"Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" is a song written by Troy Jones and recorded by American country music artist Billy Currington. It was released in May 2010 as the first single from Currington's 2010 album Enjoy Yourself (2010). The song became Currington's fifth number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It also peaked outside the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 41. It even peaked within the Top 50 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart in Canada. In addition, it was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 1,000,000 copies in the United States. The song received mixed reviews from critics. The accompanying music video was directed by Potsy Ponciroli.
| "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Billy Currington | ||||
| from the album Enjoy Yourself | ||||
| Released | May 24, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | Mercury Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Troy Jones | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Billy Currington singles chronology | ||||
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Content
editThe song is an up-tempo tune in which the narrator claims that he's not good at most of the normal things that men are known for (e.g. digging holes, paving roads, climbing high line poles, working in banks, painting, fixing cars, mowing grass, working hard, and cleaning windows) but is rather "pretty good at drinking beer".
Critical reception
editThe song has been given some mixed reviews from critics who were divided over its lyrics. Bobby Peacock of Roughstock gave the song four out of five stars, and said that the song is "another pleasing, low-key charmer in a rapidly growing repertoire."[1] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B+ and a positive review, stating that compared to other drinking songs, "this one matches the pace of the kind of drinking he’s talking about."[2] Karlie Justus of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs-down, saying that it "plods in circles without any sort of reward for listeners" and that its lyrics were "neither memorable or catchy," but also said that its "honesty and simplicity boosts its authenticity."[3]
Music video
editThe music video was directed by Potsy Ponciroli and premiered in July 2010. It shows a middle-aged overweight man going to a pool party, presumed to be for his girlfriend, named Cindy in the video. It starts with a short prologue, showing the guy getting ready for the party, by putting on clothes, stretching, and circling his calendar. He then walks outside and sees a cute girl across the street having her car fixed by her presumed boyfriend. The boyfriend rolls out from under the car and sees the pair making kissy-faces across the yard at each other, he then walks over, knocks the main character to the ground, and drives off with the girlfriend. It then cuts to the party, where he and his buddy have shown up for the party, are enjoying themselves and then see the previous antagonist. Currington is seen performing with a guitar at poolside throughout the video. He challenges the antagonist to a game of beer-pong and proceeds to demolish him and win the cute girl back in the process. The video ends with him (the main character) winning a game of beer-pong, and then walking off with the girl while the antagonist gives him the finger. It was filmed at a house in Nashville over an 8-hour period. The main character is played by the video's producer, who volunteered to be in it.
Chart performance
edit"Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" debuted at number 48 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for the week ending June 5, 2010. It also debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 83 for the week ending June 19, 2010. It also debuted at number 94 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of July 17, 2010. In September, it became Currington's fifth number one hit on the country charts, spending one week at that position.
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[5] | 41 |
| Canada Country (Billboard)[6] | 1 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[7] | 50 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[8] | 28 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[9] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Peacock, Bobby (May 17, 2010). "Billy Currington — "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer". Roughstock. Archived from the original on May 22, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- ^ Coyne, Kevin John (May 31, 2010). "Billy Currington — "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer"". Country Universe. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- ^ Justus, Karlie (July 9, 2010). "Billy Currington — "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer"". Engine 145. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Billy Currington Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Billy Currington Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Billy Currington Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
- ^ "Billy Currington Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Best of 2010: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ "American single certifications – Billy Currington – Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer". Recording Industry Association of America.