CML Chart for 11/30 to 12/6/08

Number One:
The Zac Brown Band hits the top of the charts this week with their debut single “Chicken Fried.”  After a little bit of a sluggish start to its climb, “Chicken Fried” really took off over the past two months to securely snatch it’s place.

New Songs:
New to the Top 60 this week are Jessica Andrews’ comeback single “Everything” (at #57) and Little Big Town’s latest “Good Lord Willing” at #59.

Returning Songs:
This was a big week for songs that were previously in the Top 60 and fell out as four songs did so.  Adam Gregory storms back onto the charts with “What It Takes” at #50.  Melissa Lawson makes her third attempt at climbing the charts with “What If It All Goes Right,” this weeks #52.  Jamie O’Neal’s “Like A Woman” makes its second visit to the charts as this week’s #54 song.  Lastly, Jeremy McComb’s “Cold” sneaks back into the charts at #60.

Top 60

In January, the CML Chart will be incorporating an interactive element where you can help decided the “My Impression” part of the ratings for some of the songs (see the Top 60 for more details on the formula).  More details will follow as we get closer to the first week of January!

Emerson Drive- “Belongs To You”

Canadian band Emerson Drive is back with their first single off their upcoming album that is still to be titled.  After reaching #1 for the first time on the US Charts with “Moments,”  Emerson Drive is now at the top of their game.  They are charting in both the US and Canada (some songs both, other songs on one or the other).

“Belongs To You” is a ballad about how everything about this man belongs to the woman he loves.  The sentiment is there, the lead vocalist Brad Mates connects well with the melody, and it sounds like a surefire Top 10 hit.  The question is, will they find the Top 5 again?  As is the case with a lot of the songs I see as surefire hits, it all depends on what other songs are there when they make it to the Top 10.  This song could take 4 months to get there, and we could have a lot of really good songs released in January and February that could keep it out of the Top 5.  It’s the way of the charts–there’s always a couple of singles that fly up the charts and do not make a long-term effect on them and keeps some songs from making it as high as they may deserve.

Chart Prediction- Top 10

Listen- Emerson Drive’s MySpace page.

Little Big Town- “Good Lord Willing”

I wasn’t a big fan of “Fine Line” as I thought there wasn’t enough substance to the song to make it a big hit.  Now, after that was another Top 40 single, they release “Good Lord Willing,” which is a song about having fun.  However, it just doesn’t have that much substance when you compare it to the songs off of The Road to Here album (“Boondocks,” “A Little More You,” etc.).  While I think that this song is better than the previous two singles, I don’t think it’ll crack the Top 20 like all four singles from The Road to Here did.

Chart Prediction- Top 30

Listen- Little Big Town’s MySpace page.

Jessica Andrews- “Everything”

Once upon a time, Jessica Andrews was tearing up the charts with “Who I Am.”  She had several other decent hit singles, but all of a sudden, she disappeared entirely.  Now, she’s back with “a more mature voice” and a different sound than when she was a teenager.

While I agree that Jessica has to make more mature music now that she’s older, but I’m not sold on this song yet.  While it sounds a lot like some of the popular country music of Rascal Flatts and other artists, I’m not yet convinced that Jessica will find a place on radio.  I do think that this single will get her some attention, but I am not convinced that she has anything more than a Top 30 on her hand.

Granted, two months down the road I could be changing my mind as the song grows on me, but I don’t predict what I think I’ll think in two months, I go on my gut feeling right now.

Chart Prediction- Top 30

Listen (the first 2 minutes)- Jessica’s MySpace page.