"Here Comes Goodbye" is a song written by ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' season 6 finalist

Chris Sligh Charles Christopher Sligh (born April 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and pastor who was a finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol'', finishing in tenth place. He has released 14 albums since 2001 as a solo artist, wi ...

and Clint Lagerberg 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, ...

group

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

, who released it in January 2009 as the first single from their album ''

Unstoppable Unstoppable may refer to: Film and television * Unstoppable (2004 film), ''Unstoppable'' (2004 film), an American film directed by David Carson * ''Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis'', a 2005 America ...

'' and the twenty-third single of their career. This song debuted at number 29 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 ...

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 ...

charts dated for February 7, 2009 and became their 10th number one on the chart dated April 25, 2009. It was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for "Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals" in 2010.

History

Lagerberg came up with the opening line "I can hear the truck tires coming up the gravel road" after thinking about his childhood home in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, which had a long gravel driveway. Sligh then decided to take the line and make it into a song where "something's coming, and it's not good." The opening piano melody came from a melody that Sligh played when Lagerberg was checking on Sligh's daughter, and decided to use it because they thought that it would capture the listener's attention.

Content

"Here Comes Goodbye" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

beginning with

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

accompaniment. The lyric explains the male narrator's realization that his lover is about to leave him. A string section and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

accompaniment backs the song from the second verse onward, and an electric guitar solo precedes the bridge.

Critical reception

The song has received mixed reviews from music critics.

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 ''The 9513'' gave it a "thumbs down" rating. His review criticized it for "having an overly dramatic production in contrast to its underdeveloped lyrics", which he thought "made the song sound awkward". He describing

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console label ...

' vocals as "atypically restrained andricher and considerably less whiney than usual" in the first verse but said that his delivery became "hilarious in its urgency" as the song progressed. Blake Boldt of ''Country Universe'' gave it a C rating, also thinking that LeVox "gracefully handle the first verse but "tumbl dinto operatic tendencies toward the end." He also considered it a "copycat" of the band's 2006 single "

What Hurts the Most "What Hurts the Most" is a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album '' And the Crowd Goes Wild'', it was covered by Bell ...

". Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' gave a more favorable review. Although he referred to the song's structure as a "well-worn power ballad path", he considered LeVox' performance "nuanced" and overall thought that the song was "better than anything on the trio's previous album '' Still Feels Good''."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Shaun Silva Shaun Silva is a music video director who works primarily in the country music field. He has directed a number of music videos for many country music artists, including many of Kenny Chesney's music videos. His other clients include Jason Aldean, ...

. The video features a family visiting a graveyard of a lost father. The man is accompanied by a small boy, waiting to take him to heaven, who is revealed to be the daughter's son, whose grave is side by side with her father's. Throughout the video, the band's members are shown singing the song in a snowy backdrop. It was filmed over 3 days: the first day the band was filmed on an LA soundstage; the second and third days were filmed on a snowy ranch property in Park City, Utah. Actress

Kadee Strickland Katherine Dee Strickland (born December 14, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Charlotte King on the ABC drama ''Private Practice'' (2007–2013). Strickland began acting during high school. She studied acting in Ph ...

from the ABC show

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

was cast as the lead female.

Chart performance

Rascal Flatts released "Here Comes Goodbye" to radio on January 20, 2009. It is the group's twenty-third single release overall, and the lead-off single to their sixth studio album, ''Unstoppable''. The song debuted at number 29 on the ''

charts dated for February 7, 2009 and reached number 1 on the chart dated April 25, 2009. To claim the top spot, "Here Comes Goodbye" jumped 6-1, the biggest climb to Number One since

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

sent " Our Song" 6-1 on the chart dated December 22, 2007. "Here Comes Goodbye" is also the group's tenth Number One.

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* Aaron Kelly covered the song in the top 24 round of the ninth season of ''

'' * Season 12 ''

'' runner-up

Kree Harrison Kree Annette Harrison (born May 17, 1990) is an American singer and musician, who was the runner-up on the twelfth season of ''American Idol.'' Early life Kree Annette Harrison was born on May 17, 1990 at St. Mary's Hospital in Port Arth ...

covered the song in the Top 3 round. *

Brynn Cartelli Brynn Cartelli (born April 16, 2003) is an American pop singer. She is the winner of season 14 of the American talent competition ''The Voice''. At the age of 15, she became the youngest person in the show's history to win the competition. She ...

covered the song in the Knockout Rounds of the fourteenth season of ''The Voice''.

References

{{authority control 2009 singles 2009 songs Rascal Flatts songs Lyric Street Records singles Country ballads Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Song recordings produced by Dann Huff