By Matthew Fortuna

Blaine Larsen, 23 years old in 2009, has been recording and releasing country music for eight years, and that’s longer than many contemporaries in their 30s. A veteran by any stretch of the world and hardly into his 20s, the singer’s career began when he was a kid of 15, and it is reaching a new apex this year with his new single “It Did.”

The single is the first from his upcoming 2010 album Not Too Bad, and is a cover of the song recorded by Brad Paisley for his 2007 album 5th Gear.  The song, never released by Paisley as a single, was a hidden album gem, and is now given the chance to shine on radio waves and country channels as Larsen breathes new life into it.

Blaine Larsen

“It Did” represents Blaine Larsen’s sixth single, spanning seven years and four albums, and looks to top his previous best charting position of 18, which was achieved with 2005’s “How Do You Get That Loney.”

The single is an ode to love and the breath taking moments in any romance, and is a sweetly sung ballad over an easy piano melody. Larsen, the Washington native raised in Virginia, displays his vocal abilities – a little smoother and more refined than Paisley’s – and allows his presence to carry the song from easy couplets to climaxing choruses.

The song is about the moment when a relationship gets better, even when you thought things couldn’t possibly be any more perfect, and is a perfect compliment to a duo of similar love ballads that have climbed the charts all summer:  Paisley’s “Then” and Luke Bryan’s “Do I.”

Larsen has sung with Gretchen Wilson, co-wrote for George Strait, and now, with a cover of a Brad Paisley song, hopes to accumulate fans across the country as he accumulates accolades and experience across the genre

More on Blaine Larsen's version of "It Did"

The 9513 gave it a thumbs down on almost every account ;  Roughstock was kinder, but didn't like the production

"It Did" Lyrics

A single red rose and a table for two
a nice chardonnay and an ocean view
ships coming in stars comin’ out
we sat and we talked ‘til the place closed down
then we took a long walk down on the beach
her in that white dress in her bare feet
we stopped and we watched the lighthouse light
i pulled her close and i held on tight
and i said
to myself
it doesn’t get better than this
no it doesn’t get better than this
and it did
it did
oh it did
fast forward to that next spring
we were looking for a preacher picking out rings
family coming in and friends coming out
to that little white church on the outskirts of town
me and that tux fighting butterflies
tears of joy in my mama’s eyes
her daddy walking her down that aisle
i lifted that veil and i saw that smile
and i said
to her
it doesn’t get better than this
no it doesn’t get better than this
and it did
it did
oh it did
just when i start thinking it’s as good as it can get
this crazy life does something
just to let me know
i haven’t seen anything yet
nine months later nearly to the day
there we were flying down the interstate
car weaving in and car weaving out
through traffic running every red light in town
delivery room and the doctor comes in
i’m right beside her she’s squeezing my hand
one more push and a baby cries
a sweet little angel with her mama’s eyes
and i said
to my girls
it doesn’t get better than this
no it doesn’t get better than this
and it did
it did
oh it did
yes it did
a single red rose and a table for two
a nice chardonnay and an ocean view