Man, Brad Paisley latest single isn’t going over so well…
Earlier this week, Paisley announced that he was signing a new record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville imprint EMI Records Nashville, and we were all hoping and praying that we would be getting the Brad of old…
You know, the “Little Moments,” “Mud on the Tires,” and “Whiskey Lullaby” Brad Paisley that was one of the best pickers in the game. And it’s not like he forgot how to play the guitar, but there seems to be a bit of an identity crisis over the past few years.
The ever-present struggle to balance what’s popular and pays the bills with what’s authentic and what makes you happy… every artist has to contend with it, and some navigate it better than others.
And Brad, who I’ve long been a fan of, has been pretty irrelevant lately…
So that being said, with the announcement of this new album, Son of The Mountains, we were hoping for a renaissance of sorts and Brad delivered a new lead single featuring… Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Titled “Same Here,” the song is essentially a cliché reminder that “we’re all same,” with proceeds going to rebuild homes for Ukrainian people… a worthy cause no doubt.
He explained it:
“The song is grounded in observing life in the United States, then to people from other countries who speak different languages and to one across the ocean that’s at war. We start to realize how similar we all are.
That’s one of the things the President says in the song, ‘There is no distance between our two countries in such values.’ They are longing for what we as Americans have already. It’s heartbreaking watching this struggle in modern time for freedom and democracy and the ability to just simply be who they want to be in peace.
And this song is something that I hope resonates not only with my fans and people in America, but people anywhere that feel a similar desire to be free and safe and happy. Because I really do believe that as human beings when you take away the banners that determine what country we all live in, we all want the same things.”
Brad is also a celebrity ambassador for Ukraine’s United24 fundraising campaign, and all of the royalties from the song will be donated to help build housing for Ukrainians who have been displaced due to the war.
And let’s just say that the response hasn’t been great…
Brad got dragged pretty hard on Twitter, so much so that he disabled the comments on his last two Instagram posts regarding the song, including a feature on Fox & Friends:
But that didn’t stop people from sharing their thoughts on the song.
Fans went back to Brad’s most recent post (that you could actually comment on) and they let him HEAR it in the comments.
Here are a few of the comments:
“What does the president of Ukraine have to do with country music?”
“Unfollowing”
“Nah this ain’t it man. You made a song with Zelenskyy?”
“Stop the Ukraine stuff. They are stealing our tax dollars. Don’t do this.”
“Not interested. You have your hand in Biden’s pocket. I will no longer play or listen to you.”
“Making a song with a president who is leading us to WW3. You have a song called ‘love and war’ speaking about the exact opposite. You use to be a stand up dude what happened to you ?”
“Turning off your comments on the virtue signaling? Wake up and realize Ukraine is the new Afghanistan. Lockheed and Raytheon fund DC politicians to vote for war profits, then everyone makes $$. Now you’re doing it. Pathetic and sad.”
“Did you seriously make a new song with Zelensky speaking? So disappointing you would jump on the democratic platform of promoting a proxy war to make money which is leading us to the brink of World War 3.”
“Go woke go broke. Stop supporting Ukraine!”
“How’d you go from writing songs like ‘I’m Still a Guy’ to being a cuck for Kyiv?”
“I don’t associate with guys that shill for the Bidens”
“Ukraine sell out”
“If you’re looking at the world you need to open your blind eyes and see that you’re siding with corruption which is going to lead to the downfall of this country. So disappointed in you.”
Yeah, it kinda just goes on like that…
And look, the courage of the Ukrainian people is admirable… taking up arms to defend their country from a foreign super power is inspiring. Everybody loves and underdog story.
But I also think it’s fair to wonder where this $100 billion dollars in United States aid (significantly more than all the other countries combined) is going, without an end game in sight. What are the repercussions of handing a blank check to Ukraine? Has any focus been placed on diplomacy? Are we funding a proxy war with Russia right now? Do we have problems at home that should be addressed first? All are valid concerns…
Needless to say, the comment section, Twitter, and the fact that Brad turned the comments off of his last two Instagram posts would all go to argue that most of his fans aren’t on board with the song, which kind of feels more like propaganda than a country song.
Good on Brad for trying to raise money for causes that are near and dear to his heart… it just doesn’t seem like this is the move.
