"Red High Heels," Kellie Pickler

[tozion]

wm.allaccess.com/allaccess/kellredh.wma

The first lead single to come out of season five of American Idol is by Kellie Pickler. Her new single hits country radio this month!

[duh5]

Uh-oh. She seems like a sweet girl, but she sucked on AI. I can see her having a couple of minor hits though.

[That Skipping Rope.]

This is good. Very Dolly.

[tozion]

I want to hear it! I think she could actually do alright.

[That Skipping Rope.]

Radio Rip:
www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=AB4AC6B16BAC9E61

[tozion]

I expected this to be okay because she does have potential at Country and she was signed by Clive, but this is even better than I expected. Very good. It should be a hit. That said, her voice sounds ProTooled to the heavens beyond. She wasn't really a weak vocalist so it's not like it was necessary, but this hardly sounds like her. If I heard it on the radio, I'd have no idea it was her.

[duh5]

This is actually good. Way better than I expected. I agree about her vocals though, way too processed sounding.

[CLEM]

tozion said:

She wasn't really a weak vocalist

Uh... yes she was. The weakest in the Top 12 by far.

[tozion]

INSTANT IMPACT at #77!

Goes for adds on September 25.

[ffej]

This is nice. I would have liked more attitude, but I hope the Dyke spike is gone.

[CLEM]

This is cute.

[tozion]

Triple digit bullet!

[anitabakerfan]

This is gonna be HUGE at country radio....Clive really did it this time...the perfect song for Kelly Pickler, it really displays her sassy side...I predict a MEGA hit at country!!

[tozion]

PICKING PICKLER: Kellie Pickler becomes the 24th "American Idol" competitor to find a spot on a Billboard chart. Her debut single, "Red High Heels" (BNA), debuts at No. 48 on Hot Country Songs.

That makes Pickler the fourth "Idol" finalist to appear on the country chart, following Kelly Clarkson, Josh Gracin and Carrie Underwood. Gracin and Underwood have both had No. 1 songs on this tally.

Pickler is the fifth contestant from season five to appear on a Billboard chart, making this most recent year one of the most successful in the series' history. Only the third season has produced more chart-worthy contestants, and season five is likely to keep producing hitmakers.

Here is a breakdown of charted Idols by season:

Season one: (five)
Kelly Clarkson
Justin Guarini
Tamyra Gray
R.J. Helton
Jim Verraros

Season two: (four)
Ruben Studdard
Clay Aiken
Kimberley Locke
Josh Gracin

Season three: (six)
Fantasia
Diana DeGarmo
Jasmine Trias
LaToya London
George Huff
John Stevens

Season four: (three)
Carrie Underwood
Bo Bice
Mario Vazquez

Season five: (five)
Taylor Hicks
Katharine McPhee
Elliot Yamin
Chris Daughtry
Kellie Pickler

That adds up to 23. The figure increases to 24 when you count William Hung, who has turned being rejected on "American Idol" into a lucrative career.

[That Skipping Rope.]

This is very underwhelming in HQ.

[tozion]

I was going to say... I don't like this nearly as much since I heard it in HQ.

[tozion]

This started off really well, but the bullet is almost gone and it's barely Top 40.

[tozion]

Billboard review:

Red High Heels
KELLIE PICKLER
Producer(s): Blake Chancey
Genre: COUNTRY
Label: BNA

"American Idol" alum Pickler makes a run at the country format with this lively little uptempo number. She penned the tune with hit writers Chris Lindsey, Aimee Mayo and Karyn Rochelle. The result is a frisky anthem about a woman not just surviving, but thriving as she leaves her ex in the dust and steps out in her red high heels. Pickler has an engaging voice and loads of personality, and both shine on this single. But as good as it is, one can't help but feel Pickler has even better stuff up her sleeve. She has an abundance of spark and charisma, and with the right career choices, she very well could follow in her heroes' footsteps. Look out, Dolly Parton. —Deborah Evans Price

[cactus tree]

Music video. Cute.

[duh5]

That video actually makes me like the song less. Terrible. And those are seriously the cheapest hair extenstions I have ever seen.

[tozion]

I got over this song so quickly. I liked it for about a week, and apparently the same goes for country radio. This is a big old bomb.

[tick / tock]

Yuck. They keep showing the commercial for her album on VH1 (with her music video), and I didn't even recognize her. She looks horrible in it.

[duh5]

Pitchfork Media gives it two stars:

Despite some surprising successes, the competitive karaoke of "American Idol" still inspires dismally low expectations. Falling somewhere between the highs of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood and the lows of Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler neither embarrasses nor distinguishes herself on her debut single. She actually sounds like a lot of other post-Shania Nashville singers, with pipes that are just slightly above average and phrasing she didn't learn from country radio. She also attacks the verses with more gusto than's called for, but her voice sounds thin in the mix and she can't sell the sass on its honkytonk chorus. Ultimately, "Red High Heels" is third-hand attitude-- the chiming guitars siphon off and dilute Miranda Lambert's "Kerosene", a song that cribbed from Steve Earle's "Hardcore Troubadour". But while Lambert's boot-in-yer-ass delivery redeemed her copy, Pickler doesn't provide much incentive not to seek out its ancestors.

[tozion]

This is having a second wind.

[tozion]

Debuts at #99 on the Hot 100.