The backlash is disheartening for the Grammy-winning band, which has been thrilled by positive fan response and sales numbers (Girl Crush is selling about 25,000 copies a week) but disappointed by the radio reaction. Fairchild remembers when she and fellow group member Kimberly Schlapman first heard the song, penned by veteran Nashville songwriters Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey. At Roses house during a girls writers day, Fairchild and Schlapman listened to the songwriter trio perform the tune and immediately snapped it up for Little Big Towns next album.
Its a genius lyric, such a beautifully written song about jealousy, Fairchild said in an interview with The Washington Post. It was like, Why would we not cut this?
Though label executives had some reservations about releasing it as a single, They all agreed it was a moment on the record that everybody needed to hear, Fairchild said. Sure, there was a little bit of dialogue about the title and Would people listen to the lyrics? But it didnt stop us.
As for the lyrics tripping up listeners, Fairchild guesses people hear the taste her lips line sung by a female singer and take assumptions from there shes still surprised by the controversy. Thats just shocking to me, the close-mindedness of that, when thats just not what the song was about, Fairchild said, But what if it were? Its just a greater issue of listening to a song for what it is.
The label recently cut a short commercial hoping to clear up some of the confusion. During the spot, the band introduces the song, while Fairchild explains the content: Its about a girl saying, you know, Why do you love her and not me?
They hope it helps: If angry fans force program directors to play the song less, it creates a ripple effect across country radio. Some stations wont even play a song if its not near the top of the charts, and Girl Crush is struggling to get there.
And there lies the problem with the divide between country sales and radio play: Even if a songs sales are strong, theres nothing like radio to attract an even broader audience. People in the industry hope theres a way to reconcile the two, especially to diversify the kind of hard-partying tunes that have taken over country radio in recent years.
Though Little Big Town has seen success with party songs (such as the recent No. 1 Day Drinking), Fairchild says shes heard from singer friends who hope that a ballad like Girl Crush can succeed on the radio and pave the way for more substantive music.
In fact, Fairchild jokes, Maybe the real controversy is that a 6/8 ballad is on country radio.
