Easton Corbin — “Lovin’ You Is Fun”

Songwriters: Jim Beavers and Bob DiPiero

Although Easton Corbin won Top New Solo Vocalist at the 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards last year, he hasn’t graced radio airwaves since 2010 single “I Can’t Love You Back” climbed its way into the Top 15 songs on country radio.

The singer, who broke onto the scene with quite a bit of buzz around his uncanny blend of George Strait and Joe Nichols’ vocals, revisits the laid-back charm of his first album with “Lovin’ You Is Fun,” his new single and first glimpse at his upcoming sophomore record. With the same natural ease that boosted debut “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It” to their number one spots, Corbin’s confidence rubs off on everything from his delivery to the production. Carson Chamberlain returns as the track’s producer, and it pays off: The pair’s seamless partnership echoes the symbiotic relationship of Keith Stegall and Alan Jackson had from the start, as well as their penchant for neo-traditional, steel-heavy country sound.

If the song’s vibe and sound are the quiet stars here, the lyrics in “Lovin’ You Is Fun” fight hard for attention. The verses are quite a mouthful, using a spitfire approach to get to the point. Corbin stickily makes his way through the wordy “You got a cousin who’s tellin’ you somethin’/That doesn’t have nothin’/To do with the love we’re in, baby/ I hear she’s sayin’ that game we’re playin’ should be complicated/If you won’t, I’ll say it, I think she’s crazy.” But even after sprinting through, Corbin plays with syncopation and timing, punctuating the bulky, breathless lyrics with effective and emphatic pauses. It’s a similar technique that fellow traditional newcomer Chris Young has successfully sexed up, and the playful stretches serve Corbin just as well.

It also helps that quite a few gems can be sanded out of the song’s hard-packed lyrics, as the frequent comparisons of Strait and Jackson are never as apparent as when Corbin drawls “My heart’s never smiled so hard, baby, loving you is fun” or “It’s all right now to keep it light now, mama, don’t you think?,” the latter serving as an apt description of Corbin’s career moves.

“Lovin’ You Is Fun” is the opposite of Taylor Swift’s romantic narratives, banking on a relationship arc that more closely resembles a slow, steady train ride than a rickety roller coaster. And while the love here seems to be young and untested, Corbin’s knack for producing the right kind of songs with the right kind of team has repeatedly proven to serve him well.