A Song Like Kane Brown’s “Weekend” Isn’t Even Shocking Anymore
What has happened to American country music? How did we get here? What diabolically bad state of disrepair has befallen the country genre where someone would even be forced to interface with a song like Kane Brown’s “Weekend” as a country music fan or critic? It’s not even that the song is bad. As radio pop, it’s probably fine, despite being vacuous and utterly pointless as an effort at artistic expression. It’s that “Weekend” is so unbelievably not country, it could be categorized in every other popular genre before it fell to being cataloged as country music.
Yet here we are in the country world talking about it. Are we shocked that such a non-country track like “Weekend” is the latest single from Kane Brown? Of course not. It’s what we expect from him. What would be shocking is if he released a song that actually sounded country. They can’t even tell us anymore that a song like this pushes boundaries or is country music “evolving.” Songs like “Weekend” have already been done in country music so many times over the last couple of years, it’s par for the course.
This is why the acceptance of Sam Hunt was so devastating. Now a song like “Weekend” is just seen as yet another R&B single released as country music, as opposed receiving stiff opposition and audible groans for being a gross overstepping of bounds, and being editorialized via think pieces about what it all means for country music moving forward. Nobody even bats an eyelash anymore. All criticism feels redundant. We’ve been desensitized.
But we shouldn’t be. As the lines between popular genres become indefinable—and a wave of pallid music permeates nearly every playlist on the radio and streaming services regardless of format—the listening public is woefully underserved in choice, regardless of anyone’s personal opinions on quality or taste. This issue stretches far beyond country. Every genre is affected when there is no choice between any of them. It devalues music, and diminishes the music listening experience across the board. It takes music from a vehicle to express and inspire to simply becoming background noise. “Weekend” is called country music because its origination point is Nashville instead of New York or Los Angeles. But in truth it’s just the latest offering from the monogenre—indefinable in style and influence from any other mainstream single regardless of format.
Slowly we’re seeing the bulldozing and whitewashing of American music culture, making it devoid of any unique influences or differences. Kane Brown’s “Weekend” should be just as troubling to R&B fans as it should be to country ones, because it’s an incursion and incorporation of their turf by what is supposed to be distinctly rural music. But they’re not shocked either. They expect it, and are resigned to this as the new musical reality, just like country fans.
But they should be shocked. We all should be. Because music is one of the ways we can express ourselves uniquely, either through listening or performing. And by bleeding the local, regional, and ethnic dialects and influences out of the music, we lose a little bit of ourselves in the process. We lose a part of our identity—what makes us unique to ourselves, and interesting to each other. Making country music sound like urban music is not a celebration of diversity, it’s the death of it.
Yes, Kane Brown’s “Weekend” is just one in a growing line of R&B songs released as country. And it won’t receive the same type of vociferous condemnation as Sam Hunt’s first singles or other copycat efforts by mainstream country stars. But it should. Because regardless of the appeal it might find in certain segments of the popular audience—country or otherwise—it has absolutely nothing to do with country, aside from being just the latest step on the slow, downward spiral attempting to destroy country’s unique sounds and style in the name of mass appeal.
– – – – – – –
Now, let’s all go shopping at Wal-Mart…
August 16, 2018 @ 10:34 am
God, that is bad. Made it a minute, all I could take.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:01 am
Surprisingly, i don’t mind it at all, but it resembles Country music about as much as Janet Jackson. This is purely r&b with some slide guitar.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:54 am
That’s not a slide guitar.
August 16, 2018 @ 12:20 pm
At 2:20ish? It absolutely is
August 16, 2018 @ 12:47 pm
With a wah on it no less….cuz you know, that sounds more soulful, like Shaft.
August 16, 2018 @ 7:05 pm
I remember a time when country music actually had people with talent that focused more on the music and less on what they looked like. That time has passed and I am sad…..
August 17, 2018 @ 6:02 am
Same here
August 16, 2018 @ 10:43 am
What’s with that hat? He doesn’t look like a country singer; he looks like a extra from Crocodile Dundee.
August 16, 2018 @ 10:58 am
That’s not a cowboy hat.
..thaaaat’s a cowboy hat.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:42 am
Cowboy hats are evolving.
August 16, 2018 @ 8:59 pm
Does crocodiles out there’s crocodile Dundee
August 20, 2018 @ 2:13 pm
He looks like a Crocodile Dundee parody.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:06 am
Shit sandwich.
August 16, 2018 @ 12:44 pm
You can’t print that.
August 16, 2018 @ 2:14 pm
I see what you did there.
I give your comment “11.”
August 16, 2018 @ 11:07 am
A bad song from a bad singer. It seems that mediocre talent can get airtime on “country” radio because they don’t fit in anywhere else. Thomas Rhett is another example of that. I guess with enough marketing anything can happen.
August 17, 2018 @ 6:04 am
Well said Janet! Just another confirmation what we all know…. there’s party country (aka pop music) and there’s real country music…. fortunately for most around here there’s a lot of it too. I started ignoring the radio world several years ago and I’m much more at peace in life.
