My top 20 country singles of 2010
Jan. 6th, 2011 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
litlover12Similar criteria to last year: songs that were released (wide release) as singles to radio in 2010, one song per artist, nothing purist about it, etc., etc. This year I'm actually going to link to the videos -- except when I hate the videos -- and provide a little commentary.
It was HARD to pick just 20 this year; I did a lot of chopping and changing right up to the last second. (The one-song-per-artist rule was especially hard, but I stuck to it anyway, as I like to have as many different artists as possible.) So I'm going to provide a few runner-ups too. They may not have made the cut, but they're too good not to mention!
20. "Undo It," Carrie Underwood
19. "Stuck Like Glue," Sugarland
I'm not linking to the video, because I hate it. I'd have linked you to the radio edit if I could, because I don't like the middle section of the song either, but I can't find it online. But seeing that the song still made my list with all that against it, you know the rest of it must be pretty darned catchy!
18. "Raymond," Brett Eldredge
You may need a tissue for this one.
17. "Real," James Wesley
16. "I Gotta Get to You," George Strait
Oddly, there doesn't seem to have been an official video for this one. I know it was a single, though; I heard it on the radio quite a few times.
15. "Bullets in the Gun," Toby Keith
This despite the fact that the title is incorrectly punctuated; based on the line's context in the song, it should be "Bullet's in the Gun," unless Toby was using a grammatical construction that's seldom used in country songs. (This is what happens when you get English majors listening to country music.) N.B., the video is a mite steamy. PG-13, I'd say.
14. "Unstoppable," Rascal Flatts
Live performance, not the recorded version, but it seems to be the closest thing to an official video.
13. "Fearless," Taylor Swift
12. "Smile," Uncle Kracker
11. "Come Back Song," Darius Rucker
10. "Ain't Back Yet," Kenny Chesney
9. "Hello World," Lady Antebellum
You WILL need a tissue for this one. Don't even try to watch it without one. You have been warned.
8. "Little White Church," Little Big Town
7. "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer," Billy Currington
For my dad and me, this was "our song" this year. Last year, "our song" was Billy's "People Are Crazy" ("God is great, beer is good, /And people are crazy"). We seem to bond over beer songs a lot. I wonder if I should be concerned about this.
6. "Anything Like Me," Brad Paisley
I sent this song to my best friend when she was expecting her first boy. She freaked. And laughed. (No official video here, either, so I just went with a video that plays the recorded version.)
5. "I Will Not Say Goodbye," Danny Gokey
4. "Makin' Me Fall in Love Again," Kellie Pickler
Kellie still hasn't had a number one hit yet. I hoped this one would make it, but alas, it didn't get very high on the charts at all. Never mind; I still love it. Cute video, too.
3. "Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong," Martina McBride
See above remarks re: punctuation.
2. "Draw Me a Map," Dierks Bentley
See above remarks re: songs that should have been number one hits.
1. "Voices," Chris Young
And the runners-up:
"I Wouldn't Be a Man," Josh Turner
That's Josh's wife in the video, with their little bun in the oven. All together now: AWWWW.
"What Do You Want," Jarred Nieman
I don't know why the girl who sings it with him doesn't have any billing, but I looked her up, and her name is Rachel Bradshaw. She was also one of the co-writers.
"A Little Bit Stronger," Sara Evans
"Still a Little Chicken Left on That Bone," Craig Morgan
No official video; linking to the recorded version.
Honorable Mention: Taylor Swift's CMA performance of "Back to December." This is remarkably good, especially for a young woman who, as we all know, is usually not at her best in live performances. The arrangement here is much better than in the recorded version, too, especially the piano part. Had she done it like this on the recording, it probably would have knocked "Fearless" off the list.
It was HARD to pick just 20 this year; I did a lot of chopping and changing right up to the last second. (The one-song-per-artist rule was especially hard, but I stuck to it anyway, as I like to have as many different artists as possible.) So I'm going to provide a few runner-ups too. They may not have made the cut, but they're too good not to mention!
20. "Undo It," Carrie Underwood
19. "Stuck Like Glue," Sugarland
I'm not linking to the video, because I hate it. I'd have linked you to the radio edit if I could, because I don't like the middle section of the song either, but I can't find it online. But seeing that the song still made my list with all that against it, you know the rest of it must be pretty darned catchy!
18. "Raymond," Brett Eldredge
You may need a tissue for this one.
17. "Real," James Wesley
16. "I Gotta Get to You," George Strait
Oddly, there doesn't seem to have been an official video for this one. I know it was a single, though; I heard it on the radio quite a few times.
15. "Bullets in the Gun," Toby Keith
This despite the fact that the title is incorrectly punctuated; based on the line's context in the song, it should be "Bullet's in the Gun," unless Toby was using a grammatical construction that's seldom used in country songs. (This is what happens when you get English majors listening to country music.) N.B., the video is a mite steamy. PG-13, I'd say.
14. "Unstoppable," Rascal Flatts
Live performance, not the recorded version, but it seems to be the closest thing to an official video.
13. "Fearless," Taylor Swift
12. "Smile," Uncle Kracker
11. "Come Back Song," Darius Rucker
10. "Ain't Back Yet," Kenny Chesney
9. "Hello World," Lady Antebellum
You WILL need a tissue for this one. Don't even try to watch it without one. You have been warned.
8. "Little White Church," Little Big Town
7. "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer," Billy Currington
For my dad and me, this was "our song" this year. Last year, "our song" was Billy's "People Are Crazy" ("God is great, beer is good, /And people are crazy"). We seem to bond over beer songs a lot. I wonder if I should be concerned about this.
6. "Anything Like Me," Brad Paisley
I sent this song to my best friend when she was expecting her first boy. She freaked. And laughed. (No official video here, either, so I just went with a video that plays the recorded version.)
5. "I Will Not Say Goodbye," Danny Gokey
4. "Makin' Me Fall in Love Again," Kellie Pickler
Kellie still hasn't had a number one hit yet. I hoped this one would make it, but alas, it didn't get very high on the charts at all. Never mind; I still love it. Cute video, too.
3. "Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong," Martina McBride
See above remarks re: punctuation.
2. "Draw Me a Map," Dierks Bentley
See above remarks re: songs that should have been number one hits.
1. "Voices," Chris Young
And the runners-up:
"I Wouldn't Be a Man," Josh Turner
That's Josh's wife in the video, with their little bun in the oven. All together now: AWWWW.
"What Do You Want," Jarred Nieman
I don't know why the girl who sings it with him doesn't have any billing, but I looked her up, and her name is Rachel Bradshaw. She was also one of the co-writers.
"A Little Bit Stronger," Sara Evans
"Still a Little Chicken Left on That Bone," Craig Morgan
No official video; linking to the recorded version.
Honorable Mention: Taylor Swift's CMA performance of "Back to December." This is remarkably good, especially for a young woman who, as we all know, is usually not at her best in live performances. The arrangement here is much better than in the recorded version, too, especially the piano part. Had she done it like this on the recording, it probably would have knocked "Fearless" off the list.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-01-06 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-06 10:22 pm (UTC)Also, I'm pregnant right now and I swear the radio is trying to kill me with "Raymond". The turkeys.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-06 10:39 pm (UTC)And Billy Currington is just great!
no subject
Date: 2011-01-07 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-07 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-07 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 04:02 pm (UTC)And I needed a tissue the first time I saw it!