What makes Lady Antebellum tick?

This is a case of I had to find out for myself. I had to find out why more people than expected are listening to Need You Now by Lady Antebellum around here. This is the CD with hits like Need You Now, American Honey, I Run To You by the Nashville-based trio of Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott, who collectively call themselves Lady Antebellum.

Released early this year Need You Now made No. 1 and turned out to be a Platinum album several times over. It is consistently among the top sellers of the US charts. From what I noticed during my weekly Billboard Magazine browsing, Need You Now’s lowest recent ranking is only about one or two rungs belong the Top 10. That is very good for a CD that came out six months ago.

Need You Now is classified as country and it is not surprising for a country album to do excellent sales in the US. Most of the biggest sellers out there are country artists. We may not be that familiar with their music but you can bet that heartthrobs like Kenney Chesney, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban, sweethearts like Faith Hill and Martina McBride and bands like Rascal Flatts outsell lots of pop stars in terms of concert tickets and CDs.

Filipinos tend to go for the pop music of New York and California. We do not seem to want to pay attention to the music that comes from the area in between. That is the place they call America’s heartland and it is huge. That is why Carrie Underwood outsells all the other American Idols. She is a country music diva whose audience appeal has crossed over to other areas. And that is what happened to Lady Antebellum.

The Academy of Country Music Album of the Year winner Lady Antebellum from two years ago was the trio’s first album. It went platinum. But we only discovered them when Need You Now came out. I am not surprised anymore about Pinoys taking a rare fancy to this country group.

True, the CD is country music but it is also very pop with rock overtones. The songs remind me of the duo Heart, one of the great crossover acts. Remember those girls with Magic Man, Barracuda and All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You? Heart presented a combination of soulful singing and solid songwriting. Lady Antebellum does the same.

The audience pleasers are obvious like the title cut and American Honey. They have also included the Grammy winning I Run To You, a hit from the first album. But there are other gems. That is why you get one good cut after another while listening to the CD.

If I Knew Then is the kind of touching love ballad that country artists do so well. Our Kind Of Love has this happy lilt. And who can resist When You Got A Good Thing. This is perfect writing, arrangement and harmonies. I can already imagine the song crossing over to pop and rock and staying around for a long time.

Also included are Hello World, Perfect Day, Love This Pain, Stars Tonight, Lookin’ For A Good Time and Ready To Love Again.

Top of the charts

This week’s No. 1 seller in the Top 200 albums listing is Recovery, the new album by Eminem. Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now is ranked at No. 12.

The list is as follows: Recovery by Eminem; Thank Me Later by Drake; Can’t Be Tamed by Miley Cyrus; Scream by Ozzy Osbourne; Now 34 by Various Artists; How I Got Over by The Roots; To The Sea by Jack Johnson; My World 2.0 by Justin Bieber; Laws Of Illusion by Sarah McLachlan; The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Movie Soundtrack by Various Artists.

Mojo by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers; Need You Now by Lady Antebellum; Ridin’ Solo by Keith Sweat; Raymond V Raymond by Usher; Live At The Troubadour by Carole King and James Taylor; Getting Dressed In The Dark by Jaron and The Long Road To Love; The Fame by Lady Gaga; The Foundation by the Zac Brown Band; Glee: The Music, Journey To The Nationals by the Cast; and B.o.B Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray by B.o.B.