Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood put on an impressive display of girl power on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, as "Somethin' Bad" vaults 18-1 with top Streaming Gainer honors. The track also flies to the top of Country Streaming Songs (11-1) with a 506 percent gain to 4.2 million U.S. streams, according to Nielsen BDS, after its official video premiered on June 26.
While streaming accounts for 50 percent of its Hot Country Songs chart points, "Bad" also gains in sales and airplay. It bounds 10-4 on Country Digital Songs (60,000 downloads sold, up 86 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan), marking its best rank and sales sum since it debuted atop the sales tally dated June 7 – after Lambert and Underwood had premiered the duet on the Billboard Music Awards (May 18). On Country Airplay, "Bad" bullets for a second week at its No. 25 highpoint so far (15 million impressions, up 12 percent).
"Bad" is Underwood's 13th Hot Country Songs No. 1 and first since "Good Girl" in June 2012 (and first since the chart switched from an airplay-only methodology to encompassing airplay, sales and streaming). It's Lambert's fifth. It's the chart's first No. 1 featuring a female artist since Lambert and Keith Urban's "We Were Us" led for three weeks in November/December (her most recent No. 1 before "Bad").
Miranda Lambert Talks About Sharing ?Rock Edge? With Carrie Underwood! [Podcast] « 99.5 WYCD Detroit's Best Country
Click the link to listen to a short interview with Miranda. She's always so nice about Carrie. You can tell how much she respects her.
I'm not sure that all fans will recognize what Miranda originally had in mind for the duet. For those that didn't pick up on the reference in that interview clip, this is the original classic song that gave her the idea (written in the '80s by Troy Seals and Max Barnes). It's performed here recently by Carrie's friends, Zach and Colton Swon (and, by the way, there are also rumours that Carrie will appear on a collaboration track on their upcoming album too. Carrie was at College with Zach, although I think a couple of years ahead)
(Click the little YouTube icon at bottom right for it to play)
What Miranda seems to have wanted earlier was to write a similar song from a female perspective, and sing it with Carrie at the Opry. It was Blake who advised her to pick a rocker. I'll leave it to you to decide - but I'd still like that to happen one day!
[h=2]2. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, "Somethin' Bad"[/h] (Chris DeStefano, Brett James, Priscilla Renea) The raucous "Somethin' Bad" turned into something great, thanks in part to a 19th century hymn. In 2011, Underwood, joined by Vince Gill on guitar, belted out a goosebump-raising rendition of "How Great Thou Art" for the ACM's Girls Night Out: Superstar Women of Country TV special. Seated in the audience, Lambert was inspired to propose working with Underwood on a track for her next album, Platinum. "'Somethin' Bad' came across and it just felt like the rock & roll edge that she and I have in some of our songs put it all into perspective," Lambert told Rolling Stone Country. "I sent it to her and she said yes. It was that easy." Get ready to clear some awards-shelf space, ladies.
Oh really? Was that a late addition as it was not on original list.
Just heard this on the radio for the first time today. Oh man I know I will catch some flack here but it didn't play well on radio. It left me feeling confused and if not for my Carrie support I would have changed the station. I think I was caught up in watching Carrie perform it live and the really great music video. Sorry
Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood Go Alpha Female
There are strong mischievous undertones to Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood's chart-scaling, theatrical duet "Somethin' Bad," as though, on some level, they set out to beat their male counterparts at their own hard rock game. Or at least to present their male-dominated format with a formidable, united front. Likewise, it's no coincidence that the song unfurls an over-the-top, Thelma & Louise-like tale with expendable male characters.
Lambert herself sees both sides of the bro country fence. "It has this whole theme of party and tailgate and bonfire — I love all that stuff," she tells Rolling Stone Country. "But there is so much more you can sing about and say."