WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.560 The Deep Dive. Keith Urban's It's a Love Thing, 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.879 1999 chart history and country discography. Join 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:11.679 us for a deep dive into Keith Urban's 1999 country 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:14.960 single, It's a Love Thing. We unpack the Wikipedia 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:17.679 sources to explore its debut on the Billboard 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.339 Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart, its unique 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:23.179 statistical position in Urban's extensive discography, 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:25.739 and its legacy as his first American release. 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:28.399 Discover songwriting credits with Monty Powell, 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:31.300 music video premieres on CMT, and a complete 00:00:31.300 --> 00:00:34.200 look at his chart history up to 2018. Whether 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:36.320 you're a country music fan or chart history buff, 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:39.439 This analysis reveals the foundation of a superstar's 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:42.479 career. Key words, Keith Urban, it's a love thing, 00:00:42.859 --> 00:00:45.899 1999 country music, Billboard Hot Country Charts, 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:48.740 Monty Powell, Capital Nashville, country music 00:00:48.740 --> 00:00:51.619 discography. Welcome to another deep dive. We 00:00:51.619 --> 00:00:53.320 were so glad you're joining us today. Yeah, thanks 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:55.060 for being here. Whether you're, you know, grabbing 00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:57.539 a coffee or maybe settling into a long commute, 00:00:57.820 --> 00:00:59.960 or you just love unpacking these hidden stories 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:01.799 buried in music history. You are in the right 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:05.099 place. Exactly. You are in the exact right place 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:08.140 because today we're focusing on a very specific, 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:11.879 a really pivotal slice of country music history. 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:14.599 A really fun one. Yeah. We are looking at the 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:17.140 foundational data, specifically the Wikipedia 00:01:17.140 --> 00:01:21.280 page for Keith Urban's 1999 single, It's a Love 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:23.620 Thing. And we have a brilliant stack of source 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:25.980 material to work with today. We really do. We're 00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:28.939 looking at the raw metadata of this song, the 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:31.739 Billboard chart performance, the release strategy 00:01:31.739 --> 00:01:34.819 that Capital Nashville put together, and this 00:01:34.819 --> 00:01:37.939 really comprehensive mapping of his entire discography 00:01:37.939 --> 00:01:41.060 that stems directly from this one specific release. 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:43.000 Right, because the mission for our deep dive 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:46.459 today is to take a track that is officially categorized 00:01:46.459 --> 00:01:50.219 as just a like a 1999 country song stub on Wikipedia. 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:52.900 Just a tiny blip. Right. And we want to uncover 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:55.650 the massive story hidden within its time. its 00:01:55.650 --> 00:01:58.290 production credits, and its chart run. We want 00:01:58.290 --> 00:02:00.670 to see how these seemingly dry numbers basically 00:02:00.670 --> 00:02:02.810 serve as the blueprint for what becomes a multi 00:02:02.810 --> 00:02:04.750 -decade musical empire. It's amazing what you 00:02:04.750 --> 00:02:06.450 can find when you actually look at the data. 00:02:06.790 --> 00:02:08.969 It is. Because looking through these sources, 00:02:09.229 --> 00:02:12.330 there is this one mind -boggling statistic that 00:02:12.330 --> 00:02:14.270 completely hooked me. Oh, I know the one you 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:17.449 mean. Right. How does a song that peaked at number 00:02:17.449 --> 00:02:21.389 18 become the absolute ultimate proof of an artist's 00:02:21.389 --> 00:02:23.449 staggering success? It's a brilliant paradox, 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:26.330 really. Yeah. When you just see a number 18 peak 00:02:26.330 --> 00:02:29.270 in the grand scheme of a massive superstar's 00:02:29.270 --> 00:02:32.069 career, it's so easy to assume that's just a 00:02:32.069 --> 00:02:34.389 forgotten footnote. Right, like a warmup. Exactly. 