The Top 5 Hottest Women in Country Music

Hey everybody, sorry for the lack of posting over the last day and a half. Things have been real busy at work and I haven't gotten much time to sit down and think of a great topic. But inspired by a friend's suggestion, I have in fact stumbled on such a topic -- today I present the top 5 hottest women in country music...In descending order.

5. Leann Rimes - Old faithful. So who cares that she hasn't had a memorable hit in something like ten years, once upon a time Leann Rimes was Grade A smokeshow. Not even close to being legal when she burst on the stage with her hit album Blue at age 14, Rimes would quickly become one of country music's most recognizable female stars, and not just for her killer voice.

4. Kellie Pickler - You might not have heard of the former American Idol talent turned country singer, but Kellie Pickler is a sight to behold. With two quality hits to her name since she started singing country tunes professionally, "Red High Heels" and "I Wonder" (a self-written, heart-wrenching ballad), Pickler has recently been linked to Nashville Predators winger Jordin Tootoo. Despite her poor choice of NHL allegiance, Pickler is still one of the best looking ladies in country today.

3. Miranda Lambert - The singer who rocketed to stardom ever since her appearance on Urban Cowboy earlier this week is one of the sexiest women in country music. Sporting a no-holds barred attitude, this talented firecracker packs a great voice, can rip on the guitar and loves hunting and fishing. Sounds like the perfect woman. And I'm starting to sound like a TV-dating show.

2. Taylor Swift - It's a tough call between Swift and our first place finished, but in the end Swift's inexperience is the deal breaker. At a point in her career when everything she sings turns to platinum, Swift can seemingly do no wrong. Likely a main stay on the country and pop circuits for years to come, Swift is quite the looker as well. I know I'll catch a lot of hear for this one, but she just can't stand up to our gold-medal winner...

1. Carrie Underwood - In the end, it wasn't really a tough competition. An American Idol winner and perhaps the most successful female country singer over the past few years, Underwood is truly stunning. Though her past connection to Tony Romo is a questionable career move on her part, there's no knocking Romo on his taste. Her accolades are too numerous to list here: multi-platinum albums, Grammy wards and countless #1 hits, with undoubtedly more to come. The best looking woman in country music. Let the debate begin...

"The House That Built Me" Falls Apart

Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed our first week on the internet. If you like what we’re doing here, I encourage you to spread the word, comment or sign up to follow along. Guest submissions are, as always, more than welcome.

I thought while we were on the topic of Blake Shelton, it might make sense to discuss Miranda Lambert a bit, and it really couldn’t have come at a better time. Miranda has been a consistent talent now for a few years. She burst onto the country scene with fiery hits like “Kerosene” and “Gunpowder and Lead”, playfully angry songs about getting revenge on guys who had wronged her. An extremely talented singer/songwriter, Lambert followed up those hits with a more refined track of releases including “Famous in a Small Town,” and recently, “White Liar,” a really well-put together vocal track. She’s a saucy girl – long on talent and looks.

But I don’t believe her most recent hit, “The House That Built Me,” is as poignant and moving as some people have recently suggested. In fact, certain notable blogs have gone as far as calling it the song of the year. Now this is the perfect example of what I was talking about last week. Here we have an up and coming talent, on the cusp of the A-list, singing a song about going back home to the “house that built her” to find herself. It’s emotionally daring, revealing and risky; the exposure of private feelings on a touching subject on such a public stage is always a personal risk. But that does not mean we need to automatically herald this song as being anything out of the ordinary. In fact, I don’t think there’s anything remarkably special about the song. Vocally, it’s extremely one-dimensional – there’s no vast exhibition of range or vocal talent. Contrary to what others have said, I also don’t find the lyrics extremely articulate. Ultimately, I think this song is lacks the invocation of emotion – the single most important factor, I believe, in judging a song’s success. How many people can relate to coming back to the house they grew up in, years later, and experiencing the memories of their childhood in an effort to find themselves? Yeah, maybe some people, but it’s a limited demographic. As a 22 year old, I can’t relate, and I find it difficult to believe that Miranda, at the ripe old age of 27, can either. Truly memorable songs elicit an emotional reaction in everyone that hears them -- maybe not the same emotion, but a significant response nonetheless. Miranda’s certainly got headlining talent, but “The House That Built Me” is not the hit its cracked up to be.