Keep It Simple (James Barker Band song)

"Keep It Simple" is a song recorded by Canadian country music group James Barker Band.[1] It was the lead single off their second extended play Singles Only. The track was co-written by the band's frontman James Barker, with Gavin Slate, Travis Wood, and the track's producer Todd Clark.[2] It was the band's second #1 hit on the Billboard Canada Country chart,[3] and won Single of the Year at the 2020 CCMA Awards.[4]

"Keep It Simple"
Single by James Barker Band
from the EP Singles Only
ReleasedJanuary 30, 2019 (2019-01-30)
GenreCountry
Length3:07
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Todd Clark
James Barker Band singles chronology
"Good Together"
(2018)		 "Keep It Simple"
(2019)		 "There's a Drink for That"
(2019)
Music video
"Keep It Simple" on YouTube

Background

James Barker told Sounds Like Nashville that "The concept of it in summation, is all about having a night we don’t have to get wild. You just stay home and hang with your significant other,… have a night in and just, you know, do what couples do".[5] He told Canadian Beats Media that with this song "we wanted to push the boundaries a bit, which is something we take pride in, so people can definitely expect it to be a little different from anything we’ve released before. A big thing that we take in to account with our music is how it’s going to translate live, and how it will affect our live show. Keep It Simple is really fun and upbeat, which, to me, means it’s going to be a blast when we play it live!".[6]

Critical reception

Taryn McElheran of Canadian Beats Media said the track is a "grand tune that keeps in line with JBB’s musical works".[6] Kerry Doole of FYI Music News said the "upbeat mood of the well-executed song mirrors lyrics extolling the virtues of Friday night fun - "Let's keep it simple, here at the house, dance in the kitchen, straight to kissing on the couch." Quite simply, it sounds like another hit".[7]

Commercial performance

"Keep It Simple" was certified Platinum by Music Canada on August 27, 2020 with over 80,000 sales, their second Platinum certification overall.[8] As of November 2020, the song had received over 18.8 million streams through Spotify.[9]

Music video

The official music video for "Keep It Simple" was directed by Ben Knechtel and premiered February 19, 2019.[10] The video features the band and is designed to appear as if it was the 1950s.[11]

Chart performance

"Keep It Simple" reached a peak of number 1 on the Billboard Canada Country chart dated June 1, 2019,[12] their second chart topper after "Chills".[3] It also peaked at number 87 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and is their highest charting entry there.[13]

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[13] 87
Canada Country (Billboard)[3] 1

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[8] Platinum 80,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "JAMES BARKER BAND RETURN WITH THEIR NEW SINGLE "KEEP IT SIMPLE"". UMusic.ca. Universal Music Canada. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  2. "Keep It Simple - James Barker Band". AllMusic. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  3. "James Barker Band Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  4. "2020 CCMA Awards: The complete country music winners list". Global News. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  5. Laffer, Lauren (May 22, 2019). "JAMES BARKER BAND SHARES THE STORY BEHIND FLIRTY 'KEEP IT SIMPLE'". Sounds Like Nashville. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  6. McElheran, Taryn (January 30, 2019). "James Barker Band release "Keep It Simple"". Canadian Beats Media. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  7. Doole, Kerry (February 8, 2019). "The James Barker Band: Keep It Simple". FYI Music News. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  8. "Canadian single certifications – James Barker Band – Keep It Simple". Music Canada. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  9. "Keep It Simple - Single by James Barker Band". Spotify. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  10. "James Barker Band - Keep It Simple (Official Music Video)" (video). YouTube. February 19, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  11. Krol, Jacklyn (February 26, 2019). "James Barker Band 'Keep It Simple' in Retro Music Video". Taste of Country. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  12. "Canada Country chart for June 1, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  13. "James Barker Band Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
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