Toby Keith- “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)”
Fresh off his latest #1 single, Toby Keith is back with one of his most heartfelt songs ever. “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” is a tribute to a lost friend and how the tears that the singer is crying are for him, not for his lost friend. While the sound of the song is a little different for Toby, the connection he has to this lyric makes your heart ache and want to shed a tear. We have all lost loved ones and this song accurately portrays how we feel when this happens. This is definitely going to be another #1 for Toby and may be one of his most remembered songs of all time someday.
Billboard Chart Peak Prediction- #1
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Rodney Atkins- “Chasin’ Girls”
Rodney Atkins has a way with finding songs that affect many people at a time without being too “copycat-ish.” “Chasin’ Girls” is yet another in a long line of good songs from Rodney. While “15 Minutes” didn’t make it to #1, “Chasin’ Girls” has a pretty decent chance of getting closer than “15 Minutes” did. It has a clever lyric (chasing girls in the teenage boy sense then morphs into the guy chasing his twin daughters around), Rodney connects to the song vocally, and it’s a pleasant listen. I do think that Rodney probably will not match the same success with this single as he did with some of his previous work, but this one has Top 5 written all over it.
Billboard Chart Peak Prediction- Top 5
Listen (it will be up soon, it’s not there as of this posting)
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CML Top 60 for 10/25 to 10/31/09
The latest Top 60 is now online!
We have a new #1 this week as “Toes” by the Zac Brown Band leaps 3 places thanks to its win in the CML Chart Interactive for this week’s chart. Sliding down a notch each is “Welcome to the Future” by Brad Paisley, the #1 for the last three weeks, and “Do I” by Luke Bryan. Don’t be surprised if either song return to their previous spots as both songs had gains in their points for the week. Rounding out the Top 5 are two newcomers–”All I Ask For Anymore” by Trace Adkins at #4 and “Only You Can Love Me This Way” by Keith Urban, both of whom were CMLCI winners as well.
There are 5 new songs this week. The highest debut checks in at #53 and is the latest from Blake Shelton (with a little help from Trace Adkins) “Hillbilly Bone”. At #54 this week is the latest from Joe Nichols, “Gimmie That Girl.” Toby Keith’s “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” debuts at #56, Rodney Atkins’ “Chasin’ Girls” debuts at #57 and new band Houston County’s “I Can’t Make It Rain” debuts at #60. Check back later this week as I do single reviews for each of the new songs.
Thanks for the visit! Please help make next week’s chart by voting in the CMLCI. Just click on the appropriate link to take you to that page for some information and the link to the voting pages.
CML Chart Interactive Update–10/25/09
The 10/24 to 10/31/09 edition of the CML Chart Interactive (CMLCI) has been closed and the chart for that week is in process of being finalized. The winners of the CMLCI are as follows:
5-Star: “Toes” by Zac Brown Band; “All I Ask For Anymore” by Trace Adkins
4-Star: “Only You Can Love Me This Way” by Keith Urban; “Bonfire” by Craig Morgan
3-Star: “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum; “Fifteen” by Taylor Swift; “Runaway” by Love & Theft
2-Star: “Consider Me Gone” by Reba McEntire; “Honky Tonk Stomp” by Brooks & Dunn w/Billy Gibbons; “I Just Call You Mine” by Martina McBride
The new CMLCI for the 11/1 to 11/7/09 edition of the chart is now online. Please read the directions for each poll when you vote. The link, plus more details on what the CMLCI is, can be found on the CML Chart Interative (CMLCI) page at the top of your screen.
The Current CML Chart Star Scores will be adjusted later today. The Top 60 will be posted in a day or two. Thanks for the visit!
Eric Church- “Hell on the Heart”
It’s always hard to follow up your first big hit with another solid single. After taking nearly 40 weeks to have “Love Your Love the Most” become is first Top 10 (by reaching #10), Eric tries to recapture that success with a different sounding song that also has clever lyrics. “Hell on the Heart” is basically a man’s version of the old Terri Clark tune “You’re Easy on the Eyes,” in this case the woman is heaven on the eyes, but hell on the heart.
I figured out what the song was about without having to listen to the song based on the song. I thought that if was a man’s version of “You’re Easy on the Eyes” that it would have a pretty decent chance from a lyrics standpoint of being another big hit for Eric. As hard as it is to say, I think that Eric has actually just “one-upped” Terri Clark’s song and may have just scored himself another Top 10. I am even going to be bold and say that with a little help from the other songs out there it will probably make the Top 5.
