Hillary Lindsey – Page 4 – Country Universe

CMA Awards 2015 – Staff Picks & Predictions

November 1, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 14

The 49th Annual Country Music Association Awards will be handed out on Wednesday, November 4. Once again, the ceremony is hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.

Here are the personal picks and predictions from the Country Universe staff.

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Smoke Break”

August 21, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 24

“Smoke Break” is a remarkably good attempt at a working class anthem. It’s so stylistically different from the “rah rah, let’s party this weekend” approach that has made drinking synonymous with adolescent behavior in modern country music.

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Little Toy Guns”

February 19, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 22

“Little Toy Guns” Carrie Underwood Written by Chris DeStefano, Hillary Lindsey, and Carrie Underwood With her latest single, Carrie Underwood once again reaffirms that she is among the best and most compelling artists of modern

Single Review: Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”

January 12, 2015 Jonathan Keefe 21

“Girl Crush” Little Big Town Written by Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose Beyond their lush four-part harmonies and their incorporation of Fleetwood Mac’s influence into the country idiom, perhaps Little Big Town’s greatest

Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Shotgun Rider”

September 28, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 7

“Shotgun Rider” Tim McGraw Written by Marv Green, Hillary Lindsey, and Troy Verges Tim McGraw’s been getting his groove back lately. Much of his new album, Sundown Heaven Town, recalls the sound of his biggest

Single Review: Thompson Square, “Testing the Water”

May 15, 2014 Ben Foster 5

There are at least three things we can always count on: death, taxes, and the inevitable swamp of summer songs that overwhelm country radio annually beginning around this time of the year.

Single Review: Lucy Hale, “You Sound Good to Me”

January 29, 2014 Ben Foster 5

Pretty Little Liars actress turned country newcomer Lucy Hale cites Shania Twain and Martina McBride as major musical influences, and to a degree it’s perceptible on her debut single “You Sound Good to Me.” The track begins with a light, airy fiddle hook, and segues into an effervescent uptempo pop-country love song with an atypically sparse production arrangement by country radio standards (murky background vocals aside).

Single Review: Little Big Town, “Sober”

October 24, 2013 Ben Foster 9

The “Pontoon” phenomenon may have been primarily responsible for putting Little Big Town back on the map in such a big way, but it’s their new single “Sober” that deserves to be a career hit for the talented country quartet.