"Anywhere" is a song written by Matt Evans and Jaren Johnston. It was originally recorded by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs ch ...

for her 2011 studio album, '' Stronger.'' In 2012, it was spawned as the third and final single off the album. That year, "Anywhere" became a minor hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country songs chart.

Background and content

"Anywhere" was composed by Matt Evans and Jaren Johnston. Matt is the brother of Sara Evans and is also a part of her touring band. Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' called the track to be "a carefree, top-down, who-cares-where-we-end-up sort of driving love song," comparing it to material previously recorded by

Jo Dee Messina Jo Dee Marie Messina (born August 25, 1970) is an American country music artist. She has charted six number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country ...

. The track was recorded between 2009 and 2010 in sessions held by record producer Nathan Chapman and Matt Evans. "Anywhere" was among Evans' only songs to be co-produced her brother.

Critical reception

"Anywhere" received mixed reviews from critics and music writers. Thom Jurek of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

compared it to rock material by

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

, further commenting that it "walks the line between country and stadium rock with its anthemic chorus." Ben Foster of ''Country Universe'' negatively compared the track to that of "

Heads Carolina, Tails California "Heads Carolina, Tails California" is a song written by Tim Nichols and Mark D. Sanders and recorded by American country music artist Jo Dee Messina. The song was released in January 1996 as her debut single and served as the lead-off single for ...

" by Jo Dee Messina. Foster especially disliked the song's hook and believed it lack any type of emotional depth found in more of Evans' singles: "You call that a hook? That is so not a hook. It says nothing. It doesn’t tap into any sort of emotion, or convey anything beyond what it says on paper. It’s just… there. It’s hardly worth building a four-minute song around, plus stretching a three-syllable word over four seconds just makes it sound grating." When comparing the song to her 2011 album,

Jim Malec Jim Malec is an American journalist and pop music critic known for writing about country music. Malec attended State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, where he worked as an editor for the college's student newspaper and was involved in a cen ...

of ''American Noise'' called the song to be "derivative" and "formulaic."

Release and music video

"Anywhere" was released as a single to country music radio on June 23, 2012 via

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Current artists *Kane Brown *Andrew Jannakos *Miranda Lambert *Niko Moon (RCA/River Hou ...

. It was the third and final single issued off her 2011 studio album, '' Stronger.'' The song spent a total of four weeks on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

during the summer of 2012. In August, the single peaked at number 53 on the country songs chart. It was Evans' seventh charted single to peak outside the ''Billboard'' country top 40. Her next single would not reach the country songs chart until late 2013.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2011 songs 2012 singles Sara Evans songs RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Nathan Chapman (record producer)