There was a long stretch where there were 20-30 good songs out there that I thought had the potential of being Top 10s or better. Towards the end of the summer, a lot of those songs started to peak, some lower than they should have because there’s only a limited amount of time to play songs in a day and the “cream” separated from the rest. Now, as we approach the end of the year, there are really only about 10 songs or so that are on the charts now that I think are surefire Top 10 hits, which means that these songs can get there in a hurry and then exceed expectations without much competition. This is one of those songs and I think we will be seeing Eric’s first Top 5 in early 2010 with this song.
Billboard Chart Peak Prediction- Top 5
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Justin Moore- “Backwoods”
Fresh off his first #1, Justin Moore attempts to cash in on that success by releasing another song about country people. “Backwoods” does nothing to add to the recent slew of country people songs, but with a sudden infatuation with his music (somewhat justified since “Small Town USA” was a pretty good song), this song is going to get more airplay than it deserves. Eventually, the song will be exposed as a cheap version of “Small Town USA” and be talked about it the same breath as “Back That Thing Up,” which would be not at all. I am a little disappointed because “Small Town USA” showed how good a singer Justin is and “Backwoods” nearly undoes all of that for me.
Billboard Chart Peak Prediction- Top 40
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Colt Ford- “Ride through the Country” with John Michael Montgomery
Country rap, anyone? I thought I had heard everything. Then, Colt Ford came along. I’m not normally a fan of rap music, but this song has a lot of country in it—the living in the country lyric, the country singer vocals provided by John Michael Montgomery, and the instrumental sounds close to something that could be on an actual song. I kind of “dig it” and think that there is a place for it in the business, if done correctly. Cowboy Troy does country rap, but it just doesn’t appeal to me and doesn’t seem country enough. Colt seems to have found a sound that has a little bit of mainstream in it. I wish that this would a revolutionary song that would surprise everyone, traditionalists and mainstreamers. However, I think that this song will receive minimal play in some markets and not really catch on. What he really needs to do is get George Strait or Garth Brooks on a song with him, then maybe that song will get more attention. John Michael Montgomery’s better days are way in the past now and he doesn’t have the pull, through he does have the voice, to make this work.
Billboard Chart Peak Prediction- Top 60
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Krista Marie- “Tomboy”
Krista Marie’s debut single “Jeep Jeep” was pretty pathetic if you ask me, but not because of Krista Marie’s voice, but because of the song itself. Back with her second single, Krista Marie gets to show off her vocals with a song that she seems to relate to. “Tomboy” is a song describing what a tomboy is and how those kinds of girls compare to the “girly girls.”
I think this song has a better chance of doing well on the charts than her first single did, but I don’t know if Krista Marie is different enough than the rest of the female artists out there that scratch the surface of the charts only to disappear after an album or two with no significant hits. I think the song itself is good enough to get her some decent airplay and possibly get her another single, but that is not set in stone. I think this song will get to the Top 40, but it might struggle to get that high.
Billboard Chart Peak Prediction- Top 40
Thanks for the visit! Feel free to comment on this review and please check out the CML Chart Interactive page for how you can participate in the CML Chart!
CML Top 60 Online for the Chart Week of 10/18 to 10/24/09
The CML Top 60 for the Chart Week of 10/18 to 10/24/09 is now online.
For the third straight week, Brad Paisley’s “Welcome to the Future” is at #1. “Do I” by Luke Bryan follows up at #2 again this week while Chris Young’s “Gettin’ You Home” climbs a pair of places to #3. New to the Top 5 this week and climbing two places is “Toes” by the Zac Brown Band. Rounding out the Top 5 this week is Eric Church’s “Love Your Love the Most,” which despite falling one place and staring at the end of its chart run, spends an incredible 12th week in the Top 5.
New to the Top 60 this week are songs by Colt Ford (“Ride Through the Country” featuring John Michael Montgomery at #53), Justin Moore (“Backwoods” at #54), Krista Marie (“Tomboy” at #57) and the previously mentioned Eric Church (“Hell on the Heart” at #58). Check back later this week as I will post my reviews on each of these songs.
Check out the rest of the Top 60 to find out where the current single by your favorite artist might be on the CML Chart. To check out the Billboard and Mediabase charts, click on the Links page.
This is just a reminder that you can help shape the Top 60 each week by participating in the CML Chart Interactive. Just click on the appropriate link for more details.
CML Chart Interactive Update–10/18/09
The CML Chart Interactive (CMLCI) for the Chart Week of 10/18 to 10/24/09 is now closed. The winners were as follows:
5- and 4-Star Polls were not active this week
3-Star Poll: “Outside My Window” by Sarah Buxton (won the tiebreaker over another song)
2-Star Poll: “Fifteen” by Taylor Swift (received 60% of the votes)
The CMLCI for the Chart Week of 10/25 to 10/31/09 is now online. Click on the CMLCI link to read the details and to find the link to vote.
