By this point, unless you donât have either an internet connection or a radio set with operational antennas, youâve heard Shaboozeyâs smash hit single, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” whether on your local Top 40 country station or scrolling on TikTok. The catchy, carousing track â which has garnered more than 130 million streams on Spotify alone â showcases the songwriter, musician, and producer fresh off his feature on BeyoncĂ©âs Cowboy Carter; it was her own hit, “Texas Hold âEm” that he dethroned to land with âA Bar Songâ at Number One on Billboardâs Hot Country Songs chart at the end of April.
âA Bar Songâ is a crisp synthesization of the last decade of the highest performing country singles, a combination of country trap, looping beats and hand claps, and acoustic guitar and crying fiddle with a groove that straddles the fence between two-stepping and backing it up. Shaboozey, like so many Black creators on the country scene right now, demonstrates how comfortable and charming these mainstream, pop country stylizations feel in the hands of creators who know all of these idioms from all of their angles. Whether the dive bar saloon or the club, whether decked out with a Birkin or well-worn saddle bags, whether out in the barn with the livestock or line dancing with your friends at a downtown party, âA Bar Songâ feels right at home.
Itâs a track that perfectly illustrates the collective appeal country music has always had. This is music to be enjoyed together, raising a glass, and polishing the floorboards. Luckily, itâs just as fun on its thousandth listen as its first â and you will certainly hear âA Bar Song (Tipsy)â a thousand more times before the summerâs out. Because, as you know, everybody at the bar gettin’ tipsyâŠ
Photo Credit: Shaboozey by Daniel Prakopcyk.