I don’t even need to listen to the song – I say good for this guy if he figured out how to make a bunch of money off people.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:18 am
Walmart is a great place for methy.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:27 am
Country radio is dead. Sam Hunt, FGL, Osborne Bros, Mitchell Tenpenny, Dan + Shay… there’s no pushback besides blog pushback. It’s a lost cause. Pack it in, start over somewhere else.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:51 am
Brothers Osborne?
August 16, 2018 @ 6:34 pm
I like Brothers Osborne. They sure as hell aren’t country, but they are head and shoulders above the rest of the clowns you named.
August 17, 2018 @ 6:10 am
Couldn’t agree more. See comment above. If you just ignore the radio scene you don’t have to worry about wasting negative energy towards it….. Channel it into finding great music.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:34 am
“By bleeding the local, regional, and ethnic dialects and influences out of the music, we lose a little bit of ourselves in the process. We lose a part of our identity—what makes us unique to ourselves, and interesting to each other.”
I was told that was what these tattoos were for. (looking downcast)
“Making country music sound like urban music is not a celebration of diversity, it’s the death of it.”
Yeah!!!!!!! wait …
wut ?
“They expect it, and are resigned to this as the new musical reality, just like country fans.”
We’re just chillin poolside bruh.
August 16, 2018 @ 11:51 am
Sleeping pill.
Is it “country”? No.
Is it good? No.
The perfect song for “country” radio & the Billboard “country” charts.
More crap: the new LoTra…cash single called “Feels Like A Party” (co-written by one of the FGL airheads).
August 16, 2018 @ 12:13 pm
I detect some dispair, but keep fighting the good fight, Trig: I don’t listen to radio, but it seems that some of the headliners are releasing more country-leaning stuff recently (Shelton, Chesney, some Luke Bryan). Keep preaching!
August 16, 2018 @ 12:42 pm
I liked it.
August 17, 2018 @ 5:41 am
And, that’s fine. Just please don’t call it country.
August 16, 2018 @ 12:46 pm
I hate the song, I hate the video and I hate the people in the video. Tired of hipsters with shitty tattoos appropriating country culture. this dude is an embarrassment.
August 17, 2018 @ 5:51 am
Amen. Fucking millennial hipster trash
August 16, 2018 @ 12:48 pm
It used to be one of the topics people would discuss on first dates would be musical interests. Now, as it becomes more and more difficult to differentiate between genres, you can’t even do that. If I tell someone I’m a country fan, they’ll assume I like insipid crap like this. And God help me if I dare insult this crap by saying it isn’t country or I’ll get the response “I like pretty much everything you hate” (and no., I’m not kidding: I got that very response.
.
I’ve given up telling people I’m a country fan: I just tell them I’m into Americana, Red Dirt, Singer/Songwriter style, Classic Country, and Roots Music. It’s much simpler. They may not know exactly what it is, but it’s better than them assuming I like this kind of garbage.
August 16, 2018 @ 2:49 pm
There’s 2 ways I go with this Cobra depending on if you’re actually attracted to the gal or not. Sometimes I say “I like many different types of Country” and leave it at that because 99% of women have no idea of the alternative universe that we and this site live in. Occasionally if they ask me to be more specific I’ll say “ya know Keith Urban, FGL, Brett Young, and Dan Does Shay”? They’ll say “yeah” and I’ll say “not like that”. Oh the looks that I get…LOL
August 17, 2018 @ 3:10 pm
I don’t care if he is the most attractive and nicest guy on earth. If he’s a Kane Brown, FGL, or Dan + Shay fan (or any of these pop bullshit artists), I’m done. There will be no second date. Good music taste is a very attractive quality.
I once went on a date with a guy who didn’t know who Lee Ann Womack was. Anyone can guess how that ended.
August 18, 2018 @ 7:44 am
Well see Amanda that’s when you take that most attractive guy who’s nice and use it as a teaching moment like I did one time when a woman said “well play me something you’re talking about from one of those “not like that” artists”. So I played her Cody’s “No Words” and she said “wow, that’s a beautiful song. How come they don’t play that on the radio?” And I said because Cody’s people don’t know the right people and the right people are all idiots. She knew who Stapleton was so I said there’s no reason Cody and others shouldn’t be as popular. She finally “got it”. We wish they were all like you Amanda but we have to deal with the 99% or we’ll be very lonely….LOL
September 10, 2019 @ 1:30 pm
And thomas rhett is writing this shot
August 16, 2018 @ 8:09 pm
“If I tell someone I’m a country fan, they’ll assume I like insipid crap like this.”
Or your date will say “You know, I didn’t know I liked country until Bebe Rexha’s ‘Meant To Be’! Now I’m totally a country fan!”
August 17, 2018 @ 4:01 am
Oh Lord, those people are the worst.
August 17, 2018 @ 8:28 am
When I’m on a date with a guy and the topic of music comes up, I flat-out say “I like country music, but not most of that bro-pop BS that’s played on mainstream radio.” Gets right to the point! 🙂
I was on a first date recently and mentioned liking Waylon Jennings – the guy said “who is that?”. I knew right then that there would be no second date!!!
August 17, 2018 @ 9:12 am
Wow, I think I love you.
