(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

The Band Perry's kind-of-dark-but-kind-of-uplifting "If I Die Young" hit the very top of Billboard's country chart this week. And regardless of how you look at the idea of dying young, optimistically or pessimistically, this is just a very solid country song with a good foundation of mandolin. (Not to mention Kimberly Perry's vocal style which reminds me of Natalie Maines.) Even Lady Antebellum frontman Charles Kelley appreciates the chance the band took by putting a song like this out there because it's not your standard country thing. Kelley told Billboard, "I've never heard a song like that in forever. It's such an interesting, poetic song. It's so bold, and sure enough, it's working."