"Because You Love Me" is a song written by Kostas and

John Scott Sherrill John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. His brother, Donn Sherrill, was a Vanderbilt student. He introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman who recorded demos of his m ...

, 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

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 ...

. It was released in October 1999 as the fifth and final single from her album '' I'm Alright''. The song peaked at number 8 on the

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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 ...

(now

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 ...

) chart and peaked at number 11 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Singles. It also peaked at number 53 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

making it a minor crossover hit.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

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 ...

'' magazine, reviewed the song favorably, saying that the song reminds everybody that she is "equally capable of wringing every drop of tender emotion from a power ballad." She calls the lyric a "well-written treatise on the impact love can have on a life, and Messina wraps her voice around the sentiment and carries it like a beloved flag."''

'', October 23, 1999 - Vol. 111, No. 43

Music video

The music video was directed by Lawrence Carroll and premiered in October 1999.

Chart performance

"Because You Love Me" debuted at number 51 on the U.S. ''

for the week of October 23, 1999.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1999 singles 1998 songs Jo Dee Messina songs Songs written by Kostas (songwriter) Songs written by John Scott Sherrill Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Song recordings produced by Tim McGraw Curb Records singles