August 17, 2018 @ 9:33 am
Jennifer I love your comment. I immediately thought of Ray Scott’s song “My Kind of Music” from 2006. Can’t believe it’s that old yet still so apropos to today and this conversation. If you don’t know the song, please check out the video on YouTube. And you keep your high standards of dating!!
August 18, 2018 @ 11:24 pm
I think you’re confusing your life with the lyrics of a Ray Scott song from the mid 2000’s.
August 17, 2018 @ 10:03 am
“What kind of music are you into?”
“Oh I listen to everything! What about you?”
“I’m really into classic and traditional-style country music.”
“Oh yeah I don’t really listen to any of that. Is that like Brad Paisley?”
This is a common interaction since I’m in my mid 20s
August 16, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
You know when you’re in a situation and you think, wait am I on candid camera. These people are acting so stupid its impossible for this to be real? Well…
August 16, 2018 @ 12:50 pm
If you don’t like him, no one is telling you to listen to it. You can change the channel or don’t click on play. It’s really simple. I love Kane Brown’s voice and his music! I also love George Strait, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks. I wish I could select the websites I don’t want to hear from. This one would be one.
August 16, 2018 @ 1:00 pm
Have you heard of this thing called irony?
August 16, 2018 @ 1:51 pm
Alica,
We don’t care about his “music”. We just hope that it would be on a pop radio where it belongs so that we would never have to hear it every again.
Just like a food menu. Don’t bring me a Mcdonald burger if I am ordering a longhorn steak!…
August 16, 2018 @ 2:03 pm
>I wish I could select the websites I don’t want to hear from. This one would be one.
WHY ARE YOU HERE
August 16, 2018 @ 2:15 pm
Wait wait wait wait wait.
Why is it my responsibility to change the channel I picked because it doesn’t play the music it’s supposed to play?
If I waltz my butt into a Home Depot and ask for a 2X4 and they try to give me a jelly donut and tell me that 2X4s evolved and that I shouldn’t have gone into Home Depot if I didn’t like it…
Use your head, silly.
It’s called Country radio, means it’s supposed to play Country Music.
And why should I be forced to work harder to find what I like on the Radio because you keep putting the wrong label on stuff.
It’s practically a form of discrimination at this point because certain styles of music are made so inaccessible.
And the worst part is you can’t even see that you’re forcing your music onto somebody else and denying them the right to choose their own music because you’re so ingrained in this backwards mentality that people can just change the channel
and may I ask TO WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO CHANGE THE CHANNEL TO GET COUNTRY MUSIC IF ALL THE COUNTRY STATIONS ARE PLAYING THIS STUPID STUFF
August 16, 2018 @ 6:31 pm
SiriusXM ch 349 – Dwight and the Bakersfield Beat!
August 17, 2018 @ 9:18 am
Radio is a business. What you’re complaining about is a business trying to make money by playing what the most listeners want to hear.
Sadly, most radio listeners don’t want to hear what most folks call country music.
Pushing the channel change button is the correct thing to do, it’s like voting. If enough people do it then the radio station owners will change the music.
But I don’t think you’ll get enough people pushing the button with you these days, and the corporate takeover of nearly all radio stations a few years back isn’t helping.
Shareholders want a return on their investment, they don’t care what kind of music we like.
Times change, businesses change with them. I for one am thankful for the internet, rats nest that it is, because I can find good music every now and then, or a website like this to help guide me a little.
Country radio is dead in most parts of the country.
August 17, 2018 @ 12:52 pm
I can agree with you, Chet, that radio is a business.
However, radio stations don’t get paid by listeners who are demanding what they want to hear. Radio stations generate revenue by selling advertisements. From the beginning, radio stations have been in cahoots with labels, and/or artist management and advertisers to determine what the listener will want to listen to (familiar with the concept of payola)? Beer and Truck companies advertising on radio stations playing songs about beer and trucks – funny coincidence?
Folks are changing the channel these days, to the internet and streaming services, by the droves. This is why the corporate entities you mention are on the verge of collapse; Trigger has covered radio bankruptcy in detail on this site.
August 17, 2018 @ 1:12 pm
Last time I checked the Clear Channel business model is going tits up. Maybe they should change their business model, starting with playing garbage like this.
August 16, 2018 @ 5:46 pm
If you don’t want to hear from this website, then may I suggest something for you…
Hitchhike your hind parts on outta here. Ain’t a damn thing forcing you to be here reading articles.
August 16, 2018 @ 6:07 pm
But she “heard from” this website which we all know requires a mandatory response. Actually I love when the zombies show up. It’s always entertaining and no matter how bad my day has been, I’m reminded that it could have been way worse.
August 16, 2018 @ 5:59 pm
I can’t even…
August 16, 2018 @ 1:08 pm
But there’s acoustic guitar, Trigger! Thus, it’s obviously country.
I seriously had someone tell me that about a year ago. In fact, her argument was that country music is guitar-based music, not just acoustic, but guitars period. There’s so much stupidity in this world, God help us.
August 16, 2018 @ 8:31 pm
If you say “y’all” once it’s country.
August 16, 2018 @ 1:33 pm
I’m not sure, but he might just be chillin this weekend… — He only mentioned it 74 times.. — Damn, thats horrible.
