"Cowboy Casanova" is a song by American singer

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

. It was written by Underwood,

Mike Elizondo Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...

Brett James Brett James Cornelius (born June 5, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville. James' compositions have been credited on 494 recordings by a wide variety of artists. Signed to Career Records ( ...

. It was released on September 14, 2009, by

Arista Nashville Arista Nashville is an American record label that serves as a wholly owned division of Sony Music, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks & ...

as the lead single from her third studio album, '' Play On''. The song sold 2,300,000 copies, making it the fourth-biggest single of her career behind "

Jesus, Take the Wheel "Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a song written by Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson, and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released on October 18, 2005 as the first single from Underwood's debut album ' ...

", "

Before He Cheats "Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, '' Some Hearts'' (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a wo ...

", and " Blown Away". The song received positive reviews from critics and became the fastest climbing country single of 2009. It also became Underwood's eighth number one country single in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The single was certified 2x

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

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/o ...

(RIAA).

Background

After the end of her "Carnival Ride Tour", in February 2009, Underwood began writing songs for her new album ''Play On''. She collaborated with a number of producers which included

, one of the three co-writers of her hit single "

", and

, who had collaborated with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

and

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

. Elizondo came up with the main melody of the song, to which James and Underwood set the lyrics. James then suggested the title "Cowboy Casanova" off a list of potential titles that he had, and the lyrics talk about a male character who is a "devil in disguise." In an interview with CMT Underwood said, An unfinished version of the song leaked online on September 2, 2009 after receiving airplay from KMPS-FM in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. The label then rush-released the official version to Underwood's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on September 3, 2009. It was officially made available for download on September 14, 2009.

Composition

"Cowboy Casanova" is a moderately paced country song. It incorporates elements of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

-inspired

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

riffs and background gang vocals in the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

and verses, and also the violin and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

-esque qualities which travel into the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

. The song is composed in

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

, set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

with a tempo of 120

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 ( ...

. Underwood's vocals span from A₃ to D₅.

Critical reception

The song has been met with generally favorable reviews. ''

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 ...

'' reviewed the song favorably, stating that it "gives nderwoodthe chance to display the sassy side of her musical persona, which made previous hit "

" such an impact record. Blessed with a versatile set of pipes that make the best of any tune, Underwood shines on this steamy upbeat number". Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' also gave a favorable review, saying, "Although the song borrows familiar melodic themes, the production is sparkling; Carrie sings the verses with rapid-fire precision and the hook is just infectious. This may very well be my favorite Carrie Underwood single yet." Kevin Coyne of ''Country Universe'' said that on “Cowboy Casanova”, Underwood makes a strong attempt but doesn't quite pull it off. We’re left with just a decent single that doesn't feel quite country enough or quite pop enough to make it a keeper, therefore giving her a grade of B−.

Commercial reception

"Cowboy Casanova" was released on September 14, 2009 for digital download. The song logged a first week sales of 110,236 copies in downloads. The song also made Underwood the only solo country artist in 2009 to debut a digital single above the 100,000. The song also became the fastest climbing single in Underwood's career and also the fastest-climbing single of 2009 in the country music genre. Additionally, the song gave Underwood the most Top 10 hits on the country chart this decade - 10 top 10 singles followed by

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

and

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

each with nine. As of October 2015, 2,300,000 copies of "Cowboy Casanova" were sold in the US. It has been certified 2× Platinum, being Underwood's fourth single to do so.

Music video

The music video was filmed on September 2, 2009, in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
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. It premiered during CMT's Big New Music Weekend on October 2, 2009. The video was directed by Theresa Wingert and it features Underwood and an entourage of attractive female dancers all wearing

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

party gowns. She warns the video's audience, as well as her entourage, about smooth-talking attractive men and their true intentions. An attractive man sporting a fancy outfit that consists of an

overcoat An overcoat is a type of long coat (clothing), coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most commonly used in winter when warmth is more important. They are sometimes confused with ...

and a

fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

gazes at the scene with interest. The man, a good representation of the song's topic, seemingly has designs on Underwood and as the video progresses the dancers become dressed in revealing clothing, consisting of

garters A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking ...

and

corsets A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...

. Eventually, Underwood, along with her empowered entourage, has a showdown with the man in a back alley and defiantly spurns his advances, leading him to give up and walk away. The video also became Underwood's first

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

video. by Carrie Underwood and Maddison Nicole Monroe.

Awards and nominations

45th Academy of Country Music Awards

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CMT Music Awards

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1st American Country Awards

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French Country Music Awards

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2010 CMA Triple-Play Awards

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Temporary Home "Temporary Home" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in December 2009 as the second official single from her third studio album, '' Play On''. Before being released as a single, the ...

", "

Undo It "Undo It" is a song written by Carrie Underwood, Kara DioGuardi, Marti Frederiksen, and Luke Laird. It was made available to digital retailers on October 27, 2009, and was released as an official single on May 24, 2010. The song is the third sing ...

") , ,

Chart performance

"Cowboy Casanova" debuted at number 26 on the U.S. ''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 ...

chart for the week of September 19, 2009 and reached the number one spot in its tenth week, becoming Underwood's eighth number one on that chart and also her fastest climbing song at that time. "Cowboy Casanova" was also marked as Underwood's fastest climbing song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, climbing to number 11 only one week after its official release. The song made its debut 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 ...

at number 96, making a jump to number 11 in its second week, becoming her sixth top 20 Hot 100 hit.

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2009 singles Carrie Underwood songs Songs written by Brett James Songs written by Carrie Underwood Songs written by Mike Elizondo Arista Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer) 2009 songs Songs about cowboys and cowgirls