"Gonna" is a song recorded by the 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, ...
artist
Blake Shelton. It was released to radio on Aug 3, 2015, as the fourth and final single from his ninth studio album, ''
Bringing Back the Sunshine''.
The song was written by
Luke Laird and
Craig Wiseman.
Content
Laird and Wiseman, who previously wrote Shelton's 2009 single "
Hillbilly Bone
''Hillbilly Bone'' is the first extended play, and seventh studio release overall, by American country music singer/songwriter Blake Shelton. It was released on March 2, 2010 (see 2010 in country music) via Warner Music Group Nashville, his firs ...
", told ''
Nash Country Weekly'' magazine that they did not have a song idea when they met during a songwriting session. Laird began
beatboxing
Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. , providing Wiseman with a "structure" to which he began adding lyrics. Laird said that "We just wanted to write something that was fun for us to play", while praising Wiseman's "quirky lyrics".
Thematically, the song is about a man professing his intent to start a relationship with a woman, basing the hook around the word "gonna". ''
Nash Country Weekly'' described the song as a "mid-tempo with a slight reggae influence" plus "a faint vocal beatbox" and "a simple, memorable lead guitar riff that plays again before each verse".
Reception
Critical
The country music blog, ''
Taste of Country
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
'', reviewed the song positively, saying that ""Gonna" is a song built for radio success. Lyrics fill every breath, breathing energy into every note. If fans didn’t love the risks Shelton took on previous singles from this album, they’ll enjoy this return to Country Main St." ''Nash Country Weekly'' writer Jon Freeman rated the single "B", saying, "It may not be a master's thesis in songwriting, but 'Gonna' works perfectly well as harmless summer fun goes."
Commercial
In America, "Gonna" debuted at number 59 on the ''Billboard''
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 ...
chart for the week ending August 8, 2015.
[ It also debuted at number 48 on the US ''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 ending August 15, 2015. It debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 86 on the October 3, 2015 chart. It topped the Country Airplay for chart dated December 26, 2015, making it his 16th consecutive No. 1 on the chart. It reached No. 4 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and No. 54 on the Hot 100. It has sold 200,000 copies in the US up to January 2016.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
2014 songs
2015 singles
Blake Shelton songs
Warner Records Nashville singles
Songs written by Luke Laird
Songs written by Craig Wiseman
Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks
Warner Records singles