Why (Rascal Flatts song)
| "Why" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Why" is the title of a song recorded by American country band Rascal Flatts. It is the third single from their sixth studio album, Unstoppable. It was released to radio stations on September 29, 2009 and debuted at #44 on the U.S. Billboard US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of October 10, 2009. It was written by Rob Mathes and Allen Shamblin.
Content
The song is a slow-tempo song, sung from the perspective of a man whose close friend has committed suicide. All three members of Rascal Flatts said that they had difficulty recording the song, because they all knew someone close to them that committed suicide.
Reception
Roughstock gave the song a favorable review. Bobby Peacock of the website says of the song, “The lyrics alone are beautiful.”[1] The song also received special mention in Matt Bjorke's original review of the Unstoppable album, where he wrote that "Levox has NEVER sounded better vocally."[2] Chris Neal of Country Weekly gave it three stars out of five, saying that lead singer Gary LeVox "handles the lyric as delicately as its subject matter[…] calls for" but said that the "climactic arena rock guitar solo[…]rob[s] some of the song of its intimacy."[3]
CM Wilcox of The 9513 gave a thumbs-down, saying "Rascal Flatts, who have made a career of reveling in just such melodrama, have at long last discovered a song that actually seems to justify their usual overdone style" and describing LeVox's vocal performance favorably, but adding that the song's "biggest problem" was its length.[4]
Chart performance
"Why" peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts dated for November 14, 2009. It held the peak before falling to number 19 on the week of November 28 before returning to number 18 a week later. The song did not reach the Billboard Hot 100 proper, but peaked at number 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, which is equivalent to number 102 on Hot 100. It is the lowest-peaking official single release of Rascal Flatts' career.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] | 18 |
| US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[6] | 2 |
References
- ^ Roughstock “Why” Review
- ^ Roughstock “Unstoppable” Review
- ^ Neal, Chris (2009-11-16). "Reviews: Singles". Country Weekly. 16 (40): 54. ISSN 1074-3235.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Wilcox, CM (2009-10-09). "Rascal Flatts — "Why"". The 9513. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ "Rascal Flatts Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 732. ISBN 0-89820-188-8.