Stone Country, Niemann said, “If rap had never existed, nobody would say anything [about today’s rap-influenced country] because these songs already exist in our past and are classics. People are just looking at it in the wrong way,” Niemann said, alluding to spoken word songs such as “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and “A Boy Named Sue”. “The people who are getting real upset maybe just don’t know as much about country music as they think.”
Huh. Maybe its Jerrod Niemann who needs the history lesson. As Saving Country Music once pointed out, Spoken Word is Not Rap: “Making the case that spoken word and rapping in music are the same thing is an insult to the artistic integrity and creativity of both spoken word and rap artists, and to the intelligence of anyone who that case is being made to.”
Nonetheless, “Donkey” still had its champions, apologists, and willful perpetrators in country radio, but early on when you looked at the amount of “adds” the song was getting on radio, it did not paint a very rosy picture for the song. “Donkey” was virtually dead on arrival despite a strong label backing, and this week the song went from #44 to #48 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Gimmick songs and comedy have always been part of the overall country music formula, and don’t let anyone tell you any different. But there is a point where the consumer’s intelligence is insulted, whether it’s by releasing a stupid song, or by misleading them that rap and spoken word are the same thing and telling them they’re stupid for thinking otherwise. As successful as some bit songs have been, like Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” for example, they arguably have also become many artist’s swan song. The defeat of “Donkey” is definitely a win for all things right and good in country music, but it could also be a much bigger defeat for Jerrod Niemann, and a lesson to other artists that even in this seemingly “anything goes” environment in country music at the moment, apparently there still are some limits and standards.
Jack Williams
June 26, 2014 @ 8:42 am
“The people who are getting real upset maybe just don”™t know as much about country music as they think.”
Hubris. Ain’t it a bitch.
Matt
June 26, 2014 @ 8:43 am
Yet, this song was on the radio, and Willie can’t get any mainstream airplay.
Acca Dacca
June 26, 2014 @ 10:04 am
Regardless of the merit of that complaint, Willie got airplay for years. Let’s count our blessings, shall we? He could have been just another nobody that didn’t make an impact and went back to working in a garage or something.
Matt
June 26, 2014 @ 10:08 am
I agree, but it’s a complaint that illustrates the state of current popular music more than Willie’s success. Just goes to show what we accept as “good” music these days.
Trigger
June 26, 2014 @ 11:49 am
One saving grace, Willie’s latest album outsold and outperformed Jarrod Niemann’s latest album on the charts, begging the question, why exactly doesn’t Willie Nelson have a single on country radio?
the pistolero
June 26, 2014 @ 2:19 pm
That question probably should also be asked in regards to Johnny Cash. I know Out Among the Stars is not a new album of all-new songs, but considering how much better it performed on the charts (out of the gates anyway) than High Noon, it seems obvious to me that there is still some demand out there for those older artists with the more traditional country sound.
Andrew
June 26, 2014 @ 3:18 pm
Not a good example. Willie isn’t making any effort for mainstream airplay. Radio will sometimes play songs that aren’t released as official singles but it’s extremely rare for those songs to do anything on the charts no matter who the singer is.
Scotty J
June 26, 2014 @ 9:04 am
As you mentioned this guy is not a big enough star to get away with this. From now on no matter if he makes some of the greatest country music ever he will be the ‘Donkey Guy’ to a large percentage of people and that is just reality.
On another somewhat encouraging note it appears that the FGL/Jason Derulo remix may not follow in the footsteps of ‘Cruise’ as after a one week surge it has fallen off considerably and drops 10 places on the new Hot 100.
We may be seeing signs of the bubble getting ready to burst.
Sir Topemhat
June 26, 2014 @ 10:13 am
I sure hope so.
Trigger
June 26, 2014 @ 11:51 am
It’s my working theory that so called “Bro-Country” died nine months ago. But just like with everything, Music Row is behind the curve. Right now they’re just trying to work through their excess inventory before the fad flames out and takes the false-fronted country music resurgence in popular music with it.
Applejack
June 26, 2014 @ 11:58 am
Florida Georgia Line’s next single is supposed to be “not bro-country.” If that’s true, it is a smart move on their part to get out of the bubble before it deflates (if that is actually what’s happening.)
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 12:29 pm
As I’ve mentioned in a previous discussion, I think Florida-Georgia Line already received that memo since preparing the release of the deluxe edition of “Here’s To The Good Times”.
Not that the songs on the deluxe edition are remotely good or anything…….but, to their credit, “This Is How We Roll” is the only song that succumbs to the bro-country trend. The other five tracks are actually surprisingly light in their subject matter overall (the ugly and terrible attempt at seriousness, “Take It Out On Me”, the only exception) and just come across as either inoffensive love songs of sorts (“Hands On You”) or nostalgic odes (“Headphones”, “People Back Home”).