00:02:34.789 --> 00:02:37.490 But when you contextualize that number 18 peak 00:02:37.490 --> 00:02:39.949 against the, you know, the two decades of music 00:02:39.949 --> 00:02:43.189 that followed it, it actually reveals an unprecedented 00:02:43.189 --> 00:02:46.330 level of industry dominance. It's wild. It is 00:02:46.330 --> 00:02:48.449 the exception that completely defines the rule. 00:02:48.830 --> 00:02:51.810 OK, let's unpack this. Because to truly understand 00:02:51.810 --> 00:02:54.280 the weight of that number 18 peak, We need to 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:56.319 go back to the very beginning. We need to look 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:59.020 at the blueprint of an American debut. Let's 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:01.060 lay out the facts. Yeah, the basic foundational 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:03.180 facts. It's a love thing. Was released on May 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:07.139 27, 1999. It clocks in at exactly three minutes 00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:10.500 and 41 seconds. This sweet spot. The absolute 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:13.719 sweet spot for radio. And it was the first single 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:17.280 from his first American self -titled album. simply 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:19.979 called Keith Urban, released under the Capital 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:22.020 Nashville label. And we really have to set the 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:23.639 stage for what Capital Nashville was looking 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:26.199 at in May of 1999. Oh, it was a totally different 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:28.840 world. A juggernaut of an era. You have Shania 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:32.159 Twain shattering global records. You have Faith 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.400 Hill, Tim McGraw, the Dixie Chicks. Massive crossover 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:38.129 appeal happening. Huge. Country was crossing 00:03:38.129 --> 00:03:40.469 over into mainstream pop culture in a way it 00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:43.569 rarely had before. And into this hyper -competitive, 00:03:43.710 --> 00:03:46.729 high -stakes environment, Capital drops an introductory 00:03:46.729 --> 00:03:50.110 single for an Australian guitar player. And an 00:03:50.110 --> 00:03:52.889 eponymous album, a self -titled album, is traditionally 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:55.449 a handshake with the audience. It says, this 00:03:55.449 --> 00:03:57.949 is my core identity. And slapping that Capital 00:03:57.949 --> 00:04:00.430 Nashville logo on it tells Country Radio, hey, 00:04:00.469 --> 00:04:03.050 this isn't some fringe indie project. We're backing 00:04:03.050 --> 00:04:06.930 this. Exactly. There is. heavy institutional 00:04:06.930 --> 00:04:09.370 weight behind this three minute and 41 second 00:04:09.370 --> 00:04:12.289 handshake. And it's a tight handshake. But what 00:04:12.289 --> 00:04:14.310 really stands out in the text and the liner notes 00:04:14.310 --> 00:04:17.930 is the creative team behind that runtime. Yes. 00:04:18.230 --> 00:04:20.310 Keith Urban didn't just walk into a vocal booth 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:22.410 and sing a demo tape the Capitol handed to him. 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:25.170 No, he didn't. He co -wrote the track with Monty 00:04:25.170 --> 00:04:27.759 Powell. and he co -produced it with Matt Rawlings. 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:30.259 What's fascinating here is the level of creative 00:04:30.259 --> 00:04:32.860 control that implies right out of the gate. It's 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.480 huge. Normally when a label brings a new artist 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:38.079 into the Nashville machine for a debut, they 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.560 pair them with a highly controlled ecosystem. 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:42.680 Right. They want a guaranteed return on investment. 00:04:42.860 --> 00:04:44.839 Exactly. They use the hitmakers of the day and 00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:47.420 they guide the artist. But Urban's name is firmly 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:49.899 planted in the songwriting credits alongside 00:04:49.899 --> 00:04:52.839 Monty Powell. And Monty was already a heavy hitter. 00:04:53.019 --> 00:04:55.800 Oh, absolutely. writing for Diamond Rio, Tracy 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.740 Byrd. And then on the production side, he's working 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:01.100 alongside Matt Rawlings. The legendary session 00:05:01.100 --> 00:05:03.540 guy. Right. A keyboardist who had worked with 00:05:03.540 --> 00:05:06.959 everyone from Lyle Lovett to Mark Knopfler. So 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.959 Urban is steering the ship. He isn't just a vocal 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:13.279 instrument being molded by executives. He's the 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:17.139 architect of his sound. From day one of his American 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:20.019 career. From day one. And that leads to a piece 00:05:20.019 --> 00:05:22.819 of data. in the singles chronology section of 00:05:22.819 --> 00:05:25.259 the Wikipedia page that honestly stopped me in 00:05:25.259 --> 00:05:28.240 my tracks. The gap. The gap. If you look at his 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:31.480 release history, his previous solo single, Before 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:34.439 It's a Love Thing, was a track called Got It 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:38.339 Bad, which came out in 1991. 1991. 