Page 24 of Love on Tour
Christine knew she had to be honest. “My only concern is that it doesn’t have a chorus. It has three very strong verses.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Sometimes a song without a chorus has a harder time making a good showing in market research. Since the chorus repeats two or three times, it’s what listeners remember. And it’s what radio programmers use to test a song with the audience.”
“I still don’t have a real sense of what the research tells a radio person to do. My label always waves me off when I ask and tells me to focus on singing and performing. They say it’s their job to worry about research.”
“They’re right. But it’s fair for you to want to know. The research tells a programmer if the audience loves, likes, or dislikes a song. The more they love it, the more radio will play it. If they dislike it, they play it less. A chorus usually sticks with the listener and causes them to be more familiar with the song, usually meaning songs with choruses perform better in research.”
“Understood. But a great song can still research without a chorus, right?”
“It can.”
“What’s your gut feeling?”
“It’s strong. And you repeat the title several times. That would stay with the listener. I like it,” Christine said.
“Do any stand out as definite hits or absolute failures?”
“The midtempo is fun. I think it’ll be a favorite with women, and they’re our core audience in country music.”
“And they love a song where the dude admits he screwed up and had to beg to get her back.”
“Won’t argue that.” She paused before commenting on the song that wasn’t hers. Truth was, she didn’t feel it was as strong as the other two. And she could honestly tell herself it wasn’t just because someone else had brought it to him. “The up-tempo about the party in the field with beer and chicks in Daisy Dukes isn’t my favorite. It’s been done to the point of being overdone. I know it makes for a fun video, but I think the audience is over that theme,” she said. “And I know radio programmers are.”
“Yeah, I kind of felt the same. I wanted to make it a different kind of party song, but it came out sounding like all the others. I couldn’t find a way to give it a unique twist.”
“There’s only so much you can do with a kegger,” she said.
“Good point. I’m not ready to make a decision yet, but I feel closer,” Austin said.
Christine screamed internally. She had hoped to nail him down to one of the songs today. She couldn’t show him her stress, though. It wasn’t fair to put that on him.
Austin rubbed the back of his neck. He closed his eyes and winced with pain.
“You okay?”
“I must have slept wrong. My neck hurts.”
“Can I get you something?”
“Would you mind massaging it? I can’t reach it.”
“Oh, well, sure. I took a massage class back in college. Got a health credit for it. It’s been a while, but I can try.”
Austin lay down on the couch and Christine sat beside him.
“Hold on.” Austin sat back up and took his shirt off.
Christine tried to look anywhere other than his amazing abs—and shoulders, and back. And now she had to touch him. She started to massage his neck and shoulders. His body slumped. The muscles softened at her touch. She rubbed his head, knowing that sometimes helped her when she had neck pain.
Austin groaned.
“Does that hurt?”
“No.” His voice sounded raspy.
Christine continued. She often got massages herself and knew what she liked. She tried to do the same for Austin.