The deluxe edition was a sign even they knew the bro-country bubble was nearly ready to burst commercially………….so they chose to set aside one big slab of red meat for the crowd in the form of “This Is How We Roll”, and otherwise offer new material that aimed to prepare distancing themselves from it.
Acca Dacca
June 26, 2014 @ 1:53 pm
That’s just what their PR department told them to say. They don’t even know what bro country is or that they helped to spread it like a plague. The conversation probably went something like this:
PR rep: “Guys, we’re moving on to the next trend. No more of that bro country nonsense.”
Brian Kelly: “Dude, what’s bro country”?
Tyler Hubbard: “It just means we’re making REAL country music, bro. We gotta draw from outside the genre with our next album.”
*Sound of wallet chains as they walk away*
the pistolero
June 26, 2014 @ 2:24 pm
Florida Georgia Line”™s next single is supposed to be “not bro-country.” If that”™s true, it is a smart move on their part to get out of the bubble before it deflates (if that is actually what”™s happening.)
Is it, though? I mean, it seems to me those guys are nothing if not all about the image. You take that away and they have absolutely nothing to offer music fans of discerning taste. Even if they put out something ostensibly of substance (as was attempted with “Stay”), Tyler Hubbard is still a barely-serviceable vocalist, and probably not much better as a songwriter. I’m just going off what he’s mouthed off about in the country music press, but I can’t see him or his partner (what’s that dude’s name again?) coming up with something on the level of “Ain’t No God in Mexico,” “Mama Tried,” or even “The Chair.”
Scotty J
June 26, 2014 @ 2:34 pm
This is my point about FGL also. Whenever you have a really stark era in whatever genre you want to talk about there will be certain acts that are so strongly identified with that trend that when the trend passes these acts disappear. Look at the girl groups of sixties pop music or the disco era or the various teeny bop eras. All have acts that were huge for a short time then disappeared.
Country music has generally been immune to this because it has been mostly marketed as ‘grownup’ music if you will and hasn’t been marketed to the youth market. That has now changed with these current times and suspect the days of the long career peaks may be over for the most part.
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 7:49 pm
Your latter point is precisely why I do not expect, nor predict, a Gretchen Wilson-esque commercial flameout from Florida-Georgia Line’s debut to sophomore full-length album.
What I do think, is that it’s quite likely “Here’s To The Good Times” will represent the peak of their commercial career. But the way I see it, this duo has broken too many chart records, has too powerful a label, has been the recipient of too much glorifying along the lines of “they are this generation’s Brooks & Dunn” and has consistent sales power……………to simply fade into oblivion during their sophomore era.
Here’s who I expect to continue thriving, will fade into oblivion, and who can swing either way once the “bro-country” bubble has officially burst:
*
*****SURVIVORS*****
Luke Bryan (Let’s face it: he’s the closest thing to a poster child of the bro-country movement despite having released material preceding it. His superstardom right now is, on some metrics, unparalleled at the moment commercially.)
Florida-Georgia Line (They will continue to be the face of commercial country’s youthful demographic and the monogenre pandering. At some point they will inspire imitators that are more youthful and will eclipse them in image, but they’ll still retain relevancy with their impeccable ability to write catchy hooks and earworms coupled with Joey Moi’s winning formula as a producer)
Jason Aldean (Aldean has never been an exclusive bro-country entertainer anyway. Even his more recent albums consist of a small handful of deeper cuts that, while not deep per se, nonetheless differentiate him from the rest of the crowd in their emotional appeal and slight sense of maturity. It’s just his lead singles and rowdy live show that will reinforce the image of him being a bro-country champion.)
Chris Young (His current single, the utterly generic and boring but nonetheless sincere-sounding “What I Am To You”, has already eclipsed “Aw Naw” in terms of popularity, and my bet is him and his label will wisely contemplate why this particular release made more of an impact and that will inform their decisions on the kind of material that will follow as opposed to releasing albums that are half-disposable bro-country.)
Brett Eldredge (He may not have the sales power yet, but I will go off on a limb and predict he survives the wave and will maintain a presence on radio for at least the next three-four years. I think of him having a presence similar to that of Rodney Atkins from the late 00’s through the beginning of this decade: where he never quite stands out like a convincing superstar but nonetheless has the ability to keep drawing singles to #1. I think his James Otto-reminiscent vocal will only help distinguish him from the rest of the crowd too.)
*
*****VICTIMS*****
Tyler Farr (His lack of stage presence, faceless debut album and the growing backlash surrounding “Redneck Crazy” will lead to an abbreviated career)
Thomas Rhett (I wouldn’t underestimate Rhett as a songwriter. I think he will retain some clout behind the scenes. As a lead performer, though, his days are numbered.)
Chase Rice (Enough said.)
Billy Currington (In actuality, Currington already had diminishing commercial returns preceding the peak of the “bro-country” movement and, in fact, he’s one of the original bro-country personalities. Still, it was a tactical mistake for him to go full-hog on this trend with releases like “Hey Girl”……and he’ll go down with the sinking ship.)
