Gretchen Wilson – “If I Could Do It All Again”

Whether Gretchen Wilson is aware of it or not her welcome mat at Top 40 country radio has been withdrawn due to major marketplace changes. Since the days of “Redneck Woman” Top 40 country radio has shifted towards American Idol winning pop diva type female vocalists or teeny pop diva/screechers who become pop culture icons. The fact that Ashton Shepherd’s two singles didn’t rise above # 20 on the singles charts is clear proof mainstream radio has lost interest in these types of “authentically country” female artists. Suburban soccer moms and tween and teen girls just can’t relate to those gals from rural small towns who are proud of their heritage. I don’t care how good this or Gretchen’s future singles may be, the odds of radio embracing them are slim and that’s a shame.

Another part of the problem Gretchen has is Miranda who is younger, blonder, cute and doesn’t have to sing songs about how she is some redneck country girl because she just IS so we can all see it. Also, because Miranda IS a redneck country girl she doesn’t have to confrom to the Dukes of Hazzard cliches about what redneck country girls do.

But Miranda’s not getting a lot of love from radio, either, so it’s hard to make the case that she’s the reason Gretchen got squeezed out.

Gretchen’s music became the antithesis of what the audience was demanding.

I think she’s suffering from the same problem as Billy Ray Cyrus. People just got tired of hearing “Redneck Woman” over and over, again, much as they did with “Achy Breaky Heart” and have rejected most of what she’s done since then.

I must be in the minority here because I much prefer this song over the “Redneck Woman”, “All Jacked Up”, stereotypical drunk chick, Muzik Mafia crap she cut early in her career. That being said this song won’t vastly improve my opinion of Gretchen as an artist though either.

Since the equivalent of American Eye-Doll Blonde of the Month winners were dominating the charts before Gretchen showed up, you have to wonder if her initial success, which looked very much like a page turning, in a good way, was more like a novelty fluke. I think her ballad singing is her strength–but her audience never did, and the turns on “redneck par-tay girl” got redundant–probably because they couldn’t find anything else that worke commercially.

You can say Miranda “fills her space” in airplay, (though not in a large way) but “they” (the big “them”) said that Gretchen did that with Dixie Chicks space. As long as radio programmers think there’s a quota for one Non-Pushover type country woman on the air at any one moment, (because these guys always so well know what their female audience cares about and prove it so very well) nowomen will last long who’s more than a kewpie doll and compliant clothes model.

its funny, how every new female artist is dubbbed as “the biggest thing since the dixie chicks” but after one album they fizzle.

I had big hopes for Wilson after her first album. Then I saw her in concert and she pretty much screamed every song. It was unsettling and unpleasant. Then she did the “California Girls” bikini video and lost any credibility she still had as a different sort of female singer.

I think Rick nailed it. Ultimately we have to stop measuring success by something called the Top 40. Radio is no longer the kernel of success for an artist. I know they like to think it is, but that is not the case anymore. Anyone heard a Jimmy Buffett song on the radio lately? As far as Gretchen goes, she has more talent in her pinky finger than Taylor Swift does in her whole body. Talent apparently does not matter so much anymore. Which is a real shame. I’d rather listen to this new single from Gretchen any time than hear another Taylor Swift song about high school. And if you think that hair flip she does is “authentic”, something’s wrong.

Gretchen Wilson allowed herself to be used as a tool by the suits … set herself up for a fall from mainstream radio … it is my understandin’ that “Redneck Woman” was originally set to be recorded by the Dixie Chicks … bein’ the opportunists the music execs are, they targeted a ready-made demographic/angry radio audience with the over-hyped image of a Skoal totin’, hell yeah, mud runnin’, patriotic “redneck” female … it’s been 6 years now since Ms. Wilson was propelled to the top courtesy of the Nashville/New York marketin’ machine … can they be commercially successful once again by revealin’ her “fluffier” side? … maybe, maybe not … it’s a younger demographic now but just as, maybe more, fickle as the ones who put her at the top in the first place.

I think that gretshen was cut way to short and not given her due. It is a shame that the music industry take down souch a talented person. As for as competing with taylor or any of those new so called singers there is no way they can come up to her standards.If the radio stations would play some of her music and let us hear it, Gretchen might have a chance. LETS cut the bull and let perform her music. Don’t just pick five or six artists and play them to death. I turn my radio OFF. I want to hear some Gretchen

“By the way Gretchen was voted as one of the Super 8 Top 8 performances by the Fans”

Hey Was that sponsored by Super 8 motels? Could have been a nice match!

BTW. What’s not to like about this song? Sad that radio ignored it to play the new “deep teenage emo tune” from up the next and coming shooting star.
Go figure.