Country music star Trace Adkin's first single off of his new album wasn't the homerun he hoped for.
When an artist releases a song like "Honkeytonk Badonkadonk" and it becomes a top ten song, the fear of releasing something a little different probably goes away. In his latest attempt for a home run, Trace Adkins single "Swing" wasn't a big hit with radio stations or country listeners.
The burning question is simple - Why not? Let's look at what the song had going for it.
The song is an up-tempo, break-out-of- the-mold, type of tune, just as "Honkeytonk" was. It was releases during baseball season, which should have helped its popularity (even though the song has nothing to do with baseball.) And, it was the lead single to a new album, which always gets pushed hard by the record company because the song's success can create immediate interest in the new album.
However, given all those reasons for success, "Swing" barely made contact. It peaked at #20 on the Billboard single charts, the first song Adkins has had peak at #20 since his debut single "There's a Girl in Texas" back in 1996.
My guess is that the song was a bad choice for a single right after "Honkeytonk Badonkadonk" because of its similar sound. Country radio might of needed some time to breathe after that butt-shaking success. Plus, many radio stations are still playing it, and adding another similar sounding song by the same artists isn't overly desirable.
Also, the lyrics in the song itself can be mind numbing - "Swing batta swing batta swing batta batta swing." Not everyone needs to relive that annoying experience from Little League.
It should be noted that the song has gotten airplay in many baseball parks throughout the country, thus reaching a broader audience than most of Trace Adkin's songs.
Overall, I guess you can't call the success of "Swing" a bomb or even a strikeout, more like a foul ball. Regardless, it's not what the lead single of a new album should be.