Dustin Lynch: (He fell just short of #1 with an earnest power ballad. Then what did he do? Release three consecutive singles that pander to the lowest common denominator that is pick-up and/or bromance songs, in different ways. His current single may become a radio hit, but the point is he succeeded with a more mature effort, then got dramatically diminished returns in pandering to an immature audience.)
Cole Swindell: (Cole who? 😉 )
*
*****TOSS-UPS*****
Jake Owen (At face value, Jake Owen seems like a surefire superstar. He has an affable, serviceable voice and genuine energy. He has Joey Moi backing him up. And, he looks like the Fabio of corporate “country” music. Yet, in spite of all these calling cards, he just can’t seem to translate all of that to sales. He has yet to garner a Platinum album. “Beachin'” is only the second single of his career to make the Top Forty of the Billboard Hot 100. Owen should be a superstar, but he isn’t, and whether he survives at all will depend on the next set of decisions he makes in terms of direction.)
Brantley Gilbert (He has the sales power and one of the most intensely loyal fanbases any artists could ever dream of having. Yet, I’ve been hearing a whole lot of disappointment among longtime followers of his; whining about how his latest album is “too soft” and doesn’t have enough rockers. I personally commend him for (besides the terrible singles) putting more reflective and mature material to tape, but on the other hand it may also, ironically, result in him not standing out enough among his peers and ultimately being phased out in favor of the next ultra-“macho” rocker type.)
Justin Moore (His music has always been about targeted demographic marketing and pushing cultural buttons. His success or setbacks really depend exclusively on how well or unsuccessful he is at feeling our cultural pulse, and whether he sticks around or rides off into the sunset will depend on how well he continues to do so while also making more of a concerted effort to make his songwriting more mature.)
*
Scotty J
June 26, 2014 @ 8:19 pm
Yeah maybe ‘disappear’ was too strong about FGL but I will maintain that they will be looked upon as THE bro-country act and when the trend passes and the younger fans move on to something else they will have no base. It is an inherently dangerous career plan to market yourself to youth because they are so fickle and quick to move on. We’ll get a better idea when their new record comes out with the supposedly un-bro first single.
As for your breakdown I generally agree with your analysis except for Eldredge and Currington, maybe.
Eldredge just comes off as so amazingly bland and ‘Beat Of The Music’ is a prime example of this. Just boring and unmemorable and the same with ‘Don’t Ya’ but I haven’t heard his entire record so maybe there is more there. ‘Raymond’ was very good but was far too serious and thoughtful to be a big hit. Just don’t see it with him long term.
As for Currington you may be correct but he has sort of been a chameleon bouncing between soulful country (Must Be Doin’ Something Right’, ‘Don’t) and sorta gimmicky non bro country (‘People Are Crazy’, ‘Good Directions’) and on to the bro stuff so I think he has a chance to transition back because he hasn’t totally gone bro.
And Justin Moore is the proverbial cockroach in the nuclear blast he’ll always inexplicably survive.
Josh
June 30, 2014 @ 7:38 pm
I’ll probably be crucified for saying this, and I will also preface it with I am in no way a fan of Fla/Ga Line, but if you listen to their very first mini album “Anything Like Me”, it actually has a couple pretty decent songs on there. One example would be Black Tears that Jason Aldean cut on his recent album. These guys might not be the next Brooks and Dunn but there might be a tad bit of potential there. Unfortunately, thanks to Nashville we will never know
Josh
June 26, 2014 @ 9:24 am
It’s pretty encouraging watching “Donkey” flop. And not just flop, but bomb in terms of popularity. Niemann “sold out” pretty hard and it looks like he went too far, even for bro country and pop country fans. People won’t even remember this guy next year. He can’t go back to making more traditional country songs because he burnt the bridge between him and traditional fans. I really think Florida Georgia Line is also one really bad song away from bombing their career completely. As Scotty said above, the bro country bubble is starting to weaken.
Michael
June 26, 2014 @ 12:53 pm
FGL will become irrelevant as soon as this “bro-country” fad wears off.
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 1:12 pm
I think Florida-Georgia Line have gotten too big to simply fade into obscurity.
While I can see a scenario where their debut album also will be remembered as the peak of their career, I think Florida Georgia Line will stick around for at least another two albums in the top regions of the singles charts.
MC
June 26, 2014 @ 9:25 am
Yeah, this is about as intelligence insulting as a song can get! Oh wait…I just heard tracks from Colt Ford’s new album. WOW!
Phantom Spaceman
June 26, 2014 @ 10:33 am
Yeah, but have you read the Colt Ford comic book?
Yeesh.
I remember Spiderman Anti-Drug comics from the 80s with better writing.
MC
June 26, 2014 @ 10:42 am
Yeah, I thumbed through it but didn’t read it. I can only imagine how educational it must be!