August 16, 2018 @ 1:47 pm
I could not agree more with your assessment Trig.
August 16, 2018 @ 2:10 pm
One could state that 90% of that old school country has been gone for along time. And even then old school artist had songs that varies from the normal “country music”..
August 16, 2018 @ 2:26 pm
Whether y’all like him or not, Kane has made his way into country music and has become a success. Hit the top of the charts, platnuim hits!
#selfmade#famous#hatersgonnahate
August 16, 2018 @ 3:20 pm
and whether Kane Brown’s fans know or not, he can’t sing, looks ridiculous, and doesn’t know a thing about Country Music.
NEXT
August 16, 2018 @ 5:16 pm
Into “country music”, you say? No, he’s made his way into a weird genre combining rap and pop with desperate country panderings, appealing largely to teenage girls and bored soccer moms. Seriously, if it’s rap music folks are after, why not get the real deal and go old school with groups like NWA and quit settling for the embarrassments being pushed on country radio. Good God…
August 16, 2018 @ 8:09 pm
Unless you’re getting points, why the fuck do you care about sales and “hits?” Popularity, sales, and money is not a sign of greatness. Especially in this case it’s more a sign of image driven pandering fluff designed purely to make money and be “successful.” And you’re the target! Congrats! It’s shocking how the general public has such a predictable and robotic response to pandering.
August 17, 2018 @ 10:06 pm
”Whether y’all like him or not, Kane has made his way into country music and has become a success. ”
so did Jessica Simpson and Olivia Newton-John
August 22, 2018 @ 1:25 pm
Olivia Newton-John was more country than Kane is.
Then again, so was Rascal Flatts.
August 16, 2018 @ 2:57 pm
This actually isn’t the worst thing I’ve heard from him. Is it mediocre soft rock disguised as country music? Yes, of course. But he’s put out worse songs in his career so far.
The main thing I dislike is the whole Walmart angle. “Look how country he is, he shops at Walmart just like us!” is clearly what he is desperately hoping his fans will say when watching the video.
August 16, 2018 @ 3:24 pm
If this isn’t cultural appropriation, I don’t know what is. I ‘ve been saying for years that country music is fading away, and replaced by pop/hick-hop/crossover/R & B.
August 16, 2018 @ 4:34 pm
Man, I REALLY gotta start dumbing down my song submissions for publishing in Nashville…
August 19, 2018 @ 2:51 pm
”Man, I REALLY gotta start dumbing down my song submissions for publishing in Nashville”…
ain’t that a fact , Thoroughbred . ….you just can’t waste your time submitting smart , fresh songs to publishers , it seems . they have no use for them . AND I would suggest that they’ve now got a bunch of ‘ artists’ ( Brown , Hunt , Urban , Aldean , Bryan ..etc..) who wouldn’t even GET it if a well written smart , mature song was brought to their attention . This is what I’ve always been concerned with when it comes to trying to expose ALL young artists to the good material . Otherwise , they become indoctrinated to that watered down , thoughtless , sing-along culture that country radio has become . It is more important than ever to keep the great songs out there and getting them exposure if we even stand a chance of getting back to the standards of writing we once saw and heard regularly on COUNTRY radio . No …its never going to be ” Jimmy Webb , Paul Overstreet ” good …but it can be SO MUCH better if the young artists are shown that . Its almost like young kids in grade 3 being taught that the world is flat again when we all know it isn’t and we all know how much, much better the music could be CUZ WE’VE ALREADY BEEN THERE . I’m just not convinced that GOOD and GREAT songs and artists can’t or wouldn’t sell as well or better than inferior and mediocre artists and songs.
August 16, 2018 @ 5:09 pm
I’ve said it before here but I’ll say it again just for this special occasion….
I’d rather take my chances with Mexican tap water than listen to anything Kane Brown puts out.
August 16, 2018 @ 5:10 pm
snowflakes and millenials rule Music Row now…fuggin disgraceful
August 16, 2018 @ 5:50 pm
The sad thing is the millennials that actually care about and are making real country are relegated to the same dumpster along with the “old farts and jackasses” who dare stand up the the systematic dumbing down of American music.
August 16, 2018 @ 5:44 pm
The music Kane Brown and about 95% of the music being passed off as country music these days should be called “Crap” music. The 90’s were the last decade that real country music was worth listening to. I will stick singers like Conway twitty, Lorrie Morgan, Patty Loveless, Keith Whtley, Mark CHESTnutt , Travis Tritt just to name a few.
August 17, 2018 @ 4:42 am
Who is Mark Chestnutt?
Here’s a link to Mark Chesnutt’s official website: https://www.markchesnutt.com/
August 16, 2018 @ 6:30 pm
So sick of this absolute BULLSHIT that has invaded country music. Very little even sounds country anymore. Between him, and all the pop sounding groups and singers, many don’t even live what they sing or look like people that are country. Please get them the fuck out of country music!!!! Most of the guys look like ball-less pussies in skinny jeans, and the women are mostly pop too. ????????????
August 16, 2018 @ 6:35 pm
Would this count as cultural appropriation that everyone is complaining about these days?
