WHAT HURTS THE MOST - RASCAL FLATTS
If there was ever a song to bring country back to the pop forefront, it’s “What Hurts the Most.” Rascal Flatts has already taken the song to No. 1 at its country home, and a new “Hot Mix,” which sweeps away the steel guitar and slightly pops up the arrangement, makes it an ideal candidate for action at adult top 40 and AC, if not mainstream top 40 radio. A killer melody, universal lyric about being left in the dust by your lover and passion-fueled vocals make this one of the best songs we’ve heard this year — in any genre. With the doors open to variety at pop radio again, and the act’s cachet across the board, we could be looking at this year’s version of Lonestar’s “Amazed.”–Billboard