Phantom Spaceman
June 26, 2014 @ 12:23 pm
Well, when one of your “super hero” buddies’ power is “turning into mud” you know you’re in for a stellar read.
The one female in the group being able to turn invisible seems more like a statement on Country Radio in general. You know… because there’s no women to be found, and all that. Honestly, if I was Sarah Ross, I’d be a bit insulted. Perhaps she’s just thrilled to even be included and to not have had her name changed to “Token”.
Albert
June 26, 2014 @ 9:27 am
I’ll preface this by saying I’ve never heard the DONKEY song referred to here. But I would bet on the fact that if radio people had chosen to play it in regular rotation , it would have found an audience and probably have been as huge as most of the other stuff that passes for Country music today . Which tells me that radio has much more say than they should in what gets programmed and exposed to the listener.
We , as REAL country music fans ( real MUSIC fans ) can do more to inform our local mainstream country stations that we are unhappy about what’s programmed much of the time. I did this on a regular basis . I e-mailed our local country station each time I heard something I thought was crappy , offensive , derogatory or just shallow song content . I ALWAYS got a response from program director . None of the responses held water , mind you …there is a line to tow…. but the important thing was that they actually READ the e-mails I sent and if many more caring fans had done the same , I’m convinced they’d have addressed our concerns where it was in their capacity to do so .
I listen to our station very infrequently now ( I reached my breaking point ) but I’ve noticed more airplay of 90’s , 00’s when I do . Perhaps the message IS getting a little louder . Time will tell but in the meantime , it doesn’t hurt to be squeaky wheels if we want some attention right now .
Trigger
June 26, 2014 @ 11:55 am
It’s a very complex system of how a song gets into a radio station’s regular rotation, but trust me, most program directors in the mainstream are just following orders, whether they are from on high from a parent company, or from listeners. There was a backlash to this song before it was even released, despite a promotional budget behind it. I don’t think it would have flied on radio even if they played it more. Neither did “1994” and “Truck Yeah”. There is a limit, and Niemann found it.
GregN
June 26, 2014 @ 9:37 am
The single is at #58 on iTunes, and you know how they usually sell for $1.29?
This POS is going for $.69…
Can’t hardly give it away!
Acca Dacca
June 26, 2014 @ 10:19 am
When I heard about it, I couldn’t even believe this song existed. I was once again floored when I actually LISTENED to it and figured out that, yes, it was the equivalent of a heap of dead brain cells. Then, once again, I just couldn’t believe it when I heard that they were going to release this turd to radio. Disagree all you want, but it’s my opinion that most of the worst of the worst songs that we criticize around here have SOME redeeming quality to them; I have no love for Florida Georgia Line, for instance, but at least their songs are moderately catchy if you shut off your brain for three minutes. “Donkey” wasn’t just terrible, it was practically unlistenable. It was enough of a self-parody to make Hank Jr. blush, and that’s saying something. In fact, compared with the rest of these songs that are branded as terrible, this one is a downright embarrassment. “Cruise” and “Boys ‘Round Here” at least fooled those outside the genre into thinking country was “hip” and “with the times”; this song will have them back to thinking country music is trash and something to be made fun of. The repercussions of this song could have been gloriously bad, but thankfully it’s stalled. (And look, now that I’ve called all of this out it’ll begin a meteoric rise into the top ten next week.)
As for Trace Adkins, while I don’t knock anyone for disliking him or his music, I’ve always liked the no B.S. persona that he puts on. Regardless of the novelty songs he loves to put out he’s had some great singles: “Arlington,” “Til the Last Shot’s Fired,” “Songs About Me,” “You’re Gonna Miss This,” “I’m Tryin’,” “All I Ask For Anymore,” “Just Fishin’,” and “This Ain’t No Love Song” (coincidentally featured on the same album as “Brown Chicken Brown Cow”). Plus, I’d argue that he cuts a novelty song better than most. At least with him you can tell he’s joking most of the time, even if you don’t think the joke is funny.
Speaking of bit songs being swan songs and Toby Keith all in the same sentence, whatever happened to him? Right after “Made in America” his singles took a complete nosedive into nothing but vapid drinking songs, with the exception of “Hope On the Rocks” being decent (but still alcohol-related, of course). His most recent single, “Shut Up and Hold On” utterly bombed and was the first single in his 20+ years as a mainstream country music artist to miss the top 40. Hopefully he doesn’t sell out; he, like Trace, seems to have some type of integrity for the genre, even if you don’t like his music.
Trigger
June 26, 2014 @ 11:58 am
“Red Solo Cup” was Toby Keith’s last big song. Coincidence? Maybe. Or it may have to do with the fact that he’s the highest-paid guy in country music, and has said he refuses to put rap/EDM stuff in his songs, so he’s just sitting back on his laurels.
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 12:17 pm
I’d actually argue “Beers Ago” was his last big song.
