With an anthemic chorus and equally good verses, Lady
Antebellum makes a splash with their new single, “Bartender”. This one, sung in
it’s entirely by Hillary Scott (harmonies provided by Charles Kelley) is
definitely one for the ladies, something that’s lacking lately at Country
radio.
What I love about this song is that it’s not a common party-kind
of song. Yes, the narrator decides to go out, drink and dance until the night
dies, but this one feels kind of different. The good songwriting probably helps
the listener relate to what Scott is singing; the narrator goes through a
horrible break up and it’s still missing that person, but her friends convince
her to go on a girls-night-out, where they drink and dance. She allows a guy to
take her to dance but she lets him down gently because it’s a night with her
girls, something I really enjoyed about the songwriting because it gives the
song some kind of female-empowerment, where the narrator basically states she
don’t need a man to have a good time; her girlfriends are more than enough.
Like I said, it feels different from other party songs.
Why? Because the narrator is partying for a reason. The song has actual
substance and a good story to back it up; instead of just a party song to rip
the charts wide open. The melody is also catchy though the chorus has a lot of
words, which would make it hard to make as instant as other songs, but it’s
catchy enough to be a big hit on the radio.
There is absolutely no
reason for this song not to be a hit this summer. Grade: A
