Ballads rule the day on this week’s crop of new country releases. Music heavyweights Reba McEntire, Cody Johnson and Riley Green are all releasing new songs, weaving through themes of love and longing. Meanwhile, rising artist Vincent Mason sets heartbreak to a driving melody, and SJ McDonald weaves a tale of youthful ambitions that have faded into small-town memories.
Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of some of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.
Reba McEntire, “One Night in Tulsa”
Country Music Hall of Famer Reba McEntire wraps her inimitable voice around this tender ballad of longing and loneliness. “I’d spend a month in the desert/ Just to be together,” she sings as a sweeping ’90s country melody swells with emotional power, as backing vocals from bluegrass-gospel group The Isaacs further bolstering the song’s dynamics. Written by Neal Coty, Kylie Frey and Thom McHugh, “One Night in Tulsa” is the title track to McEntire’s latest project, an intimate collection of songs inspired by her native Oklahoma.
Cody Johnson, “I Want You”
Johnson just announced his upcoming album Banks Of The Trinity, which includes this tender, slow-burn ballad. “I want you when you’re healing/ And when you’re broke into,” he sings with quiet intensity, backed by an understated musical arrangement as he declares a steadfast devotion that is unswayed by circumstances. The song was written by Tom Douglas, Tony Lane and Matt Rogers. Johnson is known for dynamic melodies that make the most of his powerful voice, but this song’s strength is in its measured vulnerability.
Riley Green, “My Way”
Green has previously earned hits with ballads such as the sultry “Worst Way” and the tender “Don’t Mind If I Do,” and on his latest, he continues letting the music lead, with a mesh of refined, minimalist guitars and fiddle. On this rustic, lived-in sounding track, he sings of pining to reunite with an ex-lover, with the song’s lyrics etching out his dreams of rekindling their romance, spending time together, listening to Al Green records, watching the sun go down and enjoying time being in love. The song is understated, and he keeps his vocal delivery relaxed and conversational, never stretching beyond what the song calls for.
Vincent Mason, “Don’t Ask Me”
This earthy, unvarnished track from Mason finds him still swirling in the depths of post-breakup pain. “Don’t ask me how I’ve been/ Don’t ask about those empty cans rolling ’round in my truck bed,” he sings, and “Don’t Ask Me” doesn’t bring a neat resolution; instead, the song lets listeners fully immerse themselves in the confusion, hurt and acceptance. Though the song delves into the throes of heart-shattering disappointment, the song’s rhythm and melody have enough pluck and grit to keep the song moving at a steady clip.
SJ McDonald, “We Didn’t Make It That Far”
McDonald wraps out her soothing twang around a tale of two adults looking back on their teenage dreams of escaping their small town and building a life together outside the confines of the county lines. But somewhere along the way, those ambitions fizzled, and McDonald sings of how they each now live two different lives, but both their lives are still centered in that same small town. “We Didn’t Make It That Far” is the title track of McDonald’s new EP, coming May 15. With each new release, McDonald is proving to be one of country music’s most incisive, vivid storytellers.
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