On paper, a #5 peak at radio doesn’t seem like much to talk about. But if one were watching the chart at the time, Keith was intent on sticking with his one-album-every-autumn routine and Show Dog was more than willing to pull the plug on “Beers Ago” even when it was heading to the #1 spot with solid gains………….and released the underperforming “I Like Girls That Drink Beer”.
On paper, “Red Solo Cup” will probably usually be regarded as the last hit of Keith’s commercial career. However, among chart-watchers, Keith had one more hit following “Red Solo Cup”.
Scotty J
June 26, 2014 @ 1:09 pm
The thing I would say to that is that he was trying to have his cake and eat it too. While he was criticizing the state of country radio he was also releasing about five singles in a row about beer, ‘girls’ that like beer and drinking in general in an effort to appeal to the younger ‘bro’ crowd (Hope On The Rocks is very good though). But it didn’t work as most of those singles died out short of the top ten.
The lesson I think is you can’t sell out only half way.
Albert
June 26, 2014 @ 5:27 pm
If you really think about the demographic country music/radio markets to now , its easy to see why Toby has perhaps had less chart success of late . Its not his song choices …he’s always had real good and not-so-good songs , as most artists do . He was a “hunk” back then , though, and had far greater appeal to the female audience .15 year old girls don’t wanna sleep with a guy who could almost be their grampa when they can fantasize about Luke or FGL or Joe Nichol , Hunter Hayes ( add your own names here ).C’mon ….Hunter hasn’t released a memorable song yet but I hear about him all the time from students and see him on the awards shows. Don’t get me wrong …I think he’s a real talent . But big o’l hankerchief-wearin Toby can’t compete with these young singers anymore no matter what he releases…anymore than AJ or Vince Gill can . I’m a fan of MOST of Toby’s song choices and his vocal and performing talent . But it would just be creepy to see all these young girls getting worked up over Toby . Its not just the song ….in fact in these times , obviously , its hardly the song . Its the image …the vibe …the fantasy.
Luke’s tush , Carrie’s legs , Joe N’s guns and ….OK …Dolly’s big…….smile ! .
Eric
June 26, 2014 @ 5:43 pm
I would think that radio would be immune from the looks factor, since the artist can only be heard and not seen. In my opinion, the real reason that Toby Keith is not being played on the radio is his unwillingness to release bro-country songs. If he pulled a Jerrod Niemann, he would enjoy a rapid revival in popularity.
Albert
June 26, 2014 @ 5:54 pm
I think the videos ( TV and online etc..) the award shows and the concerts make up for tha fact that radio is immune from the looks factor . Saying that , though ,,,even Toby dabbles with that bro-co vibe . His single ” How do you like me now ” may have been one of the first ….he’s always got an outlaw,or drinking- themed song on his records ( Drinks after work , Red Solo Cup …etc ) to keep radio somewhat pacified .
Albert
June 26, 2014 @ 5:55 pm
oops …I meant I WANNA TALK ABOUT ME …very rap-py
Eric
June 26, 2014 @ 6:27 pm
I am not a Toby Keith fan, but I have to admit that his greatest talent has been in making songs that were both fun/catchy and witty at the same time, with his signature classic country sound. Examples of this include:
“Wish I Didn’t Know Now”
“I Love This Bar”
“I’m Just Talkin’ ‘Bout Tonight”
“As Good As I Once Was” (this one conveys a whiff of sad nostalgia as well)
Trigger
June 26, 2014 @ 8:42 pm
This is the Toby Keith thread I was referring to, and Toby specifically talks about “I Wanna Talk About Me”.
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/toby-keith-says-country-shouldnt-make-a-living-off-of-hip-hop
Six String Richie
June 26, 2014 @ 10:22 am
I think the reason they backed off pushing the Pitbull remix at pop radio was because Florida Georgia Line just remixed “This is How We Roll” with Jason Derulo and released it. They probably knew that pop radio wouldn’t play two country crossovers at the same time and backed off.
truckdriver
June 26, 2014 @ 10:35 am
Thank you for not linking the video.
the pistolero
June 26, 2014 @ 10:36 am
I don”™t really understand why “Donkey” would reignite any kind of stereotype. After all, pretty much everyone anymore has been pushing the sonic and lyrical elements of that song as a natural evolution of country music, and radio programmers seemingly have been all too happy to go along with it. Why did “Donkey” cross the line but “Drink To That All Night” not cross the line? I mean, really. After Chase Rice and “getcha little fine ass on the step shimmy up inside,” I didn”™t think there was anything “country” radio wouldn”™t play, even if they did edit that particular line.
And yeah, Willie Nelson did indeed get airplay for years, as did George Strait, but it”™s still disheartening to see them pushed aside for the flavor of the month ”” and even more so to see the likes of Jason Boland and Sturgill Simpson toil in relative obscurity while hacks like Niemann and Florida-Georgia Line get the recognition as the faces of the genre to the mainstream.