August 16, 2018 @ 6:37 pm
Kane Brown, along with Thomas Rhett, Dan + Shay, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Sam Hunt need to pack it up and get the hell off of country radio. We don’t want to hear their shit.
August 16, 2018 @ 6:40 pm
Trigger, one might 5 years ago I stumbled across a Sturgill Simpson Sunking Brewery YouTube video. I googled him, and SCM was the first link, and I can’t thank you enough for saving me from the downward shit spiral that apparently has led the ignorant masses to like and defend this garbage as a country music song. You do a great job and I think there are tons who would agree with me. Also, this song deserves a rant.
August 16, 2018 @ 8:00 pm
Thanks Bobby, glad you found the site.
August 16, 2018 @ 7:27 pm
Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart rule change in late 2012 to reward airplay “country” songs get on pop and R&B/rhythmic stations is basically them encouraging country songs to have both a pop sound and some R&B sound too, but safe and bland enough for the Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary pop stations.
That sounds like the “perfect” song the mono-genre is moving towards: a little bit pop, a little bit R&B, a banjo for the country stations, and also bland enough for the Adult pop stations.
August 16, 2018 @ 7:54 pm
Maybe that’s what radio music and even streaming playlists are moving towards – just bland background noise. I mean, who still listens to the radio at home anymore? Most people probably just “have it on” while driving to work or *at* work (often by force, either because a co-worker is playing it or it’s piped in through the speakers…and in the case of being piped in through speakers, that’s just torture and I’d be looking for another job, haha). So it could be bland background noise while driving or typing in your cubicle or picking up some Ex-Lax at Walgreens or eating at Red Lobster. This Kane Brown song is perfect for that.
August 16, 2018 @ 8:16 pm
It’s funny to watch these videos and how completely disconnected they are from life. I got a buddy that is homeless and living out of a van, several friends who’ve lost their jobs and declared bankruptcy, others battling addiction, and the rest are just hanging on hoping they have enough saved to make it through whatever market correction may or may not wipe them out. As for myself I’m in the process of selling most of my musical equipment hoping to buy myself a few more months playing live. After that…who knows. That’s just “the way she goes” and a day in the life. Lots of folks I know can say the same– and some got it easier. Good on ya if you do. As for R&B, I love it when it addresses real life (the good and the bad). But this…it’s not R&B or music, it’s business and the “music” video is an advertising soundtrack for “lifestyle”. If you live life like a clothing catalog, you’ll love this “music”… and that’s your art-less reality. Needle drop acoustic intros don’t fill the cracks in the road of life. Real music does. What I’m meaning to say is, well stated Trigger. I agree.
August 16, 2018 @ 8:46 pm
I’m not understanding all of the negative comments. You don’t like the song? Simply don’t listen to it! I happen to love all of Kane Brown’s music. It’s fresh, raw, and unique….much different than the typical “country” music I got so sick of listening to on the radio that I turned to Pandora to get more variety in that genre. Hence where I found Kane Brown and have been a fan of his ever since. Does his music have a little bit of R&B feel? Maybe, but it also has soul and depth. I look deeper than the category society wants to put one’s music into. I would much rather focus on the talent than young man has and his tenacity to get noticed when the mainstream country music scene are simply looking for something that fits into a nice little package for record sales. Mark my words….Kane’s music will withstand the test of time. He has a natural gift and I for one am thankful he is sharing it with us!
August 16, 2018 @ 9:47 pm
Ok saying you like it is one thing. Can’t argue with that. But “raw” and “deep?”
Did you write this in homeroom?
August 17, 2018 @ 10:47 am
I’m 45 MORON! And tired of the same old shit on the “country music” stations. I happen to be an avid music lover and always have been. Next time check your foot before you have to insert in into your mouth.
August 17, 2018 @ 11:15 am
Oh gosh, I’m honestly really sorry (that you are 45 and consider this raw and deep). Which lyrics particularly, do you consider deep? I’m dying to know.
August 18, 2018 @ 1:03 pm
seriously? Grow up.
You’re forty five years old listening to music that’s written for people with a 4th grade reading level.
Was Yurtle the Turtle too hard for you?
Give me a break, you’re nearly twice my age acting like an elementary school kid and quite frankly there’s so many people like you trying to change the music I grew up on and I’m madder than heck and won’t stand for it.
Get a hold of yourself
August 16, 2018 @ 11:36 pm
I think he has a decent country voice. I just wish he’d use it to sing country music.
August 17, 2018 @ 4:15 am
Teens talking about “the test of time” is good for a laugh.
August 17, 2018 @ 6:12 am
It’s not about whether or not I listen to it.
It’s about why I have to endure POP music on the COUNTRY station that I wanted to listen to.
The same reason people who want Big Macs go to McDonald’s and people who want Whopper’s go to Burger King.
You can’t just put a Whopper at McDonald’s and expect it to go over well.
I want Country Music, that’s why I picked the COUNTRY station and I’m mad that they aren’t playing Country Music and I have every right to listen to music I enjoy
and you can’t just call this Country music the same reason putting a label that says beets on a can full of peas doesn’t make them beets
August 17, 2018 @ 6:55 am
You find this fresh, raw and unique? Now I know you’re not a real person.
