Country Universe

Single Reviews Round-Up: Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw ft. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, & Kip Moore

April 11, 2013 Tara Seetharam 16

Rascal Flatts, “Changed”

Like “I Won’t Let Go” a few years back, “Changed” is built on a sweeping sentiment, rousing melody and very little else. That’s not an inherently bad thing; despite an ounce of detail about the confessor, “Changed” feels like a confession –it pleads and swells and submits. Add in an earnest and relatively restrained performance, and the song has legs.

Written by Gary LeVox, Wendell Mobley & Neil Thrasher

Grade: B

Country Music Hall of Fame Welcomes Cowboy Jack Clement, Bobby Bare, and Kenny Rogers

April 10, 2013 Ben Foster 11

This year’s inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame have just been announced from Nashville by Bill Anderson. The 2013 inductees are Cowboy Jack Clement (Non-Performer), Bobby Bare (Veterans Era), and Kenny Rogers (Modern Era).

Freakin' "Accidental Racist," Y'all

April 9, 2013 Dan Milliken 69

In case you spent yesterday outdoors and missed it, Brad Paisley released his eyebrow-raising new collaboration with rapper LL Cool J, “Accidental Racist,” and the Internet’s eyebrows shot up into outer space.

Summarizing this song and all it entails feels, frankly, beyond me. It has to be experienced firsthand. Listen to it if you can find a clip that hasn’t been taken down, or download it on iTunes. But here are the lyrics:

Album Review: Blake Shelton, Based On a True Story…

April 8, 2013 Sam Gazdziak 16

Blake Shelton
Based On a True Story…

Bear in mind that Blake Shelton isn’t just another country singer. He is the reigning Male Vocalist of the Year for both the ACM and CMA Awards, as well as the CMA Entertainer of the Year. Due to his position as a judge on “The Voice,” he is one of the most recognizable country stars around. Therefore, his new album Based on a True Story… isn’t just another album release. It’s an event. It’s a highly anticipated occasion. So how does Shelton kick off this record?

ACM 2013 Live Blog

April 7, 2013 Dan Milliken 13

If you’re tuned into tonight’s show at Blake and Luke just ain’t gettin’ it done for ya, come commiserate on the state of this genre with us. It’ll be fun, maybe!

And as always, please let us know in the comments if you have any trouble with the live blog client.

2013 ACM Awards: Staff Picks and Predictions

April 6, 2013 Ben Foster 44

The stars are converging on Las Vegas this weekend as the industry gears up for this year’s ACM Awards. We at Country Universe have been busily poring over this year’s list of nominees, picking and predicting the winners while getting ready for all the live-blogging madness Sunday night.

Single Review: Lee Brice, “I Drive Your Truck”

April 1, 2013 Ben Foster 13

Lee Brice’s current hit is quite possibly the best song he’s yet sent to radio – a compelling meditation on the process of dealing with grief over the loss of a loved one in death.

Single Review: Sheryl Crow, "Easy"

March 28, 2013 Ben Foster 12

It’s not very country, nor does it sound far removed from the music she’s been making for two decades now, but the lead single from Sheryl Crow’s first full-fledged country album gets several things right.

Single Review: Kristen Kelly, "He Loves to Make Me Cry"

March 26, 2013 Ben Foster 11

More noteworthy as a vocal showcase than as a lyrical composition.

Retro Single Reviews: George Strait, 1990-1991

March 24, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 11

As the nineties began, George Strait was the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, a title noted on the belt buckle he wore on the cover of Livin’ it Up.

Around this time, Billboard switched to monitoring radio stations in real time, revealing just how often songs were really being played. So while all of his eighties #1 singles spent only a week at the top, all four of the #1 singles listed here spent multiple weeks in the penthouse, including two five-week runs at the top.

“Love Without End, Amen”
1990
Peak: #1

Listen

One of Strait’s most enduring hits, “Love Without End, Amen” foreshadowed the understated religiousness of future hits like “I Saw God Today.” A classic three act story song, it makes its point subtly and endearingly.