Several years ago, Josh Schott started a weekly feature on the now-defunct Country Perspective blog that asked a simple question: Based on Billboard’s country airplay charts, just how good (or bad) is country radio at this very moment? In the spirit of the original feature, I decided to try my hand at evaluating the state of the radio myself.
The methodology is as follows: Each song that appears is assigned a score based on its review score. 0/10 songs get the minimum score (-5), 10/10 songs get the maximum (+5), and so on. The result (which can range from +250 to -250) gives you an idea of where things stand on the radio.
This week’s official numbers are from Mediabase’s official report. Without further ado, let’s crunch some numbers!
Best Song: “Miss Me More,” 9/10
Worst Song: “One That Got Away,” 1/10
Mode Scores: 0 (12 songs)
Gone:
- Midland, “Burn Out” (recurrent)
- Maddie & Tae, “Friends Don’t” (recurrent)
Leaving:
- Jake Owen, “Down To The Honkytonk”
- Chris Stapleton, “Millionaire” (falls hard from #2 to #13)
Death Watch:
- Rodney Atkins ft. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, “Caught Up In The Country” (…and it immediately falls back out of the Top 20 to #22. It’s time to let it go)
In Real Trouble:
- Carrie Underwood, “Love Wins” (down from #10 to #12, passed by three songs, and looks a lot weaker than its immediate competition)
- Dylan Schneider, “How Does It Sound” (down from #47 to #49 and bullet-less for the second consecutive week. It doesn’t sound good…)
In Some Trouble:
- Brantley Gilbert & Lindsay Ell, “What Happens In A Small Town” (down from #24 to #25, gained only fifteen spins and four points)
- Morgan Evans, “Day Drunk” (down from #35 to #37, gained only twenty-one spins and lost points)
- Brothers Osborne, “I Don’t Remember Me (Before You)” (holds at #43, gains only twenty-seven spins and sixty-nine points)
In No Trouble At All:
- Blake Shelton, “God’s Country” (debuts at #36?!)
- Dan + Shay, “All To Myself (up from #36 to #31)
- Jason Aldean, “Rearview Town” (up from #39 to #34)
Is Luke Combs:
- Luke Combs, “Beautiful Crazy” (earns his fourth week atop Mediabase and sixth atop Billboard, and may get another week there if Brett Young or Ray can’t close the gap)
Bubbling Under 50:
- Matt Stell, “Prayed For You” (5/10)
- Adam Hambrick, “Rockin’ All Night Long” (5/10)
- Travis Denning, “After A Few” (5/10)
- Walker Hayes, “90s Country” (3/10)
On The Way:
- King Calaway, “World For Two” (5/10)
- Dustin Lynch, “Ridin’ Roads” (3/10)
- Brad Paisley, “My Miracle” (6/10)
- Scotty McCreery, “In Between” (6/10)
- Midland, “Mr. Lonely” (8/10)
Overall Thoughts: Okay, my optimism for this summer is starting to fade a little…
Sure, Shelton took a dump on the charts with his aggravating “God’s Country,” but McBryde rode to the rescue and helped clean up the mess. In a week where we lost the top-ranked “Burn Out,” escaping with only a three-point Pulse loss feels like a victory in itself, especially since Ray’s team is calling for a max-spin week and “One That Got Away” will hopefully be gone by Easter.
It’s the stuff bubbling up from below the Top 50 that worries me right now, because there’s just so much mediocre flotsam down there right now. I haven’t wasted a single thought on Stell, Hambrick, or even Denning since I wrote those reviews; am I going to have to deal with them hanging around now? (And you just know King Calaway and Lynch will show up on the charts before the April showers bring May flowers.) “Mr. Lonely” better jump on his horse and get over here ASAP, because otherwise the spring colors are going to be a bit less vibrant this year.
So what do you think? Are the numbers better or worse than you expected? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Kyle's Korner 