This week we get a little bit country with Hunter Hayes and his song “Somebody’s Heartbreak”. 21 years old and apparently a child prodigy, this multi-instrumentalist hopes to make a big impact in the popular country genre. This song comes from his self-titled album released in October of 2011 on which he played every single instrument. Yeah, you heard me correctly, he played every single note. It is a wonder to me that this young Louisiana native isn’t a top billed superstar at this point, especially considering that country music is at an all-time low.
Hunter Hayes
We open with a clean electric slide guitar, some light drums, and a smooth acoustic guitar. We swell into a large crack of drums and just when we expect things to get huge, the mix shrinks back down to what it started to. The slightly above ballad pace moves along calm and easy into the chorus, which is just as low key. No massive pop chorus is found here. Catchy? Yes. Over-saturated pop dribble disguised as country music? No. The track is polished and modern, but not completely overblown. After 2 choruses we break into a short electric guitar solo. Hunter displays his tasteful touch on lead guitar and we are soon back to the chorus to close.
The vocal is clearly good. The kid can sing. There is a touch of modern digital editing going on, but it is not too outrageous. I only take issue with the fact that he sounds like a slightly lower pitched version of Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts. Same tone, same inflection, nothing we have not heard before. Perhaps that is just his voice? Or maybe he is riding the coattails of a massively successful artist in order to piggyback on his success. I doubt we will ever find out for sure. Oddly enough he has toured with Rascal Flatts and at some point co-wrote a song for them.
Lyrically, we fail to tread any new territory. Genuine infatuation leads young Hunter to tell the girl that he wants to know what she is thinking, how he fits into her life and why she appears to be giving him the run around. He recognizes that relationships do not always last, and jests that if she is going
Hunter on lead guitar
to break someone’s heart, to let it be his. Or perhaps a not so serious fling, he is up for that as well. No matter what she wants, he wants to be with her. Romantic, cute, but generally not saying anything particularly interesting. Then again, aside from artists that can spin an incredible story, country music has never had all that much depth.
So to wrap this up, I present to you a very talented young man with incredible connections who is surely going to be a breakout star in the modern country world. This song was released in October 2012, and has just now broken into the Hot 100. Give this song time, as it will soon be a contender for the number 1 spot in the Hot Country chart (as it is presently 26th) and I predict it will make it to at least the top 50 of the Hot 100.
Hooray for putting talented people back in country music