Trigger
June 26, 2014 @ 12:00 pm
I thought “Drink To That All NIght” crossed a huge line, but it was ambiguous enough, and programmers probably saw that this EDM craze was coming full fledged, and decided not to fight it. “Donkey” has three strikes against it 10 EDM 2) Rap 3) Gimmick song.
Acca Dacca
June 26, 2014 @ 2:00 pm
4) Obvious sexual innuendo that pretends to be “clever” but just ends up being a slap in the face.
the pistolero
June 26, 2014 @ 8:09 pm
I thought “Drink To That All NIght” crossed a huge line, but it was ambiguous enough, and programmers probably saw that this EDM craze was coming full fledged, and decided not to fight it. “Donkey” has three strikes against it 10 EDM 2) Rap 3) Gimmick song.
I see where you’re coming from Trigger, and maybe it’s just the cynic in me, but I figured if country radio had gone for one or two of those things, a song with all three would have been a massive hit…
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 11:06 am
(pops a cork)
😉
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 11:33 am
A couple other points I must make.
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Firstly, I still don’t understand why you thought “Drink To That All Night” appeared all but certain to flop in its initial chart run. I don’t know how closely you monitor the airplay charts, but when you’re not one of the few heavyweight A-list commercial artists of the format (even though Clear Channel’s “On The Verge” feature seems to dramatically be changing this as evidenced by the ridiculous manufactured launches of “Keep Those Kisses Comin’ and “Leave The Night On” from decidedly non-established artists)………..it is typical in the meantime to expect at least a 25-week run to the top if you expect your single to reach the Top Five.
Digital sales are, most of the time, what appears to determine the broader fate of any given release at this time (the notable exception being Keith Urban’s “Cop Car”: which was a huge digital hit but quixotically struggled to make it into the Top Ten and had to settle for a #8 peak). And, all along, “Drink To That all Night” was performing better than most rivalling singles around it on the chart in terms of digital sales.
Releases with a balanced airplay/sales ratio tend to make it to the Top Three, whereas releases that have the airplay but are mediocre-to-poor in terms of sales miss out. “Drink To That All Night” never struggled in its initial chart run with sales. Hence, I knew it would be a hit, and it did.
However, the remix tells a whole different story. Yesterday, I saw it was at #100 on the iTunes “country” singles chart. It’s bombing. I don’t think it’ll catch onto mainstream.
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Secondly, while I agree with your overall points surrounding “Donkey” and why it hasn’t caught on, I would be remiss not to point out the poor sales both the release itself and “High Noon” have garnered, has also contributed to its death knell.
The difference between “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” was clear as night and day too. Listeners bought the former, while shunning the latter. Neither should have been a hit, but the former got away with it because listeners cared for whatever questionable reasons as reflected by its strong physical sales and cult appeal in the line dancing circuit and of its video on CMT.
Had “Corn Star” actually garnered robust sales, a popular video and legions of crazed fans sporting the catchphrase on tees all across the nation, I think there’s great reason to believe that Craig Morgan single would have fared a whole lot better. Thankfully, it didn’t, and that’s why it stalled from the get-go……………much like “Donkey” has.
Scotty J
June 26, 2014 @ 11:45 am
Yes, you were right about ‘Drink’ I was wrong. I thought with the combo of the style of the song and the fact that it was by a D-list act would consign it to the long chart stay with 15-20 peak position.
The ‘On The Verge’ thing is yet another borderline corrupt attempt at manipulation. It seems to have done the trick with Campbell despite the unfortunate collapse of his label as the song neared the top 10. I’ll be interested to see how the Hunt song does after it’s big jump this week. Campbell had the advantage of a handful of smaller hits going into ‘Kisses’ whereas Hunt doesn’t (plus he looks like some Euro DJ).
This really is another example of the trouble with consolidation where CC is basically creating (or trying at least) hits all on their own. I have a suspicion there is some fishy backroom stuff going on here but that’s just me.
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 12:07 pm
On Farce The Music last week, they showed a split-screen graphic featuring Sam Hunt and Calvin Harris; asking: “Can you guess which artist is country, and which one is EDM?”
Sam Hunt is featured wearing headphones to his iPod and a top that seems more consistent with the EDM community, while Scottish EDM producer Calvin Harris is depicted much like a lot of male “country” acts today: a white cotton tee and jeans! 😉
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Anyway, I genuinely think “On The Verge” is an admirable idea that is nonetheless terribly executed for two key reasons.
Firstly, the favoritism surrounding it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. What makes Craig Campbell more deserving of his already struggling single at the time more deserving of this enviable form of exposure than, say, Brandy Clark’s “Stripes” or, even among mainstream releases, something like Chase Rice’s atrocious current single? And what makes Sam Hunt so special to the degree his first-week airplay is nearly rivalling the radio debut of Kenny Chesney’s “American Kids”?
