With over 32,000 votes, the first round of Whiskey Riff Madness 2021: ’90s Country Edition is officially in the books.
And for the first time in Whiskey Riff Madness history, we had a TIE. But more on that later…
There were some absolutely BRUTAL matchups in the first round, some tough seedings for sure, and the result was some heavy hitters getting bounced early in the tournament.
The #1 seeds all easily handled their competition, with “Bubba Shot the Jukebox” giving “Friends in Low Places” the closest of the first round matchups. (Could Garth’s biggest hit make an early exit?)
Brooks & Dunn also put on a clinic, and Joe Diffie came out strong, with both of his entries blowing out their competition.
The top vote-getter overall, though? That honor belongs to none other than Alan Jackson with “Chattahoochee,” which got a whopping 98% of the vote in its first round matchup against Chely Wright’s “Shut Up and Drive.”
So those were some of the blowouts – but there were way more close matchups than there were straight-up embarrassments.
After trailing “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” nearly all day, “Strawberry Wine” made a helluva comeback to win that matchup by just a handful of votes. And “That Ain’t My Truck” flip flopped positions with “My Maria” all day before a late push helped Brooks & Dunn over the finish line.
But the closest matchup of the round by far was 4-seed “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” vs. 13-seed “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” – which ended in a TIE. That’s right: At the end of the day, they both had exactly the same number of votes.
So what’s the procedure for breaking a tie in Whiskey Riff Madness? Well to be honest I really didn’t have one because I didn’t expect to run into this issue. But one song had to move on, so I went with the most fair tiebreaker I could think of: A good ol’ fashioned coin flip.
And in a cruel twist of irony, “Here’s a Quarter” was defeated by a flip of a quarter to send “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” on to the next round.
The first round also saw early exits for some 90’s favorites like “Maybe It Was Memphis,” “Dumas Walker” (which got a LOT of support on social media but didn’t have the votes to make it through) and “Small Town Saturday Night.”
And that’s just the first round. It ain’t gettin’ any easier from here, folks.
So with the winners of the first round decided, and the matchups for the Round of 32 set, it’s time to get back to voting. And as we saw in the first round, if your favorite’s still in the tournament, it may be your vote that keeps them in the running.
Voting for the second round is open until 11:59 PM central time tonight, and as before, you can vote as many times as you want. And we’ve included the winners of all the first round matchups down at the bottom if you need a reminder on how they got here.
So with that, here are the matchups for the Round of 32:
First round winners in bold.
(1) Friends in Low Places – Garth Brooks vs. (16) Bubba Shot the Jukebox – Mark Chesnutt
(8) I’m Gonna Be Somebody – Travis Tritt vs. (9) Fast as You – Dwight Yoakam
(5) Dust on the Bottle – David Lee Murphy vs. (12) Guys Do It All the Time – Mindy McCready
(4) Brand New Man – Brooks & Dunn vs. (13) If the Good Die Young – Tracy Lawrence
(6) Heads Carolina, Tails California – Jo Dee Messina vs. (11) Little Red Rodeo – Collin Raye
(3) She’s In Love With the Boy – Trisha Yearwood vs. (14) Every Light in the House is On – Trace Adkins
(7) When You Say Nothing at All – Alison Krauss vs. (10) I Like It, I Love It – Tim McGraw
(2) Cowboy Take Me Away – Dixie Chicks vs. (15) Dumas Walker – Kentucky Headhunters
(1) Check Yes or No – George Strait vs. (16) Someone Else’s Star – Bryan White
(8) Straight Tequila Night – John Anderson vs. (9) Amazed – Lonestar
(5) Independence Day – Martina McBride vs. (12) Don’t Take the Girl – Tim McGraw
(4) She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy – Kenny Chesney vs. (13) XXX’s and OOO’s – Trisha Yearwood
(6) Breathe – Faith Hill vs. (11) Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die) – Joe Diffie
(3) Strawberry Wine – Deana Carter vs. (14) Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow – Alan Jackson
(7) Queen of My Double Wide Trailer – Sammy Kershaw vs. (10) A Broken Wing – Martina McBride
(2) Fancy – Reba McEntire vs. (15) There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With the Radio – Aaron Tippin
(1) Chattahoochee – Alan Jackson vs. (16) Shut Up and Drive – Chely Wright
(8) Time Marches On – Tracy Lawrence vs. (9) Small Town Saturday Night – Hal Ketchum
(5) That Ain’t My Truck – Rhett Akins vs. (12) My Maria – Brooks & Dunn
(4) Man! I Feel Like a Woman – Shania Twain vs. (13) Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares) – Travis Tritt
(6) Life’s a Dance – John Michael Montgomery vs. (11) God Blessed Texas – Little Texas
(3) Neon Moon – Brooks & Dunn vs. (14) I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why) – Alabama
(7) Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia – Reba McEntire vs. (10) If I Could Make a Living – Clay Walker
(2) John Deere Green – Joe Diffie vs. (15) Love Can Build a Bridge – The Judds
(1) Boot Scootin’ Boogie – Brooks & Dunn vs. (16) How Do I Live – Trisha Yearwood/LeAnn Rimes
(8) T-R-O-U-B-L-E – Travis Tritt vs. (9) Meet in the Middle – Diamond Rio
(5) Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident) vs. (12) This Kiss – Faith Hill
(4) Should’ve Been a Cowboy – Toby Keith vs. (13) Wide Open Spaces – Dixie Chicks
(6) Something Like That – Tim McGraw vs. (11) Wink – Neal McCoy
(3) The Dance – Garth Brooks vs. (14) Goodbye Says It All – BlackHawk
(7) Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus vs. (10) Maybe It Was Memphis – Pam Tillis
(2) Watermelon Crawl – Tracy Byrd vs. (15) Any Man of Mine – Shania Twain
