Country Sweep: January 19, 2013..

I'm on to part four of today's "chart sweep" of the latest music making its way on the the weekly singles charts in Billboard magazine, and now it's time for the country radio chart....

On the Country Airplay chart, "Goodbye In Her Eyes" by the Zac Brown Band spends a second week at #1...

The top entry this week is by singer and victorious Voice coach Blake Shelton, with "Sure Be Cool If You Did", which rockets in at #32. It's from an upcoming album, and the first time I heard it, all I can hear it an approximation of Barenaked Ladies' "Pinch Me". Other than that, the pseudo-rock overtones to attempt for crossover airplay (or not be too "twangy"), and inane bar pickup-lines that sometime stray into the incoherent (like "and do a little bit of country song"...WTAF is that?). Of course, he's in fine, fine voice, but like Tim McGraw's latest, he can do (and has done) much better. But I'm sure his rabid fanbase may help extend his chart-topping tally of a dozen songs. Grade: C-

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Darius Rucker's last single, "True Believers", sort of stiffed, as most of the Clear-Channel force-fed singles have (where they get paid to play the song every hour in the initial days). I think it's a horrible mutation of payola that's utter shit, and shame to those who use it (and the FCC for not coming down on it). He tries again with a cover of the bluegrass song "Wagon Wheel" by the Old Crow Medicine Show that completed an unfinished Bob Dylan song.With Lady Antebellum on back, while not as earthy as Old Crow, it's miles ahead of the first single and hopefully will profit from a more organic promotion, and it arrives at #51. Grade: B

 Jake Owen follows his three #1 hits from his Barefoot Blue Jean Night album at #53 with "Anywhere With You", the opening track from the album. It's a standard country/rock hybrid track that's adequate for its purpose, but nothing more than the cliches it contains, lyric-wise. But Jake's earnest vocals make up for it a bit. Grade: C

Country rocker Eric Church found himself at A-list level with two #1 hits last year with "Drink In My Hand" and "Springsteen", and he returns at #58 with the fifth single from his also-chart-topping album Chief, "Like Jesus Does", which isn't one of my favorites of the album, but Eric at least saves it from complete hokey-dom. Well, maybe not. "She likes me like Jesus does"? So she's crucifying herself? Grade: C-

Easton Corbin succeeds his top-5 hit "Lovin' You Is Fun" with the easy-going "All Over The Road" at #59. Traditional (well, 90s-style traditional) country to the core, it's perfect Strait-style balladry that compliments his voice perfectly and get the people on the dance floor...Grade: B+

The final new entry is by newcomer Kip Moore, with the fourth single from his debut album Up All Night, "Hey Pretty Girl", at #60. The second, "Somethin' 'Bout A Truck", reached the #1 spot last year. And yes, it seems like a country knock-off of Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", but it is nice to hear a song without the need for blaring guitars on them, and his voice is nicely restrained, and the change of pace in the middle brightens it up a bit. Grade: C+

That's all from the country side, I'll finish today's sweeps up later with the newest dance songs in the club and on the radio. Twang on!