1991. That 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:41.040 is an eight -year gap between singles. It's almost 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:45.259 unheard of. How does a label even market a guy 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:47.720 whose last official single came out eight years 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:50.029 prior? Well, they don't market the past. They 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:52.709 completely reframe him. Oh, OK. That eight -year 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:55.110 gap is one of the most brutal but fascinating 00:05:55.110 --> 00:05:57.870 aspects of his story. The source specifically 00:05:57.870 --> 00:06:01.529 notes this 1999 track is from his first American 00:06:01.529 --> 00:06:04.230 album. Right. Which implies that the 1991 release 00:06:04.230 --> 00:06:06.870 belonged to a totally different era, a pre -American 00:06:06.870 --> 00:06:09.569 era. He was basically a kid releasing music as 00:06:09.569 --> 00:06:12.250 an Australian country artist. Exactly. But... 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:14.220 Breaking into the American market, specifically 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:17.100 the fortress of 90s music row in Nashville, required 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:19.060 stripping that all down and starting over. Right. 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:21.139 He moved to Nashville and those eight years were 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.620 spent entirely in the trenches. Playing guitar 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:26.180 in a band called The Ranch, doing session work. 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:28.000 I mean, think about that for a second. You're 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.180 listening right now. Imagine working at something 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:35.129 for eight whole years. between major public milestones. 00:06:35.389 --> 00:06:37.910 The resilience required is staggering. It really 00:06:37.910 --> 00:06:40.610 is. Eight years of just grinding in the background 00:06:40.610 --> 00:06:42.670 while other people get the spotlight. But it 00:06:42.670 --> 00:06:45.850 changes how you view this 1999 debut. Totally. 00:06:46.089 --> 00:06:48.949 When we look at a superstar's discography, we 00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:52.259 usually see a continuous upward trajectory. But 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:54.980 this gap represents reinvention. He was shedding 00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:57.779 his past. Yes, navigating the failure of his 00:06:57.779 --> 00:07:00.560 band, painstakingly building a foundation. So 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.600 by the time May 1999 rolls around, he's not a 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:06.120 naive newcomer. He intimately understands how 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:08.360 Nashville works. Which means this America debut 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:10.920 was a highly calculated strike. Precisely. And 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:12.939 you can see that calculation in the visual release 00:07:12.939 --> 00:07:16.079 strategy. The audio drops on May 27th, and the 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.040 text shows the music video, which is directed 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:20.759 by Tom Olyphant. premiered on national television 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:24.060 just four days later on may 31st four days four 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:27.160 days on cmt and we have to remember the cultural 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:31.019 weight of cmt in 1999 pre -u pre -streaming pre 00:07:31.019 --> 00:07:35.000 -social media cmt was the absolute kingmaker 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.540 if you wanted the country music audience to know 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:40.519 who you were you had to be on cmt heavy rotation 00:07:40.670 --> 00:07:44.269 Exactly. To have the audio shipped to radio on 00:07:44.269 --> 00:07:46.970 a Thursday, and the video premieres on television 00:07:46.970 --> 00:07:50.589 the very next Monday, is an aggressive, coordinated 00:07:50.589 --> 00:07:53.649 media push by capital. They want people to hear 00:07:53.649 --> 00:07:56.750 this guitar -heavy sound and immediately associate 00:07:56.750 --> 00:07:59.050 it with his face. Right. But what's really clever 00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:02.430 is the specific program a CMT used to debut it. 00:08:02.829 --> 00:08:04.870 The text notes, it premiered during a program 00:08:04.870 --> 00:08:07.769 called the CMT Delivery Room. Which is such a 00:08:07.769 --> 00:08:10.660 telling detail. Isn't it? The title itself, Delivery 00:08:10.660 --> 00:08:13.139 Room, suggests a specialized platform designed 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:15.839 to literally birth or introduce new music to 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:17.519 the world. Like, look at this brand new baby 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:19.959 artist we just delivered. Exactly. It frames 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.240 the video not just as a standard addition to 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:24.879 a daily playlist, but as an exclusive event. 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:26.600 They're telling the audience, pay attention to 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:28.680 this guy. It's the visual handshake to match 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:31.439 the audio handshake. It's a master class in marketing. 