Compilation by Rick Hiduk
Chris Jansen (above) wasn’t asking for too much – was he? – with his tongue-in-cheek hit “Buy Me a Boat,” while Little Big Town’s intriguing “Girl Crush” tugged at people’s ears and sensibilities.
We have to call it what it is. Modern Country bares little resemblance to the music that preceded it by even a decade. None-the-less, there were some clever releases in the past year that somehow succeeded at circumventing the Bro Hick-Hop and slow rock-laced ballads that continued to dominate the scene. Cowboy hats have been sadly relegated to iconic stature.
Squeaky-clean Frankie Ballard is among a few newcomers who seem to remember what Alan Jackson, Clint Black and George Strait sounded like when they were still in charge. In the meantime, more recent established country singers like Miranda Lambert, the Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, and Little Big Town continue to rack up sizable hits. Drake White’s “It Feels Good” was a consistent dance floor filler and mixes well with pop and rock songs.
As with all of my year-end charts for 2015, the final position is dictated largely by audience response to the songs at my DJ gigs.
- Chris Jansen – Buy Me a Boat
- Little Big Town – Girl Crush
- Drake White – It Feels Good
- Miranda Lambert – Little Red Wagon
- Brad Paisley – Crushin’ It
- Kristian Bush – Trailer Hitch
- Frankie Ballard – Young & Crazy
- A Thousand Horses – Smoke
- Maddie & Tae – Fly
- Kelsea Ballerina – Dibs
- Florida Georgia Line – Sun Daze
- Jana Kramer – I Got the Boy
- Lee Brice – Drinking Class
- Zac Brown Band – Loving You Easy
- Thomas Rhett – Crash and Burn
- Blake Shelton – Sangria
- Darius Rucker – Homegrown Honey
- Chris Young – I’m Comin’ Over
- Cole Swindell – Ain’t Worth the Whiskey
- Carrie Underwood – Smoke Break
- Dan + Shay – Nothin’ Like You
- Kenny Chesney w Grace Potter – Wild Child
- LoCash – I Love This Life
- Kacey Musgraves – Biscuits
- Lee Brice – That Don’t Sound Like You