"19 Somethin'" is a song written by David Lee and

Chris DuBois Charles Christopher DuBois is a songwriter and music publisher based out of Nashville, Tennessee. DuBois began his music career as ASCAP Nashville Director of Membership in 1993. He left ASCAP in 1999 to form Sea Gayle Music with business partn ...

and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Mark Wills Mark Wills (born Daryl Mark Williams; August 8, 1973) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label – '' Mark Wills'', ''Wish You Were Here'', ''Permanently'' ...

. It was released in September 2002 as the first single from his ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' compilation album and spent six weeks at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart in early 2003. It reached number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was the longer-lasting of Wills' two number one singles. It would go on to become the number 2 country song of the decade on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart.

Content

The song begins with singer's reminiscence of his formative years, the 1970s and 1980s. In the first verse and chorus, various 1970s-related bits of pop culture are referenced, such as Farrah Fawcett, eight tracks, and Stretch Armstrong; the first verse also mentions the videogame Pac-Man ("I had the Pac-Man pattern memorized.") The first chorus begins with the line "It was 1970-somethin' / In the world that I grew up in." Verse two, similarly, references 1980s pop culture, such as the Rubik's Cube, black

Pontiac Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

s, and MTV. The second chorus likewise begins with "It was 1980-somethin'." In the song's bridge, the singer then expresses his desire to escape to his childhood years: "''Now I've got a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

and an

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...

/ All this responsibility makes me wish sometimes / That it was 1980-somethin’.''"

Reception

Critical

An uncredited article in ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'' said that the success of "19 Somethin'" was "doubly great" because it was a number one single and because it was up-tempo, in comparison to Wills's earlier ballads, such as "

Don't Laugh at Me "Don't Laugh at Me" is a song written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin, and recorded by American country music artist Mark Wills. It was released in July 1998 as the second single from album ''Wish You Were Here''. Like "I Do (Cherish You)" bef ...

" and "

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

Awards

"19 Somethin'" was nominated for Single of the Year at the 38th annual

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

awards in May 2003.

Chart positions

"19 Somethin'" debuted at number 56 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of October 5, 2002. It was Wills' second number one single, his first being "

" in May 1999.

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

According to liner notes. *Tim Akers –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* J. T. Corenflos –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

*Eric Darken –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Aubrey Haynie – fiddle *Wes Hightower –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Jimmie Lee Sloas Jimmie Lee Sloas is an American session musician, producer, and songwriter, who plays bass guitar. History Jimmie Lee Sloas, born in Ashland, Kentucky, grew up in Fairborn, Ohio and Isonville, Kentucky. His father, Dave, was a member of the po ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Biff Watson Fletcher Bangs "Biff" Watson is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. His musicianship has been a part of recording sessions for many artists. Biography Early years Raised in Chatham, Virginia, Watson learned how to play guitar at a ...

– acoustic guitar *

– lead vocals *

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten singles on the Hot Co ...

– drums

Parody

*Country music parodist

Cledus T. Judd James Barry Poole (born December 18, 1964) is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and ...

parodied the song as "270 Somethin'" on his 2003 EP ''

A Six Pack of Judd ''A Six Pack of Judd'' is a six-song EP compact disc recorded by country music parodist Cledus T. Judd. It was released in 2003 on Monument Records Nashville. The beer can depicted on the album cover gives a nod to Budweiser's "Born on Date" co ...

''. Judd's parody tells of an obese person who loses weight.

References

{{authority control Songs about nostalgia 2002 singles 2002 songs Mark Wills songs Songs written by Chris DuBois Songs written by David Lee (songwriter) Mercury Records singles Song recordings produced by Chris Lindsey