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:34.639 You have the radio push, the high profile TV 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:37.440 premiere, the pedigree of his co -writers and 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:39.720 producers. Everything is perfectly aligned for 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:42.879 a massive overnight explosion. What? But then 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:45.039 we get to the actual numbers. A reality check. 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:47.600 We enter the chart mechanics phase of the story 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:51.480 and the performance of It's a Love Thing is a 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:54.019 fascinating study in chart anomalies. The data 00:08:54.019 --> 00:08:56.019 tells a very different story than the marketing 00:08:56.019 --> 00:08:58.820 setup. It really does. because the text shows 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:01.580 the song debuted at number 73 on the Billboard 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:03.659 Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart. Right. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:06.200 And it did that during the week of August 28, 00:09:06.659 --> 00:09:10.360 1999. August 28th? But it didn't reach its peak 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:13.379 position of number 18 until the year 2000. Which 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:15.940 is wild when you look at the timeline. Walk us 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:18.399 through that timeline. Released in May 1999. 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:22.100 It takes three entire months just to debut on 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:24.340 the chart at number 73 in late August. Three 00:09:24.340 --> 00:09:26.200 months just to enter the chart. Yes. And then 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:28.759 it doesn't peak until 2000. This indicates a 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:31.960 very slow, methodical, agonizing climb of the 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:34.299 charts. It wasn't an overnight hit at all. Not 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:38.700 even close. It required months of sustained promotion. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:42.080 This is the hallmark of the late 90s country 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:44.539 radio tour. The legendary radio tour. It's an 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:47.340 endurance test. Driving from secondary market 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:50.139 to secondary market in a van. Waking up at 5 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:52.700 a .m. Playing acoustic versions in a cramped 00:09:52.700 --> 00:09:55.480 radio station lobby. Begging a program director 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:58.080 to add the song to light rotation. And taking 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:00.159 seven or eight months just to peak at number 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:04.279 18 means they fought for every single spin. Every 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:07.720 single one. It's trench warfare. And the Wikipedia 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:09.700 source gives us a couple of other chart appearances 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:11.559 that are super interesting. Let's hear them. 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.240 It hit number 25 on the Canada country tracks 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:17.549 chart. published by RPM, and it hit number five 00:10:17.549 --> 00:10:20.879 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Ah, the 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:22.779 Bubbling Under chart. Yeah, what does that actually 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:25.500 mean? Well, the Billboard Hot 100 is the mainstream, 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:27.779 all -genre chart, right? The biggest songs in 00:10:27.779 --> 00:10:29.659 the country. Right. The Bubbling Under chart 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:31.840 tracks the 25 songs sitting right below number 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:33.899 100 that haven't crossed over yet. So hitting 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:36.080 number five on Bubbling Under means? It means 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:39.620 It's a Love Thing was effectively the 105th most 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:42.860 popular song in America. So close. Simmering 00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:45.419 right below the surface of mainstream awareness, 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:49.320 but it couldn't quite break the ceiling. Bubbling 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:52.750 Under. perfectly encapsulates where he was at 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:55.509 this exact moment, because, and here's where 00:10:55.509 --> 00:10:57.350 it gets really interesting. Here comes the stat. 00:10:57.509 --> 00:11:00.049 The most staggering stat from the text. This 00:11:00.049 --> 00:11:04.049 song, this number 18 hit, is Keith Urban's lowest 00:11:04.049 --> 00:11:06.470 charting single to date. It's incredible. It 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:09.549 is his first single to miss the top 10 on the 00:11:09.549 --> 00:11:12.789 Billboard Hot Country chart, and his first not 00:11:12.789 --> 00:11:15.379 to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Let's really 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:17.480 analyze the massive implication of that sentence. 