Granted I’m no fan of top-tier artists regularly storming with each of their lead releases right out of the gate either……….but at least you can expect that, and at least you know these particular artists have worked hard to get where they are now. Sam Hunt has NOT earned that right. Craig Campbell has NOT earned that right. And even if we were to reward both these entertainers with such a boost right out of the gate, then at the very least “On The Verge” ought to consistently reward those who are truly buzzworthy.
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Secondly, in relation to the first point, what happens when one artist solicits all this airplay? It comes at the expense of the airplay others would otherwise receive. Thus, spins that would have gone to other charting entertainers are redistributed to this sole personality………..and that can negatively affect chart momentum for multiple up-and-coming artists.
Josh
June 26, 2014 @ 12:32 pm
Noah, you bring up a good point about Campbell and “Keep Them Kisses Comin’.” I reviewed it a couple of weeks ago and I don’t see what’s so special about it. The song is average at best. It’s boring and bland. But one theory I have as to why it’s getting so much airplay is because it sounds “traditional” to the casual, pop country fans. Go look at the iTunes comments for the song. A lot of the casual fans call this “real country.” Radio programmers are pushing it because many listeners have this same premise. It is better than bro country, but it isn’t by no stretch a great song. I guess Campbell’s single was just in the right place at the right time.
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 12:47 pm
Just to be clear, I don’t mind “Keep Those Kisses Comin'”. I’d actually agree it is a smidgen above-average compared to what else is saturating the format airwaves in the meantime. Forgettable, but I’m unlikely to change the dial when it comes on.
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That said, my point has little to do with my opinion of the song itself.
The fact of the matter is that “Keep Those Kisses Comin'” had already charted for a while prior to the raw “On The Verge” deal………..and it had been struggling both with sales and airplay. Then, following “On The Verge”, voila…………………it became the breakout hit of the season.
Campbell’s release simply didn’t deserve it. It wouldn’t have been so bad if “Keep Those Kisses Comin'” had just been released as a single, in that its chart shortcomings wouldn’t be so glaringly transparent. In truth, if any release is deserving of “On The Verge” pork barrel spins, it ought to be releases that have unmistakable buzz surrounding them, and perhaps cult sales appeal, but haven’t yet succeeded in translating that to airplay
Scotty J
June 26, 2014 @ 12:42 pm
“What happens when one artist solicits all this airplay?”
Exactly. You know they aren’t taking the spins away from the top of the charts they are taking them from the bottom 30-50 range songs which are often by similarly new or semi-new acts.
But my bigger issue with this is who decides who the ‘On The Verge’ acts are going to be and why? This is ripe for abuse in any number of ways.
I do think that programmers are now trying to find more country sounding songs without going all the way. I think the end result in this is going to be like this:
Maybe ten years ago country radio was a 5 on a 1-10 scale of ‘real country’ and the last year or so that has shifted to maybe a 1 but we are now going to swing back to about a 3 and people will say that is a good development but in reality we are still losing ground.
Applejack
June 26, 2014 @ 12:27 pm
I would guess that most pop-country radio listeners don’t judge the quality of radio content by the same standards that we do. I think the passive radio audience primarily care about whether the songs they hear on the FM dial are pleasant and effective at being pop-country earworms. I’d say the “Cruise Remix” was probably catchier and smoother as a pop song than the original version, so listeners tolerated it. In my opinoin, both the “Drink to That All Night” and “This Is How We Roll” remixes sound awkward and forced. I also think “Donkey” is just straight up unpleasant to listen to regardless of its genre or even lyrical content. It’s not really even catchy, so stupidity is literally all it has going for it.
Or maybe people really are just getting tired of “bro-country,” after months of market saturation, which would be even better news.
Applejack
June 26, 2014 @ 12:46 pm
Next up: I will attempt to compare the relative nutritional value of fried pig rectums and sauteed squid brains.
Eric
June 26, 2014 @ 5:46 pm
“Brown Chicken, Brown Cow” was released in 2011, in the pre-bro-country era. If it had been released today, its chart standing may have ended up very differently.
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 6:15 pm
I respectfully disagree, because “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” is also a digital era release.
If consumers/listeners cared, they would have buoyed that single on the digital chart; regardless if it were 2011 or 2014.
Eric
June 26, 2014 @ 6:18 pm
Country music listeners’ tastes back in 2011 were rather different from what they are now. Perhaps Trace should try and market the song again…
Brett
June 26, 2014 @ 12:59 pm
I know it’s been explained, and I apologize for my ignorance, but I still don’t understand how “Drink to That All Night” made it to No. 1. I didn’t hear one bit of (positive) buzz about it, at least in my region. Who was buying it? Who was requesting it?
“Cruise,” on the other hand, came out and set the place on fire, so at least I understood how it got where it did.
