Cassadee Pope has confirmed to Charlotte country radio station The New 103.7 that her debut single to country radio (which she will also perform on The Voice June 4th), will be the Caitlyn Smith/Rollie Gaalswyk cowrite “Wasting All These Tears.”
“Wasting All These Tears” is an angsty breakup/moving on-themed midtempo. In a nod to the fact that it is being sent to country radio, “Wasting All These Tears” has a cool dark banjo & fiddle intro that’ll remind some of of the intro to The Band Perry’s platinum-selling country #1 “Better Dig Two” (which was also produced by Dann Huff). But as the studio version of the song progresses, it’s clear “Wasting All These Tears” is most reminiscent of Kelly Clarkson’s 2005 pop smash “Behind These Hazel Eyes.”
As previously posted, you can check out the songwriters demo for “Wasting All These Tears” HERE.
UPDATE: Check out Cassadee’s studio version of the single! Thanks to commenter hayes!
In the interview where Cassadee confirmed the single, she also answered a question about whether she is encountering skepticism over her move to country from pop/punk. She admits to facing skepticism but said the radio people she’s met while on her radio tour have gotten on board after hearing her play (would they tell her any different to her face, though?). Here’s video of the interview, in which she also talks about her upcoming CMT docudrama.
Video –
Cassadee has also debuted another song during her recent West Coast tour, called “You Hear A Song,” a lilting pop waltz that sounds a little like Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway.” Cassadee cowrote this song with her album’s coproducer Nathan Chapman, who is best known for his work with Taylor Swift.
Check out Big Machine’s behind the scenes videos with Cassadee:
In Studio (background music: “Good Times,” cowritten by Sarah Buxton, Nathan Chapman, and Blair Daily, check out Cassadee’s acoustic version here):
Cassadee Pope West Coast Radio Tour from Big Machine Label Group on Vimeo.
At ACM Radio Remotes (background music: “Wasting All These Tears”)
West Coast Radio Tour (background music: “Wasting All These Tears”)
The coming month will see 3 new singles from female reality show alums who are either trying to gain or regain a place a country radio: Kellie Pickler’s neo-traditional country “Someone Somewhere Tonight” (which goes for adds 5/28), Lauren Alaina’s rural-themed pop/rocker “Barefoot & Buckwild,” which goes for adds 6/3, and Cassadee’s single (adds date TBA, but Cassadee will debut the tune on The Voice on 6/4). A 4th, Season 12 American Idol runner-up Kree Harrison could join them if Mercury Nashville promotes “All Cried Out.” As discussed many times over in the media and on this blog, it is incredibly difficult for solo women at country radio these days: there are only 2 solo female singles currently in the t20 at country radio (by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, and Miranda will go recurrent next week), and 3 solo female singles currently in the t30. So these ladies all face an uphill battle with their new singles.
Kellie’s the one who has had t20 country hits in the past and has enhanced her star power with her run on Dancing With The Stars, but country radio plays very little traditional country these days and Kellie’s on an indie label (though she’s their biggest act and likely their top priority). Lauren is a bona fide country singer on a major label (Mercury Nashville) with 2 t40 singles and a t30 single under her belt, and her single tracks with country radio trend of the pop/rock songs about backwoods life. But with 19k sold 1st week after an Idol performance, Lauren’s single will have to create its own momentum at radio during a very busy time for the crowded roster at UMG Nashville.
Cassadee has authenticity issues in the country genre and her sound really has the most in common with early 2000s female pop/rock a la Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, and Michelle Branch. But she has the support of Republic Nashville (which is part of Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group), the exposure of The Voice, a CMT show and the Rascal Flatts/Band Perry tour coming up, and there’s an argument that her single really isn’t that much less country than a lot of what’s on country radio right now. In the video interview posted above, she said she believes that if she’s making music that’s authentic to her, people will buy into it regardless of genre. How all these ladies wind up faring at country radio could give us some insight into the direction of country radio as well as the power of promotion.
How do you see it all panning out, and do you think “Wasting All These Tears” is the right choice for Cassadee’s debut single to country radio? Check out acoustic versions of several other tunes destined for her upcoming album (plus songwriting credits) HERE.