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.720 Please do. If a song that peaked at number 18 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:22.559 is an artist's lowest charting single, it means 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.039 every other standard single they released performed 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:27.519 better. Every single one. For most artists, hitting 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:30.620 number 18 is a massive career triumph. For Keith 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:33.259 Urban, number 18 is the absolute floor. It's 00:11:33.259 --> 00:11:35.279 the worst he ever did. Yes. And the text notes, 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:37.500 it would be his only single to miss the top 10 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:41.259 until 2018. 2018, when a song called Female reached 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:43.820 number 12. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:46.679 you are looking at a nearly two -decade streak. 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:50.899 In 18 years. Continuous top 10 hits, making this 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:54.399 1999 underperformer the exception that proves 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:57.240 the rule of an almost unprecedented run of chart 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:59.759 dominance. It's almost difficult to comprehend. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.379 From 2000 to 2018, the industry changed completely. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.360 We went from CDs to iPods to streaming. And he 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:09.500 never dropped out of the top 10. Unbelievable. 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:12.450 It makes you look at that agonizing slow climb 00:12:12.450 --> 00:12:15.250 to number 18 completely differently. They were 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:17.190 laying the foundation for a skyscraper. They 00:12:17.190 --> 00:12:18.970 absolutely were. And we can actually see the 00:12:18.970 --> 00:12:21.289 blueprint of that skyscraper in the discography 00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:23.909 section of the article. It maps out the legacy 00:12:23.909 --> 00:12:26.990 that followed this 1999 debut. And it is a massive 00:12:26.990 --> 00:12:29.830 output of work. A sprawling discography. Sprawling 00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:31.690 is the perfect word. Just tracing the progression 00:12:31.690 --> 00:12:34.029 of the album titles is fascinating. We start 00:12:34.029 --> 00:12:36.129 with the self -titled Keith Urban in 99. The 00:12:36.129 --> 00:12:38.200 introduction. Right. But then the very next album 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:41.320 is Golden Road. That title alone radiates momentum. 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:44.740 It does. Then be here. Then love, pain, and the 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:47.620 whole crazy thing. Defying gravity. Get closer. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:52.899 It just keeps going. Fuse. Ripcord. Graffiti 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:57.059 you. The speed of now part one. And high. The 00:12:57.059 --> 00:12:59.360 sheer volume of output is incredible. And you 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.360 can see the artistic evolution in those titles. 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:04.320 How so? Well, you go from the optimism of Golden 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:06.779 Road to the absolute commercial peak of be here. 00:13:07.179 --> 00:13:09.440 And then once the streak is established, you 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:12.580 get love, pain, and the whole crazy thing. A 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:15.340 much more vulnerable, complex title. Exactly. 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:18.100 He's secure enough to take risks. And as you 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:20.960 get into titles like Fuse and Ripcord, he's experimenting 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:23.559 with pop producers, actively pushing the boundaries 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:26.259 of the country format. And the list of actual 00:13:26.259 --> 00:13:28.879 hits fueling those albums is relentless. The 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.720 text highlights specific tracks that followed 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.080 right in the wake of It's a Love Thing. Of follow 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:35.159 ups. Yeah. Just from that first album, he followed 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:37.879 up with Your Everything. Top 10. But for the 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:39.940 grace of God. Top 10. And where the black top 00:13:39.940 --> 00:13:42.259 ends. Based on the rule we just established, 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:44.600 we know those all smashed. The momentum flip 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:47.379 was instantaneous. And it continued for decades. