Performer: "It Don't Hurt Like It Used To" is currently #1 on the Country Airplay charts. Currington has has six songs at #1 on the Hot Country charts.
Writers: Billy Currington, Cary Barlowe, Shy Carter.
Title: A phrase; tells you what the song is about.
BPM: 81
Length: 3:04
Structure: Verse / Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus / Bridge / Chorus Breakdown / Chorus
Points of Interest:
1) At 81 BPM, this song is on the slow side of things, but it is a rocker, nonetheless. And that contrast fits the content pretty nicely. This is a song about powering through (mostly) a sad time, and musically the song powers through melodies and harmonies that feel on the sad side of things.
2) The glossy pop sheen on the chorus of this song is the standard in Country, but for whatever reason, I'm struck by how little this song has to anchor it in the Country genre. What's Country about this song seems to be: a) the singer's Southern accent, b) a vaguely rootsy guitar riff in the verse, c) the mention of Alabama in the first verse, and d) a few phrasings, such as "it don't hurt," "met me a girl," and "climbin' them walls." This is a pop song with a few sticks of country furniture to dress it up.
3) A guitar solo leading into the bridge. Unusual these days, but works well in the context of the song as a whole. In other words, it's not an obligatory guitar solo, it's a purposeful guitar solo.
4) The bridge gives us an interesting lyrical transition into the chorus breakdown, and a musical transition to match. Suddenly the singer is drinking wine and crying, and getting ready for a quiet moment with the the painful half of the song's main idea. It's a nice use of matching up content and form.