Issue #101: Kaitlin Butts is going viral. F*cking finally!
If TikTok is what it takes to make Kaitlin Butts a household name, then so be it.
One of my favorite country albums of late is Roadrunner! - Kaitlin Butts’ tender, modern, butt-kickin’ honky-tonkin’ version of the musical Oklahoma!. I was lucky enough to chat with Kaitlin last year before the album’s release for Rolling Stone, and I loved getting to know her and her history, especially how she incorporates her musical theater background and Oklahoma upbringing equally into her sound. She’s so sharp and funny but also so emotionally connected in her songwriting, able to broach really personal and difficult topics in a way that stays so grounded and human, and she’s a terrific entertainer to boot.
In an ideal country music universe - aka one that we know we do not exist in - Kaitlin Butts would be played on country radio and nominated for the new artists thingies at the awards shows. But we’ve moved on from pining for that a long time ago. Instead, artists are left to figure out how the fuck to get their music out to the most people as possible, which usually means being smart about social media and spending an ungodly portion of your life on the road. Kaitlin does both, which means you can see her in a million cities this summer (barely exaggerating here) and all over TikTok, because her song, “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me)” is going viral.
The song is brilliant and hilarious: written by Kaitlin and Natalie Hemby, it’s the perfect ode to icing assholes out of your life with the juiciest, twangiest, fuck you of a chorus. I don’t know where or how it started, but people have started using lines of the song to express exactly what it would take for someone to be, uh, dead to them - or, as Katlin put it, “the most petty reason you cut someone loose.” People have been using the clip to soundtrack all kind of unhinged behavior - from a guy who lied about having cancer (!!!) to one who claimed no one liked Selena so…bye!
Even Ella Langley joined the fun, and you can scroll through thousands of them.
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Truly hope this is what makes Kaitlin a household name - honestly, whatever it takes to get the good music out there at this point, because she deserves it. And I’m not personally on TikTok, but if I were to join, I would probably make a video soundtracked to this song my first post. Because you ain’t gotta die to be dead to me…you just have say you like “anything but country music” or maybe “women just prefer the sound of men’s voices, naturally.”
What’s your favorite…and what’s yours? Tell us in the comments or, even better, on TikTok.
- Marissa
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I have been waiting for this trend since the album dropped. I love that she stays true to the original inspiration of her song - a deadbeat dad. She is giving sincere visibility to the girls and women who didn't get a dad who provided or protected or supported like 99% of country songs about girls and dads. It is so nice to be represented with a witty, empowering song that doesn't cast the daughter as a throw-away someone with "daddy issues." I love her and her art so much.
Valerie Bertinelli posted herself lip synching to it yesterday! Valerie FREAKING Bertinelli! I was so excited for Kaitlin!