Every week, the Wide Open Country team rounds up our favorite newly released country, bluegrass and Americana songs. Here are six songs we currently have on repeat.
"Good Ole Boy," Lauren Alaina
Like Arlene Harden and Chely Wright before her, Lauren Alaina sees the irony in the term "good ole boy" when looking back at a former flame's shortcomings. After blasting a would-be redneck Romeo for paying more attention to shining his jacked-up pickup truck rims than being worth Alaina's time, she concludes that the object of her derision "didn't know [he] had it good ole boy."
Alaina's co-write with David Garcia and Josh Miller spotlights the country star's clever way with words, which is constantly on display on her pun-filled social media accounts.
"Good Ole Boy's" from Alaina's brand-new album Sitting Pretty on Top of the World.
— Bobby Moore
"Tailgate Trophy," Chapel Hart
Fast-rising country act Chapel Hart's new album The Girls are Back in Town brings us the latest lyrical masterclass from Louisiana's own Tony Haselden (co-writer of George Strait's "You Know Me Better Than That" and Shenandoah's "Mama Knows"). While Haselden deserves a digital high-five for such lines as "I'm country as a turnip green/ hometown as a beauty queen/ simple as a Southern drawl" and "R-e-s-p-e, you know the rest/ this ain't no spelling test/ I need some TLC," it takes two (or four, if we're being literal) for Haselden's words to be elevated by Chapel Hart's artistry and attitude.
It's off the same new album as Chapel Hart's signature tune, "You Can Have Him Jolene," and collaboration with pro wrestler Mickie James, "Grown Ass Woman."
— Bobby Moore
"Raised Right," Reyna Roberts
"I'm a little bit of whiskey in my sweet tea/ A little bit of city in my country/ "A little 'hell yeah' in my 'hallelujah'" Reyna Roberts sings on "Raised Right," an anthem for anyone who follows the Golden Rule, but can still deliver a "bless your heart" that bites (when necessary).
"We all have different sides of ourselves," Roberts said in a statement. "I know my inner self is a little more wild, and that's the Reyna you see onstage. The Reyna my family and friends know is the one that was 'Raised Right.'"
"Raised Right" is the powerhouse country vocalist's follow-up to her breakout song "Stompin' Grounds" and "67 Winchester."
— Bobbie Jean Sawyer
"Walk Tall," Ginger Minj
Singer-songwriter and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars finalist Ginger Minj celebrates the pride that comes along with being yourself on "Walk Tall."
"Daddy gave me a baseball bat/ Little League, Nascar, all of that/ Wouldn't let me fall far from that tree/ But everything I ever wanted was in the back of mama's closet/ And when they weren't looking that's where I'd be," Minj sings. "And though they didn't understand/ I was always gonna be my own kind of man."
Minj, who appeared in the 2018 Netflix film Dumplin', will release Double Wide Diva on Sept. 17.
— Bobbie Jean Sawyer
"Home And A Hometown," Hannah Ellis
Hannah Ellis is definitely making me miss my hometown with this beautiful song. The fun upbeat tempo song talks about her falling in love with the feeling of her new hometown and her original home in Nashville. "I realized that I love both places so much for different reasons and it occurred to me that I have a home and a hometown," she shared in a press release. "I came home to Nashville and wrote the song that week."
She describes both towns with beautiful lyrics like, "Cause I got a highway and I got a backroad / I got a fast-paced life and a place I go to move slow / One I wanna make it, one I wanna make proud / No matter which one I'm leavin' I still wanna turn around / 'Cause I got a home and I got a hometown." Fun fact, did you know Ellis actually co-wrote the song "Would You Love Me" for Russell Dickerson's debut album Yours? To say she's pretty talented is an understatement.
— Silke Jasso
"Truth About You," Mitchell Tenpenny
All right I'll admit it, I actually learned about Mitchell Tenpenny through TikTok, and I'm so glad I did. He is easily one of my favorite artists so far. Tenpenny really knows how to captivate the emotions of the person going through a breakup so well, and "Truth About You" shows just that. The song talks about how an ex-lover is telling lies about the end of a relationship, to which the other person in the relationship calls for a truce. He first debuted the song in July on TikTok, which earned him 2.5 million streams in the first three days, becoming the biggest streaming debut of his career. "Truth About You" is set to appear on a new EP, and follows his other songs "Bucket List," "Broken Up" and "To Us It Did."
— Silke Jasso
Listen to all of Wide Open Country's favorite songs of 2021 (so far) below.
