Each week the Wide Open Country staff rounds up our favorite newly released country and Americana songs. Here are five new songs we can't stop listening to this week:
"See You in Your Hometown," Lauren Alaina
Yes, there's about as many modern country songs about hometowns as there are about trucks, tailgates and tequila. Difference is, artists ranging from Kane Brown to Eric Church typically tell relatable stories about Anywhere, U.S.A. Those other tropes deliver mixed results, to put it kindly.
In this case, Lauren Alaina defends her romantic interest in a hell-raiser by telling us that she's seen him back home, where he minds his Ps and Qs. This different side could've shown through in Alaina's hometown of Rossville, Ga. or just about any rural or suburban spot from your formative years. That's why small town folks will get this one, whether they used to be the guy in question, the woman defending him or the friend who doesn't get what either of them are thinking.
It's one of six new songs from Alaina's Getting Over Him EP.
—Bobby Moore
"There is No Arizona 2.0," Jamie O'Neal Feat. Lauren Alaina
Twenty years ago, Jamie O'Neal's career in Nashville kicked off with consecutive No. 1 singles, "There is No Arizona" and "When I Think About Angels." O'Neal celebrates the former in all of its jazz and pop-infused glory with Alaina, whose growing list of duet partners already included Trisha Yearwood and hometown friend Kane Brown.
—Bobby Moore
"Fancy (Dave Aude Remix)," Reba McEntire
"Fancy," one of the most revered country songs of both 1970 and 1990, has never been a No. 1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Frankly, that probably doesn't change with this drastic departure from the song's Delta country roots.
However, "Fancy" might be in position to top a different chart. Thing is, Dave Aude has owned the Dance Club Songs chart for well over a decade, and he's already found success while working with country-adjacent artists Olivia Newton-John and Amy Grant. His notoriety plus the novelty of it all might equal a dance hit, which would make for one heck of a trivia answer about McEntire.
Or, you could say that this might be Fancy's once change.
—Bobby Moore
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"One Too Many," Keith Urban and Pink
Country superstar Keith Urban and pop singer Pink is an unexpected pairing, but somehow their voices work really well together. It makes sense considering Pink has already dabbled in the country music world with Kenny Chesney and Chris Stapleton. The duo wowed when they debuted their duet at the recent ACM Awards: the perfect way to generate excitement for Urban's new album, The Speed of Now, Part 1.
—Courtney Campbell
"Overshare" Kelsea Ballerini (ballerini Version)
When Kelsea Ballerini released ballerini, a stripped version of spring release kelsea, we weren't sure what to expect. But something about hearing her words accompanied by an acoustic arrangement really makes it stand out differently from her original album. "overshare" makes you feel like Ballerini is opening up to her fans with the honest confession that "I overshare, because I over-care."
—Courtney Campbell
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