Review: "Tattoo" — Hunter Hayes

Hunter Hayes has always known how to make a hit. This song was destined to be a hit. It has the uptempo pop influenced production popular on radio, and lyrics that discuss love. However, this song was not a hit. It only reached No. 24 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and didn't even break the Top 30 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It's puzzling, because this song is similar in lyrical content and production to his previous single "I Want Crazy", which reached No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

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The reason this song was not a hit is because people are still hooked on bro country. Although the trend is beginning to fade away, it's still very prominent on radio. Turn on the radio. Most likely it will be a bro country song. Yes, Maddie and Tae did hit No. 1, and Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert have continuous hits, but the majority of the radio is bro country. At this point in time, it's rare to have a male singer who doesn't sing bro country. And between 2013 and today, so much has changed, and now Hayes' music is not as big in the radio setting.

Although this track did not chart well, it is a pretty good song. There's no depth to it - it's lyrically a country 5 Seconds of Summer song - but it has that sweetness and innocent guy vibe that makes Hayes so likable as an artist. This is a kind of song that no other country artist could create, because this song is so 'Hunter Hayes' in style, and so different from anything else on country radio. Although that is an amazing thing, it ended up hurting Hayes.
Overall rating: 3 ½ crowns

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