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Originally posted by MusicTalker
I didn't particularly like their most successful album (Need You Now by far) either, but I did love Own the Night. Golden, 747 & a lot of their music in general is just really dull, in my opinion.
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Here's how I see it. "Need You Now" and "I Run To You" both had cross-platform appeal, and were still country without necessarily straying too far into pop (which is what Taylor is criticized for) which is what got them attention. Presenting a mature sound that could appeal to more than one audience. "Just A Kiss" followed a similar formula, but it didn't feel as authentic (though it's still a great song). That wasn't too much of a problem, as much of pop is inauthentic, and it was still a country song at its core. With "Downtown," they didn't even try to broaden their reach and they pandered solely to country. Possibly they did it as a way to preserve album sales because they saw during the previous album cycle that their releases weren't seeing as much mainstream success. I still like the song, though.
"Bartender" doesn't feel like it's solely an attempt to reconnect with the HAC/Pop audiences they had left behind, but it has (or had) the potential to if it were managed properly. Capitol Nashville dropped the ball on them, just like they did with Luke Bryan's "Play It Again."
I'm speaking solely in terms of lead singles here, though, with the exception of IRTY. Not albums.