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.519 The sheer volume of subsequent singles from somebody 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:53.159 like you to Blue Ain't Your Color. Oh, Blue Ain't 00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:57.440 Your Color was massive. A huge moody bluesy smash, 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:01.139 all the way up to one too many. It illustrates 00:14:01.139 --> 00:14:03.600 the incredible momentum that began with this 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.659 modest 1999 single. What's really cool is looking 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.840 at the collaborative songs. category in the text. 00:14:10.059 --> 00:14:11.960 This is a great section. It notes titles like 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:14.620 America the Beautiful, classic covers like Lean 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:18.059 on Me, and massive crossover tracks like Highway 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:20.919 Don't Care. Showcasing a massive expansion in 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:23.279 breath. Right. The guy who started with a fiercely 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.379 protected solo debut, co -writing and co -producing 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:28.659 everything just to prove himself, eventually 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:31.740 expands into these major multi -artist collaborative 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:34.259 events. It's the ultimate luxury of success. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:36.179 Once you build the fortress, you can go play 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:38.539 in anyone's sandbox. He became an elder statesman 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:41.389 of the genre. Exactly. And I think there's a 00:14:41.389 --> 00:14:43.490 really valuable takeaway here for you, the listener. 00:14:43.990 --> 00:14:45.909 If you look at your own long -term projects, 00:14:46.110 --> 00:14:49.190 your own career or passions, do the early number 00:14:49.190 --> 00:14:52.210 18s in your life look small now? That's a great 00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:54.389 point. Right. Even though they were the necessary 00:14:54.389 --> 00:14:57.529 brutal stepping stones to your top 10s, we tend 00:14:57.529 --> 00:15:00.409 to judge our early efforts so harshly. But without 00:15:00.409 --> 00:15:03.169 that number 18, there is no streak. Exactly. 00:15:03.710 --> 00:15:06.440 So what did this all mean? As we wrap up this 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:09.399 deep dive, we started with a look at a Wikipedia 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:13.019 stub for a 1999 country song called It's a Love 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:15.539 Thing. Just a few paragraphs of text. Right. 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.399 And from that, we uncovered the story of an eight 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:21.320 -year gap between singles, a slow -climbing trench 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:24.700 warfare chart debut, and a statistical anomaly 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:27.759 that highlights an 18 -year streak of top -10 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.629 dominance. It really recontextualizes the whole 00:15:30.629 --> 00:15:33.009 thing. It means that sometimes the most important 00:15:33.009 --> 00:15:35.570 piece of an artist's history isn't their biggest 00:15:35.570 --> 00:15:38.289 hit, it's the foundation they laid right before 00:15:38.289 --> 00:15:41.039 the explosion. The friction that builds the fire. 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:43.299 Beautifully said. You know, I want to leave the 00:15:43.299 --> 00:15:45.720 listener with one final provocative detail from 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:47.779 the text. Oh, please do. At the very bottom of 00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:49.740 the source material, there's a tiny standard 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:53.779 Wikipedia note. It says, this 1999 country song 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:56.580 related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia 00:15:56.580 --> 00:15:59.600 by adding missing information. Wow. It begs a 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:01.720 fascinating question. We just spend this entire 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:04.740 time dissecting how a song launched a multi -decade 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:07.720 record breaking career. The genesis of an empire. 00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:10.820 Right. And if that song is still considered an 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:14.159 incomplete stub in the grand encyclopedia of 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:17.259 human knowledge, how much more undiscovered history 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:19.840 is hiding in plain sight, just waiting for someone 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:22.320 to care enough to fill in the blanks? What an 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.960 incredible thought to end on. There's so much 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:26.940 history hiding in the metadata of the world. 00:16:27.580 --> 00:16:29.120 Thank you so much for joining us on this deep 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.139 dive. Keep seeking out those hitter stories, 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:33.399 keep unpacking the data, and we will see you 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:33.820 next time.