"Boys 'Round Here" is a song written by

Rhett Akins Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. (born October 13, 1969) is an American singer and songwriter. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for that label (1995's ''A Thousand Memories'' and 1996's '' Somebody New''), followed by ...

, Dallas Davidson, and Craig Wiseman 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, o ...

artist

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

. The song is credited to "Blake Shelton with

Pistol Annies Pistol Annies are an American country music group composed of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley. The trio gave its debut performance on April 4, 2011, on the CBS special Academy of Country Music's ''Girls' Night Out: Superst ...

and Friends", as it features myriad vocal collaborators including the Pistol Annies (

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

Ashley Monroe Ashley Lauren Monroe (born September 10, 1986) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Monroe has released two solo singles, "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" (which featured Brooks & Dunn singer Ronnie Dunn), that reached the U.S. ''B ...

, and Angaleena Presley), along with country singer

RaeLynn Racheal Lynn Woodward (born May 4, 1994), better known as RaeLynn, is an American singer and songwriter who was a contestant on '' The Voice'' in season two (2012). She was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Early life RaeLynn was born and rais ...

, all three co-writers, and

Scott Hendricks Scott Hendricks (born July 26, 1956) is an American record producer who has produced over 30 country music artists. His productions have garnered 121 Top 10s, and 78 Number One hits. Between 1995 and 1997, he was President and Chief Executive Off ...

, who also produced the track. It was released in 2013 as the second single from his seventh studio album, '' Based on a True Story...'' The song uses examples of a Southern lifestyle to create its lyrical narrative. "Boys 'Round Here" received mixed reception for its production style and lyrical content. It peaked at number 1 on both the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

and

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the wor ...

charts published by ''

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 advertis ...

''.

Content

The song is a celebration of Southern life. It is in the key of A major with an approximate tempo of 84

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

and a chord pattern of A-D. Its verses are largely spoken-word. It features backing vocals from several people associated with Shelton: the

, a group featuring Shelton's then-wife,

;

, a contestant on '' The Voice'', on which Shelton is a judge; co-writers

, Dallas Davidson and Craig Wiseman; and producer

. Co-writer Craig Wiseman said that the opening line "The boys 'round here don't listen to

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

" came from Davidson, who made the remark after seeing Beatles memorabilia in Wiseman's office. After Davidson said the word "redneck", Wiseman decided to " hopit up into short pieces" to create the "red, red, red, red, red, red, redneck" heard in the opening. Of the song's theme, Wiseman said that he felt it was an example of "write what you know" despite criticism of songs which use similar Southern themes. Shelton said of the song, "That song had me from the first, 'cause I thought about all the guys I know back in Tishamingo. None of them listened to

. They listened to Hank, or these days you'll hear

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 album, ''My Kind ...

blaring out of somebody's car coming from a mile away. It's just how they are, and that song is just written exactly how I live."

History

In June 2013, a Celebrity mix version premiered on BlakeShelton.com. It features

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country singer, songwriter, and television personality. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Nashville in 2007 ...

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled deb ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album '' Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nash ...

, Josh Turner,

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Awa ...

and Hank Williams Jr., each of whom performs part of the "redneck" line. The Celebrity mix version was released to iTunes on June 11, 2013. In January 2015, Shelton performed the song on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

''.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song 4.5 stars out of 5, saying that it "is intentionally silly, but score the singer significant style points for never taking his story too seriously." Giving it 4 out of 5 stars, Matt Bjorke of Roughstock compared it favorably to Shelton's previous singles " Ol' Red" and "Playboys of the Southwestern World", saying that "Boys 'Round Here" "took chances" like those songs did. He also praised the instrumentation. Sam Gazdziak of Country Universe was less favorable, saying that it was "sexist, crude and jam-packed with country stereotypes, it's an embarrassment to everyone involved".

Music video

The music video was directed by

Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy is an American music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV. She is the first woman to win the Country Music ...

and premiered in May 2013.

Commercial performance

"Boys 'Round Here" débuted at number 44 on the U.S. ''

'' Hot Country Songs chart for the week of April 6, 2013. It peaked at number two, but was kept out of the top spot by "

Cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...

". It also debuted at number 19 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

chart for the week of April 13, 2013, at number 67 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week of April 13, 2013 and at number 60 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of April 20, 2013. It has sold over a million copies in the United States as of June 2013. It reached Number One on the

chart dated June 29, 2013, becoming Shelton's ninth consecutive Number One country single, and his fourteenth overall. The song was certified 3× Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

on May 8, 2015. , the song has sold 2,559,000 copies in the U.S.

Charts and certifications

Weekly Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control Blake Shelton songs Music videos directed by Trey Fanjoy Songs written by Dallas Davidson Songs written by Rhett Akins Songs written by Craig Wiseman Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks Warner Records Nashville singles 2013 songs 2013 singles Vocal collaborations