Country music group Little Big Town has found themselves smack dab in the middle of a controversy. Their latest single, "Girl Crush", is about a woman feeling intense jealousy towards the object of her affection's new flame. The song tiptoes along the lines of making the jealousy sensual. It has been accused of promoting the "Gay Agenda" and pulled from radio stations due to complaints from many listeners about it's controversial content. Or has it? All signs point to this being a case of Little Big Town, and the always-present-for-a-controversy Bobby Bones, using a fake uproar to help a fledgling song move up the charts. It's pathetic and sad.
In the least shocking news of the day, country music carpetbagger/radio DJ/narcissistic man-child Bobby bones was the first to present the "controversy". He brought up the idea that country radio wasn't playing a "lesbian song". Oh Bobby. First, it isn't a "lesbian song", it's just meant to manipulate your brain into thinking it is. I'm not a fan of the lyrical content, but mostly because I think it is a little creepy and disturbing. On one hand, I think we need creepy and disturbing more than we need more feel-good crap, but this one just doesn't resonate with me. Maybe it's my male perspective. I just don't believe it. It just sounds like it is trying to be controversial and misleading for attention. Also, radio isn't not playing it for that reason. They aren't playing it for a multitude of reasons.
First of all, if you look at Little Big Town's history, they are about as inconsistent of a band that has been on country radio. They are not surefire hit machines. Many of their singles have under-performed for various reasons. A Little Big Town single failing on radio (which "Girl Crush actually hasn't done yet, it just isn't rocketing up the charts) is not anywhere near as surprising as, say, a Luke Bryan single failing. Little Big Town is still mostly an "opening act", despite their ACM and CMA award wins. Whether that's fair or not is up for debate, but the sentiment is true,
Secondly, it is a ballad. Look at songs like "What We Ain't Got" and "She Don't Love You" by Jake Owen and Eric Paslay respectively. Those are two of the best songs in the past decade of country music, yet they are slowly sputtering up the charts. In today's country music, ballads do not work. Sometimes, one will sneak it's way in, but radio programmers want tempo tempo tempo. "Girl Crush" is too slow and prodding to be a big radio hit in 2015. I wish that wasn't the case, but it is. As far as ballads go, it isn't even a particularly great one. It isn't bad, but the melody is a little weak. It wouldn't be my favorite song even without the lyrics in question. It's a middle-of-the-road, not too bad, but not that great song. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't spell "big hit".
Third of all, it is coming from a female lead. Karen Fairchild is a hell of a singer. I love her work with Little Big Town., But she is a female and her name is not Miranda, Carrie, or Taylor. Those three women are the only three women that radio seems to pay attention to. I'm not sure what the reason is for this trend, but women are locked out of radio. I'm no feminist or anything like that, but its easy to see the way that radio supports the male acts and squashes the female acts. I don't like it, but it is what it is. The fact that this is coming from a female perspective hurts this song because nobody in radio plays females anymore.
So, looking at the facts, this song is an average ballad sung by a inconsistent band with a female lead. Nothing about that says country hit song in 2015. Bobby Bones is a pathetic, headline-seeking joke who used this as yet another excuse to make himself look like a social-justice hero. He is not a hero. He is a disgrace. Using a group of people to make yourself look like a great person is about as low as it gets. Little Big Town is no better, as rather than nip these rumors, they are playing it up and reaping the benefits. This whole fiasco is an orchestrated attempt to manufacture attention for a song that isn't that great, and most of the mainstream world is falling right into the trap. Some sites, such as Billboard, Saving Country Music, and MJ's Big Blog have had some vary interesting articles that look deeper into the matter. You should check them out.
If I hear "Girl Crush" on my radio, I'm turning it. Why? Because of the agenda. No, not the "Gay Agenda", the controversy agenda. Whether or not you are for, against, or indifferent to the Gay Rights movement, I think we all can agree that using it to make money on a song is low and dirty. Do yourself a favor and avoid this song. And of course, don't listen to the cesspool that is Bobby Bones. He is using country music to build himself up. He doesn't care about the history, the genre, or the fans. He is just using it as a stepping stone to bigger things so he can be the next Ryan Seacrest (and still be a sad, miserable human being). Country music is all about stirring the pot, but in the past it has been done to promote a message, not make a buck. This is pandering at it's finest. Just say no to "Girl Crush."
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