Melissa
June 26, 2014 @ 1:14 pm
May this small pebble of sanity grow into a mountain. 🙂
Like most trends, they went and pushed this bro crap past its limits. I think a return to at least somewhat traditional music is coming. Never underestimate the power of backlash.
BassManMatt
June 26, 2014 @ 4:21 pm
“A few days after the solstice however, and “Drink To That All Night” can”™t be found anywhere, despite the release of the Pitbull remix, and the rumored remix video still in the offing.”
The original version of Drink plays at least six times a day on my local Clear Channel terrestrial station. Is Delaware alone on this one?!
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 8:32 pm
Jerrod Niemann’s response to “Donkey” being pulled in an interview:
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“You know, I said in my PR campaign leading up to the release of my album, that the reason I titled my album “High Noon” is that, back in the gunfighting days, the idea is that at high noon you would meet your adversary…………walk a few steps, turn around and face what you”™re most afraid of, right then and there. And, if you might recall, I said that my adversaries are party poopers………..and I intend to obliterate my adversaries with hardcore bro-country fun.
I’m not conceding. These f***in’ party-pooping bastards don’t know nearly as much about country music like I do. These s***heads are all like: ‘Oh no, we can’t talk about booze, trucks and gettin’ laid anymore!’ Well guess what, f***ers? This is only the beginning of my promotional campaign for ‘Donkey’! We have teamed up with the Koch Brothers, Hasbro, Viacom, all five representatives of the FCC, Fantasy For Adults Only and Britain’s Donkey Sanctuary to launch the most aggressive radio single promotional effort in all human history: “Highest Noon”.
You see, we figured that, if those f***in’ DJs won’t play our single, we’ll just have the Koch Brothers buy your asses out! Then, as we get you all in line and force you to get funky with us, Hasbro will be launching a $750 million merchandise tie-in campaign consisting of everything from remote-control me-on-a-donkey to talking action figures. And for those of you who weren’t even aware ‘Donkey’ is a double entendre because you’re stupid, we also got Fantasy For Adults Only on board to make you realize that: who will design some exclusive products of their own! 😉
Finally, we got Britain’s Donkey Sanctuary on board. Our intention is to form a day camp for children that’s kind of reminiscent of that place in “Pinnochio” where, when the kids act all good, they stay the way they are but, if they get naughty….they become donkeys too! So our idea is that we’ll indoctrinate all these kids to like our song and, if they don’t…….well, they’re asses, and they’re going to like it anyway! (laughs)
I hope I’ve made myself painfully clear, you f***in’ party poopers! My idea of fun will not be denied by radio! We shall meet at Highest Noon! I’ll bring the music!”
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😉 😉 😉
Noah Eaton
June 26, 2014 @ 8:43 pm
“P.S: I know you’re idiots, so I’ll just come out and say it: “Highest Noon” is also a double entendre. Only in this case, it’s a reference to weed! Just thought I’d get it through your thick heads!” 😉
BwareDWare94
June 29, 2014 @ 11:10 am
You know, What Do You Want? was actually pretty fucking good.
But it was all down hill from there.
Mike
June 30, 2014 @ 2:34 pm
10 years ago, when “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” was released, I thought country had reached an all-time low. Ever since then, I’ve found myself saying time and time again, “Damn, I wish Waylon was still around. Imagine he’d have some interesting commentary on the current state of events.” I find myself saying that more and more all the time. >:(
Motown Mike
July 13, 2014 @ 5:50 am
Average mainstream listeners will only listen to what they are told to listen and what they see as “in” or “fashionable” to listen to. They will go along with what someone tells them is popular and will copy-cat what their friends and friends of friends do. They don’t dare venture out of the mediums and bubbles set up for them by someone else. Whether that someone else is the fashion designer and CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch or a music executive like Scott Brochetta. The most these mainstream people do to step outside their bubble is download a song from iTunes or flick on Pandora on their phone for 20 minutes a day at work.
Average listeners have no clue what Spotify really does. One or two of them might have an account linked through their Facebook account. However, they rarely use it and when they do, only search artists and click on those they heard when they got out of the car and turned off their FM radio. They never use the “related artists” feature nor do they ever read a music blog like this and then search that artists on Spotify. They have ZERO CLUE who Jason Isbell even is. Holly Williams? Holly who? Jason Eady? Never heard of him! D.B. Riley, Dale Watson, Olds, The Secret Sisters, Whitey Morgan, etc.
These average, mainstream listeners control absolutely nothing. People like Scott Brochetta tell them what to like and would NEVER put them in-charge of their business model or business direction. If Brochetta wants a song about diarrhea by Luke Bryan to go number one, it will. In the end, people are sheep, and Scott Brochetta is one of the few who are smart enough to continually realize that and exploit that fact. He knows its a fact, period. The rest of us don’t. If we did, we’d be multi-millionaires like him. He speaks (through a myriad radio DJ’s, hat acts and backwoods bros) and everyone listens. Until someone else can clone sheep better than he does, he will be king!