Just chillin’ on the weekend, weekend
Sippin’ something on the cheap end, cheap end
Skinny dippin’ in the deep end, deep end
August 17, 2018 @ 10:56 am
I was meaning all of his music on general. I’m not real? ???? Good to know! Do you realize how foolish your comment makes you sound? Have a wonderful day.
August 17, 2018 @ 11:36 am
Before you people lose your ever loving narrow viewing minds over my comment perhaps you should actually listen to some of his songs besides the song you’re picking apart. When I made my comment it was not about this brand new song, it was about his music in general. I don’t judge an artist based off of one song because there are many one hit wonders and every genre of music. I remember when Garth Brooks came out and there was so much smack talk about his music being different and it not being country and blah blah blah….. he obviously did something right because he has millions of fans ! Kane’s music does have a depth, it IS raw, and it IS unique; so maybe you should do a little bit more investigating I listen to a few other of his songs rather than stupid surface google browsing. Now with that being said, I’m going to choose to put aside my redheaded temper with your vile and spiteful comments, and enjoy the rest of my day by blaring some Kane Brown music! Hope you have a nice day “y’all” and try to find some sunshine because I think you need it !
August 18, 2018 @ 8:14 am
Point taken Jennifer . But if an ‘ artist’ baits his hook with a crappy piece of music instead of something of substance and vision -(especially when he knows the difference) – waiting for “dumb fish” to take it, I AM INSULTED . He’s scamming his ‘prey’ . In fact the only ones who wouldn’t be insulted by that are the ‘ dumb fish ‘ . No offence meant to ANYONE with this comment …I just detest an artist who considers me a ‘dumb fish ‘
August 22, 2018 @ 6:57 am
Brooks’ success played a huge role in why contemporary country music has disintegrated to where we are now.
August 17, 2018 @ 12:59 pm
Fresh? Raw? Unique? soul and depth?
Irony, I am afraid, is dead in America…
August 17, 2018 @ 1:18 pm
Kane Brown’s “music” is about as deep as an empty bird bath. “Raw?” This crap is more processed than a McDonald’s cheeseburger. Put it on some pop station competing with Bruno Mars where it belongs.
August 20, 2018 @ 7:46 am
Guys, lay off.
If you can’t see the rawness and depth of lines like “bass fishin’ your feet in, feet in” or “we can watch a whole season of Seinfeld or Friends,” well, that’s on you.
August 16, 2018 @ 9:07 pm
What soul and depth did you find in this latest song…or any of his recent songs? You were looking for something different than traditional country…so you thought KB was a better option. In other words, you wanted pop or imitation r&b?
August 16, 2018 @ 10:03 pm
Maybe it’s just me, but has anyone else noticed the abundance of brand new male artists on the mainstream country chart? Morgan Evans. Mitchell Tenpenny. Jimmie Allen. Travis Denning. Riley Green. Tyler Rich. Carlton Anderson. Brandon Lay. And with the exception of three (Denning, Green, and Anderson), they all sound the same: boring, soulless, forgettable, and probably a hit with the general mainstream. Yawn. I didn’t even remember anything about the songs by Evans, Tenpenny (the only thing about him that stands out is “Bitches” and how god-awful it was), Allen, and Lay when they were finished. Rich was terrible. His song contains the awful lyric of “hottie riding shottie”. (Yes, this exists. Google the lyrics for “The Difference” if you think I’m kidding. I’m shocked Farce the Music hasn’t done a meme based on this song.) I never wanna hear that song again.
Green and Denning were actually pretty decent. “David Ashley Parker from Powder Springs” and “There Was This Girl” were actually enjoyable songs, fairly country, and not forgettable. Which brings me to Carlton Anderson. The most country and best of the lot. Despite the somewhat weak lyrics, “Drop Everything” is enjoyable, and even contains a healthy dose of *gasp!* fiddle. It seriously sounds like an early 2000s country song, and “Drop Everything” is the kind of song that should be a hit on country radio, but probably won’t be. Give “David Ashley Parker from Powder Springs”, “There Was This Girl”, and “Drop Everything” at least one listen and skip the rest.
August 17, 2018 @ 4:23 pm
Spot on. They seem to be trying the shotgun approach, throwing interchangeable artists at the wall to see who sticks. It’s been going on for at least a few years (Michael Ray, Canaan Smith, Chris Lane, and at least a half dozen others I don’t know off the top of my head).
August 20, 2018 @ 2:17 pm
If we’re talking about quality, the only ones I see sticking around are Carlton Anderson, Riley Green, and Travis Denning. But this is mainstream country radio we are talking about, and the mainstream country world is full of goobers who don’t seem to know their heads from their butts.
August 17, 2018 @ 12:11 am
I hated this song the first 400 fucking times I heard it over the past 35 years .
This is not R and B song or even close BECAUSE THIS NOT AN R AND B SINGER whatsoever .
