This article is about the Little Big Town song. For a close but non-sexual relationship between two or more women, see
Womance
. For the song by New Politics, see
Vikings (album)
.
2014 single by Little Big Town
"
Girl Crush
" is a song written by
Lori McKenna
,
Hillary Lindsey
and
Liz Rose
, and performed by American
country music
group
Little Big Town
. It was released on December 15, 2014 as the second single from their sixth studio album,
Pain Killer
.
[1]
The song received mostly positive reviews from
music critics
, won five
music awards
, including two
Grammys
(Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song), reaching number 3 on the
Country Airplay
charts and number one on the
Hot Country Songs
chart, ended up being the second-most played song of 2015 on the format, and is
certified
Sextuple Platinum in the US.
Content
[
edit
]
As
CMT
's Alison Bonaguro wrote, the song is "about a girl obsessing over another girl because that girl stole her lover ... On the other hand, it could also be about a girl obsessing over the girl who is with the man that she wants but has never had." Bonaguro added that it is not a girl crush (on another girl) per se, but rather a girl desiring to taste her rival's lips in order to taste him and "to drown in her perfume, to have her long blond hair ? and so on ? all in an effort to get him back".
[2]
Lori McKenna
stated that when she presented the idea to co-writer
Liz Rose
that Rose disliked the idea at first but that Rose changed her mind after hearing the first verse that
Hillary Lindsey
had written. Group members Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild heard the song and asked that it be saved for them.
[3]
Composition
[
edit
]
"Girl Crush" is in the key of
C major
and a 6/8
time signature
, with an approximate tempo of 58
dotted quarter notes
per minute and a primary chord pattern of C-Em-F-G. Karen Fairchild's lead vocals range from G
3
-A
4
.
[4]
Critical reception
[
edit
]
"Girl Crush" received critical acclaim. CMT's Alison Bonaguro writes, "If anyone knows how to write a country song that's never been written before, it's these three":
Lori McKenna
,
Hillary Lindsey
, and
Liz Rose
. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country states, "Karen Fairchild's lead on Little Big Town's new single 'Girl Crush' may be the best vocal performance of the year. Her anguish drives through you like a steam engine, and afterward she's nothing but a puff of white smoke barely holding on to existence."
[5]
Dukes adds, "listen to the song on repeat and find yourself exhausted … in the best possible way" and "mass homogeny on the radio makes it seem impossible to create a sound or write a song that's truly unique. It's as if all the good ideas have been used up. Little Big Town prove this is not the case on each album they release."
In 2024,
Rolling Stone
ranked the song at #80 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.
[6]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
- A
^
"Girl Crush" as performed by
Little Big Town
.
- B
^
"Girl Crush" as performed by
Adam Lambert
and
Leona Lewis
was nominated as 2016 CMT Performance of the Year for their rendition of the song on the "CMT Artists of the Year" TV special on December 2, 2015. Their performance was in honor of Little Big Town in recognition of CMT's selection of the group as a "CMT Artist of the Year."
Commercial performance
[
edit
]
"Girl Crush" debuted at number 48 on the
Billboard
Hot Country Songs
chart for the week ending November 8, 2014, before it was released as a single. It reached number one and remained there for thirteen consecutive weeks until it was knocked off by "
Kick the Dust Up
" by
Luke Bryan
. It debuted at number 55 on
Billboard'
s
Country Airplay
chart for the week ending December 27, 2014. "Girl Crush" sold 10,000 copies in its debut week of November 8, 2014.
[7]
The song reached more than two million in sales by early February 2016.
[8]
As of November 2019, "Girl Crush" had sold 2,550,000 copies in the United States.
[9]
In August, 2020 the single was certified 5x multi-Platinum.
[10]
"Girl Crush" is Little Big Town's highest charting single on
Billboard'
s all-genre
Hot 100
chart, having peaked at number 18 for the week ending May 9, 2015 chart, besting the number 22 peak of "
Pontoon
" in 2012.
[11]
It is also their highest showing on the
Canadian Hot 100
, besting the number 39 position of "Pontoon" in 2012. It is also their longest-running number one single, 13 weeks atop
Hot Country Songs
. It broke the record set by
The Browns
' 1959 hit "
The Three Bells
" as the longest-running number one on the
Billboard
Hot Country Songs
chart by a group of three or more members.
