Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” wins Record and Song of the Year Grammys

Need You Now Lady Antebellum

Writer(s): Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, Josh Kear (see lyrics here) Released: August 11, 2009 First Charted: August 29, 2009 Peak: 2 US, 3 RR, 115 AC, 19 A40, 15 CW, 15 UK, 2 CN, 27 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 9.0 US, 0.6 UK, 9.81 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.7 radio, 658.61 video, 498.83 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Lady Antebellum first made its mark in 2008 with its eponymous debut, an album which included the country chart-topping “I Run to You.” The country-pop trio had no problem battling the sophomore slump. The second album’s lead-off single, “Need You Now,” was a multi-format smash which first topped the Billboard country charts, but later reached the top slot of the adult contemporary and adult top 40 charts as well. It peaked at #2 on the pop charts. The song also took home Grammys for Song and Record of the Year, as well as ACM Awards for Single and Song of the Year. It was named the #2 song of the year by Billboard, behind only Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok,” WK and the most-played song on jukeboxes in 2010. SF As of April 2011, it was one of the top ten most downloaded songs in history and the top country download of all time. WK Lyrically, the song (which all three band members helped write) is basically a booty call. Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott said, “All three of us know what it’s like to get to that point where you feel lonely enough that you make a late night phone call that you very well could regret the next day.” SF Member Charles Kelley said record execs were leery about the line, “I’m a little drunk,” but were convinced to leave the line in. WK Billboard’s Ken Tucker said the song “will connect with anyone who’s ever dumped a significant other and regretted it in the early morning hours.” WK Critics also commented on how Scott’s voice fit perfectly with the song’s dark tone (Jim Malec, the 9513). WK Roughstock’s Bobby Peacock said her traded-off lead vocals with, as Tucker said, “a soulful Kelley,” WK gave the song more depth. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Lady Antebellum SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 10/19/2022.

Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” topped country chart

Before He Cheats Carrie Underwood

Writer(s): Josh Kear, Chris Tompkins (see lyrics here) Released: August 19, 2006 First Charted: February 18, 2006 Peak: 8 US, 9 RR, 6 AC, 5 A40, 15 CW, 4 CN, 12 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.4 UK, 7.4 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.8 radio, 187.93 video, 370.33 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Done-me-wrong anthems don’t get much more fun or more satisfying” MX than this “clever tale of a jilted girlfriend who gets sweet revenge.” BT The song’s video showed the former American Idol winner making short work of her philandering boyfriend’s truck by way of a Louisville slugger. She made it clear that the next time he cheated, it wouldn’t be on her. The song helped cement Underwood’s image as a country singer with wide-based pop appeal as well. When “Before He Cheats” won the Grammy for Best Country Song, the songwriters expressed surprise to Billboard magazine about the song’s broad appeal. One of the writers, Josh Kear, said, “You’ve got just enough sex and just enough violence to appeal to both sexes. The fact that they just left it as a straightforward Country record and it worked was a surprise, and pleasantly so.” SF The other writer, Chris Tompkins relayed to TheBoot.com that they originally envisioned the song being sung by someone with a tougher image, like Gretchen Wilson. SF Underwood confessed to CMT that she almost passed on the song, saying, “People are going to hate me for singing this song. They’re gonna be like, ‘Oh my gosh, we can’t listen to her album. She’s bad and I can’t let my children listen to this.’” SF The song accomplished several notable achievements. It took 38 weeks, longer than any other song, to climb into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. SF Before the end of its run, it had logged 64 weeks on the chart, making it the fifth-longest charting single in Hot 100 history. WK It also became the first country song to sell two million downloads SF and is the fourth best-selling country song of all time. WK The song nabbed plenty of awards including Country Song/Single of the Year from the People’s Choice Awards, the Country Music Association, and ASCAP. CMT and the Academy of Country Music named it Video of the Year. Resources: MX Atlanta Metromix (11/24/09) Best songs of the decade BT TheBoot.com (11/24/09) Best Songs of the 2000’s SF Songfacts.com WK Wikipedia.org Related Links: First posted 2/18/2013; last updated 10/22/2022.