This an absolute borefest top to bottom . No dynamic ….no chord progression …lyrics written by someone sitting on the can with five minuted to kill and it would not even make the ‘ down to 100’ cut for ANYONE in any genre except fake country . This is Hunt territory and even Hunt can’t sing this stuff so he TALKS it . A new low …a new low . And again …nothing here but 3 minutes of total in-your-face disrespect for honest artists passionate about the traditions of the genre and committed to a vision for themselves within it
;
This is laughably pathetic ……this is an ‘artist’ out of ideas . Kane is a derivative ,generic wannabe …..another mold-able pretty boy …..an artless ‘artist’ in the bloated ranks of artless ‘ artists ‘.A total joke and a total waste of my time .
August 17, 2018 @ 3:34 am
If that’s country music then I’m the pope.
August 17, 2018 @ 4:26 am
“Nobody even bats an eyelash anymore. All criticism feels redundant. We’ve been desensitized.”
Trigger, this line perfectly sums up the entire response to the current state of “country” music now. The genre has been redefined and those crying out for quality and substance have been reduced to the curmudgeonly old folks hankering for yesteryear.
August 17, 2018 @ 5:27 am
Do you know what y’all soundlime right now? “Appropriation of country culture”
“That’s not even a cowboy hat”
Gimme back muh classic country!! Things are different and I don’t like it!
Wah wah fucking wah. Y’all might as well stomp your feet and scream “who let the little colored boy in?”
Stupid fucking rednecks
August 17, 2018 @ 8:43 am
Haven’t you gone back to school yet? Get back in English class and study harder.
August 17, 2018 @ 9:19 am
No racism here. All country music interlopers are scorned.
August 17, 2018 @ 9:50 am
Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Clear enough? The only one typing anything racist on here, is your dumbass.
August 17, 2018 @ 10:27 am
I am wondering who is the most stupid here. But let me question your intellect if you don’t know the difference between Kane Brown music and country music.
What’s stopping me from copying him and releasing this song as heavy metal? I’ll call it “new heavy metal” or I’ll put a few spanish words and call it “new salsa/merengue”.
August 17, 2018 @ 11:04 am
I was looking in this comment thread for rabid teens and aging soccer moms rushing to his defense. I wasn’t disappointed.
August 17, 2018 @ 11:06 am
What’s a soundlime?
August 17, 2018 @ 2:55 pm
Same as a sound lemon, only green.
August 17, 2018 @ 11:47 pm
Scanned 116 comments as of this post. Not once did race pop up until you piped in.
August 18, 2018 @ 8:16 am
are you saying that IS a cowboy hat ..??
August 17, 2018 @ 5:39 am
Love the photo…
Shows even the biggest star in the world is just a regular guy….lol
RIP Aretha
August 17, 2018 @ 7:57 am
”…….the biggest star in the world ”…???????
c’mon …everybody knows that honour belongs to yodeling boy …..
August 17, 2018 @ 6:35 am
Can’t wait to read the review of Eric Church’s “Heart Like a Wheel.” Love Church, but am not sure about this.
August 17, 2018 @ 7:29 am
I made it to 54 seconds. Not sure why it took so long to know it’s garbage.
August 17, 2018 @ 7:59 am
the ‘artist’s ‘ name should have been your first clue
August 17, 2018 @ 8:16 am
When this happens to me, I equate it to a deer in car headlights. The deer knows what’s happening cannot be good, but he cannot process the horror quickly enough to move out of the way. This is how I made it 2/3 of the way through ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ before smashing my radio against the wall.
August 17, 2018 @ 8:56 am
It’s called ‘horrified fascination’. You’re right, I should’ve know better than to click play…
August 17, 2018 @ 8:57 am
Must admit after watching all of his video, that’s a pretty nice largemouth.
August 17, 2018 @ 9:23 am
In the old days, and sometimes still, a washed up rock or pop star would release a country album to try to restart their career.
The result was usually a shitty “country” album.
Now, with folks like Kane Brown, they skip the successful Rock/Pop career and go straight to making shitty “country” albums.
August 17, 2018 @ 10:52 am
I don’t mind some of Brown’s songs, but this is the least country of any track I’ve heard from him. I guess it’s decent pop/r&b, but it has no business whatsoever being on country radio
August 17, 2018 @ 11:18 am
I don’t mind some of Brown’s songs, but this is definitely the least country of any track I’ve heard from him. I guess it’s a decent pop/r&b track, but it has no business whatsoever being on country radio or ranking on country charts. I know Brown has always positioned himself as a crossover artist, but I’m a bit surprised by this one. He has to know that this is going to alienate any country fans that were willing to cut him some slack.
August 17, 2018 @ 1:49 pm
“Making country music sound like urban music is not a celebration of diversity, it’s the death of it.”
These words are powerful and prophetic and should be carefully considered by anyone who claims to be a fan of country music.
August 17, 2018 @ 3:24 pm
The frauds that run the country music industry in Nashville need to just get it over with and sign hip-hop/gangster rappers from South Central L.A. since they have more in common with them and have absolutely no concept of the history of country music or country music in general.
August 17, 2018 @ 3:29 pm
Vince Gill quote from ‘The Boot’ interview: “For me, [country music] lost its traditional bent pretty severely,” explains the tunesmith. “I would love to hear someone write a song like ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ rather than ‘You’re hot. I’m hot. We’re in a truck.’ It’s just mind-numbing to me.”