[12]
Some radio stations were reported to have pulled "Girl Crush" from their playlists, in response to concerns from listeners who interpreted the song to be about
lesbianism
. In response, Fairchild said, "That's just shocking to me, the close-mindedness of that, when that's just not what the song was about…But what if it were? It's just a greater issue of listening to a song for what it is." In addition, the label created a short commercial in which the band discusses the song and its actual meaning.
[13]
Billboard
consulted several radio program directors on its panel and found only one who detailed a specific complaint from a listener; the magazine concluded that the controversy surrounding the song was mostly fabricated.
[14]
Music video
[
edit
]
The music video is in black-and-white.
[15]
It was directed by Karla and Matthew Welch and premiered in April 2015. The music video was filmed in Los Angeles, California and produced by Meritocracy Inc.
[16]
The music video is nominated for a 2016 Academy of Country Music Award for Video of the Year.
[17]
Live performances
[
edit
]
Cover versions
[
edit
]
- Kelly Clarkson
covered the song at the
Microsoft Store
opening in
Cerritos, California
in November 2014.
[24]
- Miranda Lambert
and
Gwen Sebastian
covered the song at a surprise concert in
Nashville
in January 2015.
[25]
- In March 2015,
Halestorm
covered the song in concert in
Munich, Germany
.
[26]
- On the April 13, 2015 episode (
Season 8
) of
The Voice
, contestant
Meghan Linsey
(formerly one-half of
Steel Magnolia
) performed the song. Country singer
Blake Shelton
, who is a judge on the show, said that the song was his favorite on the radio at that point.
[27]
Reba McEntire
, who served as a mentor on the episode, also reacted favorably to Linsey's rendition.
[28]
Linsey's version peaked at number 22 on the
Billboard
Hot Country Songs
chart
[29]
and number 1 on
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
.
[30]
- Lauren Alaina
covered the song during her radio tour.
[31]
- Adam Lambert
and
Leona Lewis
performed the song at the 2015
CMT
"Artists of the Year" special to honor
Little Big Town
.
[32]
Lewis and Lambert's version of the song was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016
CMT Music Awards
.
[33]
- On September 25, 2017,
Harry Styles
performed the song in concert at the
Ryman Auditorium
,
Nashville
on the first leg of his
first world tour
.
[34]
He also released an acoustic rendition of the song as a Spotify single on September 27, 2017. He recorded the single in Metropolis Studios, London.
[35]
The single was certified Gold by the
Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA).
[36]
- Julien Baker
performed the song during a concert in 2018.
[37]
Charts and certifications
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
|
Year-end charts
[
edit
]
Decade-end charts
[
edit
]
|
Certifications
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Future Releases - Country"
. AllAccess Music Group
. Retrieved
9 December
2014
.
- ^
Bonaguro, Alison.
"I'm Crushing on Little Big Town's "Girl Crush"
"
. Retrieved
9 December
2014
.
- ^
Rodman, Sarah (15 December 2014).
"Lori McKenna Reveals Her 'Girl Crush'
"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
29 January
2015
.
- ^
"
'Girl Crush' sheet music"
.
MusicNotes.com
. 20 March 2015
. Retrieved
2 May
2015
.
- ^
Dukes, Billy (2 December 2014).
"Little Big Town, 'Girl Crush' ? ToC Critic's Pick [Listen]"
. Taste of Country
. Retrieved
9 December
2014
.
- ^
"The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time"
.
Rolling Stone
. May 24, 2014.
- ^
Bjorke, Matt (29 October 2014).
"Country Music's Top 30 Digital Singles: October 29, 2014"
. Retrieved
8 January
2015
.
- ^
Brian Cantor (8 February 2016).
"Little Big Town's "Girl Crush" crosses the 2 million US sales mark"
.
Headline Planet
.
- ^
Bjorke, Matt (November 30, 2019).
"Top 30 Digital Country Songs: November 24, 2019"
.
Rough Stock
. Retrieved
December 12,
2019
.
- ^
"Gold & Platinum"
.
RIAA
. The Recording Industry Association of America
. Retrieved
30 August
2020
.
- ^
"Little Big Town - Chart history"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
29 June
2017
.
