It's not country, I'll tell you that right now. Hank Williams Sr. is spinning in his grave as I write about this song.
Though to be fair, by pop standards, and I guess even by new country standards, it's not that bad. I mean, it's... catchy enough. Chase Rice has a... decent voice. (Of course, when you've listened to the boys from Florida Georgia Line too often, just about anything sounds decent.)
But this song definitely does not represent country music's rise; rather, it represents its decline. And the best way to understand me is to just listen to the opening of this song. It sounds like something Katy Perry rejected. And what the hell is with that computerized voice? Is this a country song or a dance song?
And I guess my opinion begs the question, "Why can't it be both?" Well, if I really believed that Chase Rice (whose name sounds like a copy title for an Uncle Ben's commercial) was trying to fuse two genres together in a creative way, that might have been one thing. But as that state of country music is today, this sounds just like further regress for country music into the pop world. That's what it sounds like: genericized pop. Not country. Not dance. Pop.
See, Taylor Swift knew how to get out of country music, just by declaring what many people have already said about her: she's a pop artist. But Chase Rice still seems to think he can pull off the country sound. Well, buddy... you can't. So why don't you pull a Taylor Swift and go full pop as well? At least be honest with yourself, man. God damn.
Hot 100 Success:
Will he have it?
As we delve into the waning months of 2014, I can conclude that this was not the year for country. I don't think Chase Rice has much of a wing or a prayer here.
Should he have it?
While he wouldn't be the worst country artist this yer to try and break and enter, he still doesn't deserve much praise, just doin' what everybody else is doin'. Ready, set, let's roll away from this genericized song.
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