“Achy Breaky Heart” became the first country single in almost ten years to sell a million copies. It hit not only number 1 on the country charts but number 4 on the Billboard pop charts, higher than the zenith of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It reintroduced the phenomenon of line dancing, where people in bars would align in parallel rows on the dance floor and simultaneously mimic the same steps. The song itself was a chemical compound of sonic guile: It was musically and lyrically repetitive, with every chord change and verse laser-focused on catchiness and immediacy.