- ^
Asker, Jim.
"Kacey Musgraves 'Material'-izes at No. 1 on Country Chart; Little Big Town Ties Record"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
3 July
2015
.
- ^
Yahr, Emily (25 March 2015).
"Why stations are pulling Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush' ? and what that says about country radio"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
25 March
2015
.
- ^
Stark, Phyllis (27 March 2015).
"Controversy Over Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush' & Its 'Lesbian Theme' Is Mostly Fabricated"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
30 March
2015
.
- ^
"Music Video Of The Year"
. 11 December 2015
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
.
- ^
"CMT : Videos : Little Big Town : Girl Crush"
.
Country Music Television
. Retrieved
April 10,
2015
.
- ^
"Nominees"
.
ACM Awards
. Archived from
the original
on March 8, 2016.
- ^
"Little Big Town Performs 'Girl Crush'
"
.
YouTube
. Retrieved
19 May
2015
.
- ^
Bell, Rebekah (April 2015).
"Little Big Town Perform 'Girl Crush' on 'The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon' [Watch]"
. Taste of Country
. Retrieved
18 May
2015
.
- ^
Lynch, Joe.
"Little Big Town Bring Provocative 'Girl Crush' to 2015 ACMs"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
18 May
2015
.
- ^
Lynch, Joe.
"2015 Billboard Music Awards: 10 Best Performances"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
18 May
2015
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Performs 'Girl Crush' at the 2015 CMA Awards"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Performs 'Girl Crush' at the 2016 Grammys"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
.
- ^
Scott, Jason.
"Kelly Clarkson offers smooth cover of Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush': Watch"
. AXS
. Retrieved
9 December
2014
.
- ^
McMaster, Sean (15 January 2015).
"Dark-Haired Miranda Lambert Sings 'Girl Crush' With Gwen Sebastian at Surprise Club Show Read More: Dark-Haired Miranda Lambert Sings 'Girl Crush' With Gwen Sebastian at Surprise Club Show"
. Retrieved
19 February
2015
.
- ^
"Halestorm - Girl Crush (Little Big Town cover)"
.
YouTube
. Retrieved
10 May
2015
.
- ^
Dukes, Billy (14 April 2015).
"Meghan Linsey Brings Her 'Girl Crush' to 'The Voice'
"
.
Taste of Country
. Retrieved
23 April
2015
.
- ^
Anderson, Danielle (14 April 2015).
"See The Voice's Meghan Linsey 'Kick the Dog Poo' out of Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush'
"
.
People
. Retrieved
23 April
2015
.
- ^
"Meghan Linsey Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. Retrieved
April 23,
2015
.
- ^
"Meghan Linsey Album & Song Chart History - Bubbling Under Hot 100"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. Retrieved
April 23,
2015
.
- ^
"Lauren Alaina - Girl Crush"
.
YouTube
.
- ^
"CMT Artists Of The Year 2015"
. Retrieved
2015-12-16
.
- ^
"CMT Music Awards Nominations: The Complete List"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
.
- ^
"Watch Harry Styles' Evocative Take on Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush'
"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
2017-09-29
.
- ^
"Harry Styles Releases Pair of Gorgeous 'Spotify Singles' Featuring Little Big Town Cover"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
2017-09-29
.
- ^
"ARIA Charts ? Accreditations ? 2022 Singles"
(PDF)
.
Australian Recording Industry Association
. Retrieved
July 7,
2022
.
- ^
"Julien Baker - Girl Crush"
.
YouTube
. July 24, 2018.
- ^
"Little Big Town Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Chart History (Canada Country)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Chart History (Hot 100)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Chart History (Hot Country Songs)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Chart History (Country Airplay)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Chart History (Adult Contemporary)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Little Big Town Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Best of 2015: Canadian Hot 100"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. 2015
. Retrieved
December 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Best of 2015: Hot 100 Songs"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. 2015
. Retrieved
December 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Best of 2015: Country Airplay"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. 2015
. Retrieved
December 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Best of 2015: Hot Country Songs"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. 2015
. Retrieved
December 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Decade-End Charts: Hot Country Songs"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
January 23,
2020
.
- ^
"American single certifications ? Little Big Town ? Girl Crush"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
.
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