Obviously, Cincinnati Does Understand "They Don't Understand"

Sawyer Brown’s "They Don't Understand" has been squaring off with other songs in listener reaction contests and kicking butt.

WUBE/Cincinnati's MD Duke Hamilton reports that B-105 featured the band's "They Don't Understand" in their "Night Fights" segment that pits songs against each other to see which draws the most favorable listener reaction. The song's compelling stories of human struggle resonated so deeply with WUBE listeners that it won the competition 12 nights in a row and was retired to the "Night Fights Hall of Fame."

Sawyer Brown’s camp reports that several other top reporting stations have put Sawyer Brown's single head-up against stiff competition, with similar results. "They Don't Understand" took nightly honors six times at WKDF/Nashville, nine times at WAYZ/Hagerstown, MD, and five times each at KXKT/Omaha, WMZQ/Washington, DC, WCKT/Ft. Meyers, FL and WRNS/Greenville, NC.

The two major trade charts make the song look like it's dead in the water from a spins point of view. It doesn't make either Radio and Records Top 50 or Billboard's Top 60 this week (8/2). It would rank #461 on Billboard's chart this week, since it only had 84 spins on the entire Billboard panel in the last seven days. It's in the mid-60's on the R&R spins chart (if they counted that deep)

Go figure..., but it's not the first time that a "lack of promotional support" meant that a reaction record went nowhere on the "hit" charts.. This is one of those things about our business that I hate trying to explain to listeners.