10 Most Surprising - Good or Bad - Radio Singles From 2011

Every year there seems to always be quite a few singles released to radio. Some are surprise hits, some are not and then there are others that are just downright surprising for a variety of reasons. We explore all of these things here in this end of the year list.

Every year there seems to always be quite a few singles released to radio. Some are surprise hits, some are not and then there are others that are just downright surprising for a variety of reasons. We explore all of these things here in this end of the year list.

“Hell On Heels” – Pistol Annies:

Not a radio hit in the sense that maybe the song should be, it nonetheless has managed to shift ears in this new group’s direction and perhaps this is a model worth following in the future for artists looking to engage fans in a non-traditional capacity. They’ve since sold over 200,000 copies of the album Hell on Heels while Miranda Lambert’s barely sold more than that herself.

“1,000 Faces” – Randy Montana:

Brilliantly written with Tom Douglas, this song certainly had me groovin’ for the early part of 2011 and while it scraped the Top 40, somehow country radio deemed it not ‘good enough.’ That surprised me more than anything else. Hopefully Mercury Nashville doesn’t give up on this talented newcomer and releases another single (we’d suggest “Back of Your Heart”)  from his digital only self-titled debut.

“Why Wait For Summer” – Walker Hayes:

We thought Walker would breakthrough in 2011, perhaps not with this song though. It was always a surprising choice to release a song with a lyric like this in February when it would always have peaked in the Summer. It should’ve been saved for an October/November release where it could’ve peaked in spring and the lyric made sense. A gifted, unusual sort of singer/writer, I hope he gets a more interesting song (think previous single “Pants”) the next time.

“Something Better” – The Dirt Drifters:

Both this song and “Always A Reason” scraped the Billboard and Aircheck airplay charts but what we don’t understand is why workingman anthems like this – with strong country and heartland rock roots – didn’t do better. Want to know how much their label believes in this band? They released the album (This Is My Blood) physically without any hits because it’s a great album from start to finish.

“Cost Of Livin’” – Ronnie Dunn:

An absolute surprise radio hit, this song spoke to those of us out there broke down and worn out with the ability to not pick up a job, even an ‘easy’ job. So here we sit with Ronnie speaking the truth. The truth must’ve hurt, though, because country radio didn’t make this song hit #1 like they should’ve. Perhaps if it had a more rockin’ melody and less attention-grabbing lyrics then the song would’ve.

“Teenage Daughters” – Martina McBride:

This Warren Brothers co-write found Martina singing about her Teenage Daughters who are not exactly wanting to be with their mom as much as they used to. They also think that she’s not exactly the best source for advice. It’s a situation Martina remembers being in herself and, well, all mothers and daughters go through these situations. The vocal and melody here are simple and effective and quite honestly, downright raw and different. In other words, not exactly what we’ve come to expect from Martina McBride.

“Five More Minutes” – Ashley Gearing:

Ashley’s a stunning vocalist and what’s surprising here is that this brilliantly written song didn’t find an audience. I know it’s really tough for new artists and new female artists to break through these days but Ashley’s not really that new of an artist and when a song is as good as “Five More Minutes,” it’s a shame country radio wouldn’t play the single. Here’s hoping they eventually will.

“Dirt Road Anthem” – Jason Aldean

While we weren't surprised that Dirt Road Anthem" was released as a single, we were a bit surprised to see the song do as well as it has. Not only did "Dirt Road Anthem" (Written by Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert) score with radio audiences but the single also became one of the biggest viral hits to ever hit the country music market (See our final song below for the biggest non Taylor viral hit). That has propelled My Kinda Party the album to double platinum status while "Dirt Road Anthem" has sold over 3 million singles as a digital download and is the most-ever downloaded ringtone in history, surpassing all hiphop and pop ringtones.  Truly remarkable and the sure sign that Jason Aldean is a star and this song was a surprise hit: it was nominated for CMA Song of the Year for the songwriters, despite being a spoken word or 'recitation' or 'rap' song.

“If I Were A Boy” – Reba:

Here’s a case of a song that sounded better on paper than it ended up sounding at country radio. The follow-up to massive hit “Turn On The Radio,” “If I Were A Boy” was a classic Rebaification of Beyonce’s mega hit and while a Top 20 hit, it ended up causing the much better and classic-sounding “When Love Gets A Hold of You” to fail miserably at radio and may very well be the biggest misstep of the year.

“The Reason Why” – Little Big Town

The title track to the songwriting vocal quartet’s most-recent album, the song features the band’s trademark harmonies and it’s not too far from some of their bigger hits in sound or scope or structure yet country radio decided to make the single “DOA.” Here’s hoping the band comes strong with a new single from a follow-up album soon as they’re too talented to not be one of the top country bands on the market.

“Red Solo Cup” – Toby Keith:

Call it silly. Call it stupid. Call it dumb. Call it a hit. Call it the greatest song ever. Whatever you do and wherever you go, you’re likely not going to be able to escape the song. It has permeated the collective consciousness of more than just country music audiences to the point of Glee using it in an episode, Tim Allen’s TV show having commercials based on the melody and vocal structure and frats and bar bands everywhere including the song about a little red party cup into their setlist to ensure a good time.  This one may be the most surprising single (hit or not) of 2011 and the story for it will continue into the future.

Well, there you have it: 10 surprising singles (good or bad) for 2011. Feel free to leave your own comments about songs that surprised you here.

Bonus Surprise Hit for 2011:

Originally on our list of 10, the song below got bumped by "Red Solo Cup" when the song became a viral sensation last month.

"I Could Be The One” – Glen Templeton

Originally working with Capstone Records, Glen Templeton came out the gate red-hot with “I Could Be The One” striking a chord on the indicator charts and scraping the Top 50 of country radio charts yet this tune which recalls Dierks Bentley’s best without ever feeling like a clone couldn’t get any further than that, even with larger label Black River Entertainment taking over promotion. It’s far from the best song in the world but it was a well-written, ear-pleasing summer time sort of song that was just a taste of what can be found on Glen’s upcoming GT album.

 

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