Top 10 Buzziest Country Songs of Summer 2015

Well, it’s now mid-September, which means the summer is sadly over and it’s time for the temperature to drop and the leaves to turn orange and fall. Still, as usual it was a summer to remember, with plenty of tracks coming to define the fifteen week period which is considered by many to represent the season – from Memorial Day in late May to Labor Day in early September. Let’s take a look back at the biggest and buzziest country singles from summer 2015!
Special mention goes to Brett Eldredge’s ‘Lose My Mind’, Chris Young’s ‘I’m Comin’ Over’, Eric Church’s ‘Like A Wrecking Ball’, Michael Ray’s ‘Kiss You In The Morning’ and Zac Brown Band’s ‘Loving You Easy’ for all being big songs this summer, but not quite making our list!

10. Blake Shelton ‘Sangria’

Although it was a pretty hot summer by all accounts, ‘Sangria’ turned the heat up just a little bit more with a lyric about getting drunk and having sex in a hotel room. It was much more chilled than a lot of its peers on the radio, but on those really hot summer days you need something to relax to.

9. Keith Urban ‘John Cougar John Deere John 3:16’

Shortly after the peak of his collaboration with Eric Church, ‘Raise ‘Em Up’, Keith Urban was back at radio with new lead single ‘John Cougar John Deere John 3:16’. Probably the wordiest song in country music in some years, Keith wasn’t sure whether fans would “get” this convoluted summary of identity, but luckily it’s become one of the fastest rising singles of his career. That infectious bassline helped, too.

8. Cam ‘Burning House’

After the low peak of her debut single ‘My Mistake’ but plenty of fan buzz, Cam did a smart thing and released ‘Burning House’ as her next single. With the help of the Bobby Bones show and the iHeartRadio On The Verge program, it exploded, becoming her breakout for its haunting, Celtic-like melody, stripped-back approach and poetic take on the breaking down of a relationship. Not a typical summer song, but then not a typical artist.

7. Carrie Underwood ‘Smoke Break’

Although not released until August 20, there was buzz about Carrie’s “return” to releasing new music that lasted all summer, and when she surprise dropped ‘Smoke Break’ after a Facebook chat it was quick to make big gains on radio and in sales. In fact after 4 weeks it’s already inside the top 20, and it’s safe to say that everybody’s been talking about her.

6. Thomas Rhett ‘Crash And Burn’

The lead single from Thomas’ upcoming second album ‘Tangled Up’, ‘Crash And Burn’ singled a sonic shift he began with ‘Make Me Wanna’ in 2014. Drawing heavily from soul and pop, the tune lamented the constant ending of relationships in a kind of tongue-in-cheek way. Crazy catchy and a bit of a guilty pleasure.

5. Sam Hunt ‘House Party’

The third single from Sam Hunt, ‘House Party’ has continued to lead the way in terms of incorporating R&B, hip hop and EDM into mainstream country. Perfect for the summer, the up-tempo party song just recently hit #1 and is still going strong.

4. Luke Bryan ‘Kick The Dust Up’

Following the world domination of ‘Crash My Party’, Luke announced he was back with another album this year by dropping new lead single ‘Kick The Dust Up’. Pretty polarizing in terms of its similarities to bro-country, it was nonetheless a catchy song that opened his live shows and had fans singing along all summer.

3. Chris Janson ‘Buy Me A Boat’

Chris Janson was an unsigned artist with a hefty Opry record back in May when the Bobby Bones Show threw his single ‘Buy Me A Boat’ into heavy rotation. Sales instantly went through the roof, and pretty soon Chris was signed to Warner Music Nashville and officially promoting the song to radio. From relative nobody to the name on everybody’s lips in a matter of days/weeks, Chris Janson has been the breakout star of summer 2015.

2. Kelsea Ballerini ‘Love Me Like You Mean It’

Although ‘Love Me Like You Mean It’ was actually released last Autumn, it had a very slow climb up the charts which comes with being female and being on an independent label these days. Still, Kelsea and label Black River stuck with it, and after support from the likes of Taylor Swift for her youthful, poppy sound and adorably, charming persona, in June Kelsea became the first woman to hit #1 on country radio since 2012. She also became the first woman to hit #1 with her debut single since Carrie Underwood in 2006. Not bad, eh?

1.Little Big Town ‘Girl Crush’

Like ‘Love Me Like You Meant It’, ‘Girl Crush’ was actually released in 2014, albeit in mid-December. The track had a slow rise up the charts until in March some controversy surrounding listeners’ misinterpretations gave it huge exposure and it shot up in sales, leading Hot Country Songs for some time. Country radio was much slower to catch on, although in July the track eventually became a top 5 hit, making this totally eligible for our songs of the summer (particularly since it’s still charting high on recurrent lists, meaning it’s still getting tons of airplay). It doesn’t sound summery, but it sure packed a punch all year.