He made a pretty bold move in releasing a bluegrass album while his career was at a commercial high point, and daring country radio to play something different than the usual fluff. But after the disappointing chart performance of the album's two singles, Dierks has gone back to fitting in and playing it safe.
While the lyrics could use some added cleverness, I could have gotten past that if Dierks sounded like he even cared about the song himself. Instead, he delivers a bland and lifeless lead vocal, and then relies on just about every lame crutch imaginable to make up for it. That means laying on the overcooked electric guitar solos, and finishing it off with an uber-cheesy sing-along chorus at the end.
One could offer the easy-out argument that it's 'just a fun party song,' but that would be irrevelent. Party songs don't always have to be as uninspired and one-dimensional as this one is. At any rate, "Am I the Only One" represents a sudden and dramatic artistic nosedive for Dierks, who has abruptly gone from beautiful bluegrassy goodness to releasing one of the worst singles of his career.
DIERKS'S SCORE: 3
(Scores are given on a scale of 1 to 10)
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