Flatliner (song)

Last updated
"Flatliner"
CSFlatliner.jpg
Single by Cole Swindell featuring Dierks Bentley
from the album You Should Be Here
ReleasedJanuary 23, 2017 (2017-01-23)
Recorded2016–17
Genre Rock [1]
Length2:57
Label Warner Bros. Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Michael Carter
Cole Swindell singles chronology
"Middle of a Memory"
(2016)
"Flatliner"
(2017)
"Stay Downtown"
(2017)
Dierks Bentley singles chronology
"Black"
(2016)
"Flatliner"
(2017)
"What the Hell Did I Say"
(2017)

"Flatliner" is a song co-written by American rock music artist Cole Swindell featuring vocals from Dierks Bentley. [2] [lower-alpha 1] The song was released to radio on January 23, 2017 as the third single to Swindell's second studio album You Should Be Here . The song was written by Swindell, Jaron Boyer and Matt Bronleewe in 2012. [3]

Contents

Composition

In a sizzle reel, Swindell described the song as "about a hot girl in the club, dancing on the dance floor, making your heart stop, killing all the guys out there who are watching." [1]

Critical reception

Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone gave a negative review of "Flatliner", criticizing it as "a hit that employs the laziest clichés of contemporary rock music". He called the song "a step back for Swindell as a serious artist", compared to the maturity in the lyrics of previous releases "You Should Be Here" and "Middle of a Memory". [1] In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin put "Flatliner" at number ten on his top 10 list of Swindell's best songs. [4]

Commercial performance

Flatliner first entered the Hot Country Songs at number 36 on April 30, 2016 based on 14,000 copies sold when it was released as a preview track before the album You Should Be Here dropped. [5] [6] It only entered Billboard's Country Airplay at number 48 on chart date of January 28, 2017 when it was released as a single, [7] and re-entered the Hot Country Songs the following week at No. 48. [8] It reached number ten on Hot Country Songs and number two on Country Airplay in August 2017. [9] As of September 2017, the song has sold 280,000 copies in the United States. [10] On December 12, 2018, the single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming data of over a million units in the United States. [11]

Music video

The music video was directed by Michael Monaco and premiered in March 2017. It features Cole Swindell performing with Dierks Bentley at a show in Sioux Falls, South Dakota during Dierks' 2017 What the Hell World Tour. [12]

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [20] Platinum1,000,000Double-dagger-14-plain.png

Double-dagger-14-plain.png Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. Bentley is not officially credited on the charts published by Billboard . [1]

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References

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  3. Casey, Jim (April 6, 2017). "Cole Swindell Has Been Waiting for Dierks Bentley to Record "Flatliner" for 4 Years: "It Was a Running Joke Every Time We'd See Each Other"". Nash Country Daily.
  4. Dauphin, Chuck (August 8, 2017). "Cole Swindell's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard . Retrieved May 18, 2020.
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  10. Bjorke, Matt (September 5, 2017). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Chart: September 5, 2017". Roughstock.
  11. "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America .
  12. Casey, Jim (March 27, 2017). "Watch Cole Swindell's New "Flatliner" Video Featuring Dierks Bentley". Nash Country Daily.
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