August 17, 2018 @ 11:35 pm
The monogenre is happening not only in music but culture in general. ‘Diversity’ is not about diversity at all.
August 18, 2018 @ 7:15 pm
Communism. Nobody can have anything unless everybody else has it. It’s all about stamping out individuality. I used to think Communism creeping into our society was a conspiracy theory, but it’s really truly not. Scary shit.
August 21, 2018 @ 6:46 am
You are both right.
The real name is Globalist. Whether it’s communism or corporatism it’s share a similar objective which is to wash out our culture and heritage.
communism said that it was to protect the workers. now it’s about diversity.
August 17, 2018 @ 11:49 pm
Did they not have a budget for this video, I thought it was an SNL parody for a second. The worst thing about it, besides it being vapid, is that it isn’t anything, it’s not r&b, or country or pop. It’s just meh. I’d respect it more if it were really bad. But it just like that terrible FGL/Bebe Rhexa song that I heard again on Ellen yesterday. You’re right about the soccer mom demographic. Anyway, it just makes me more grateful that we have Chris, Sturgill, Ty, Cody, Jamey and all the others to make up for this mess.
August 18, 2018 @ 10:31 pm
It’s sad when it’s hard to tell the difference between a spoof and reality….
Kinda like my hidden camera comment previously. I keep waiting for the punchline…but so far it hasn’t come.
August 18, 2018 @ 12:40 pm
I hate Wal Mart.
August 18, 2018 @ 3:24 pm
I LOVE Wal Mart . They have a totally hassle -free return policy IN CASE YOU’VE PURCHASED ANY COUNTRY MUSIC YOU MAY WANT TO RETURN ….nudge nudge wink wink
August 19, 2018 @ 12:00 pm
the first 6 seconds sounded kinda of country. i think i heard a very filtered dobro or something there with a very un-country-sounding synth pad. ???? here is what’s funny about all of this to me; you do not see any self-respecting r&b musicians trying to collab with people like Brown. You don’t see any hip-hop MC’s trying to get Sam Hunt to feature on their song…because no matter what genres these pop “country” “artists” are trying to meld, it just sounds patently bad. i like all kinds of music but some styles should never, EVER be mixed together.
August 19, 2018 @ 9:58 pm
Y’all have to listen to Jon Pardi. The best newcomer out there. Has a 90s traditional style but with a slight modern radio-ready edge. She aint in it, Head over boots, cowboy hat & all his songs from both of his albums are amazing.
His 3rd album out next year has a song called Call Me Country. Its a tribute to old time country artists. Lyrics include “I’m a ghost on the radio”
August 20, 2018 @ 2:20 pm
Jon Pardi is fantastic. He has an awesome sound, and he is for sure one of the best artists in the mainstream world today. I would also highly recommend William Michael Morgan. I’m shocked that the record executives even allowed his album to be released in the pop-R&B environment of mainstream country.
August 20, 2018 @ 1:47 pm
LOL now going to Wally World on Friday evening is a bro-country escapist fantasy too? The sequel to this one will be all about headin’ over to Walgreen’s on Saturday mornin’ for some Alka-Seltzer after all that Jack and “cheap red wine”.
August 22, 2018 @ 7:03 am
In my old hometown, Wal-Mart is the place to be on a Friday night if one desires pick up a date.
August 21, 2018 @ 11:12 am
But that dobro though..
August 21, 2018 @ 6:06 pm
Regarding the song, I think the lyrics are too simple and it sounds too repetitive. Even if released as a ‘Pop’ song I wouldn’t like it.
I do think Kane has a very good voice. There are some Recording Artists you like but can’t hear their voice too long. He has a quality to his I think that makes it very enjoyable, easy to listen to. This song though seems not just a ‘Country’ song with ‘R&B’ added, but actually a more ‘R&B’ song then ‘Country’. If he wants to make songs like this, as mentioned a lot above, he shouldn’t be in ‘Country’, and needs to follow T.Swift to the exit. He has nothing to worry about, I think with his voice (and add more thoughtful lyrics than this), he’ll probably do very well outside of ‘Country’. I think his voice is at least as good as, or better than, a lot of others out there now.
A lot of comments ago this was said, but I wanted to acknowledge what I thought was very wrong by a commenter who used the term ‘Y’all’ in a negative way. That person might have (just) been ignorant to how it could affect people. Still wrong, but maybe they just didn’t know. I’m not from the South and don’t live there now, but I can imagine how esp. an older person hearing that could take it as an attack on their heritage. There are some words no one can or should say today, esp. because of our Country’s racist past. There is a difference but I think something that attacks someone’s heritage cuts deep and needs to be included with that.
August 22, 2018 @ 1:26 pm
The Kane Brown fans who have shown up here seem to have missed the website’s name. It isn’t “killingcountrymusic.com”
August 24, 2018 @ 4:45 am
I paused George Jones to listen to this. Listened to it for 30 seconds, and now I’m back to Jones. Great article though.
August 25, 2018 @ 12:15 am
A new turd sandwich for the once proud WOVK to serve up? Sure why not.