At just 21 years old, Blake Whiten is already showing a knack for delivering country music at its most raw and emotionally unfiltered. His new single, ‘Barely Gettin’ By’ is a striking example of that: an arena-sized power ballad that leans fully into heartbreak without softening the edges.
Built around a wounded, slow-burning arrangement, the song captures the aftermath of a relationship that’s already moved on, while Whiten’s narrator remains stuck in the emotional fallout. It’s that imbalance that gives the track its weight. There’s no dramatic resolution here, just the quiet devastation of trying to function when everything still hurts. Vocally, Whiten leans into that tension, delivering each line with a cracked, almost “broken-glass” tone that makes the pain feel immediate and believable.
Co-written with JKash, Bailey Zimmerman and Austin Shawn, ‘Barely Gettin’ By’ taps into the same bruised honesty that has helped define a new wave of country artists who aren’t afraid to sit in uncomfortable emotions. It’s not polished heartbreak, it’s messy, unresolved and deeply human, the kind of song that feels destined to echo around arenas with thousands of voices singing along.
And that arena setting is exactly where Whiten is headed. The rising South Carolina native is set to bring ‘Barely Gettin’ By’ to some of the biggest stages in country music as part of select shows with Morgan Wallen. For an artist at this stage of his career, it’s a significant step, one that places him in front of massive audiences already primed for emotionally charged, sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs country anthems.
If anything, ‘Barely Gettin’ By’ feels tailor-made for that moment. It’s a song built on vulnerability but delivered with scale: intimate in its storytelling, yet expansive in its sound. And as Whiten steps into those stadium environments alongside one of the genre’s biggest names, it’s clear he’s not just keeping pace, he’s carving out a space of his own. We're excited for his debut album ‘Something to Say' which drops on July 3rd – keep an eye out right here for a review of it in release week.
