"I Could Use a Love Song" is a song co-written 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

Maren Morris Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. While rooted in the Country music, country genre, her music also blends elements of Pop music, pop, R&B music, R&B, and Hip-Hop music, hip-hop. Born and raised in Arlingt ...

for her debut studio album, ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

'' (2016). Morris wrote the song with

Jimmy Robbins James Michael Robbins (born September 3, 1989, in Raleigh, North Carolina) is a country music Award-winning American songwriter and producer. Biography In addition to having penned ten number-one singles, he won a CMA Triple Play Award in 2014 ...

and

Laura Veltz Laura Veltz is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter and musician. She previously was the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of family pop-rock group Cecilia. She was nominated for the first ever Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year at the 65 ...

, and co-produced the track with

busbee Michael James Ryan Busbee (June 18, 1976 – September 29, 2019), known professionally as Busbee, was an American songwriter, record producer, publisher, record label executive, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his work in both po ...

. It was released to North American country radio on March 27, 2017 through

Columbia Nashville Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Amer ...

as the album's third single. A song about heartbreak and finding redemption through love, it garnered positive reviews from critics. "I Could Use a Love Song" reached number one 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, giving Morris her second number-one single, and her first as a solo artist. It also peaked at numbers seven and 56 on both the

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 ...

and

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 ...

charts respectively. The song was certified Platinum, and has sold 206,000 copies as of December 2017. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, reaching number 14 on the

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

chart and garnering a Platinum certification from

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

, denoting sales of over 80,000 units in that country.

Content

"I Could Use a Love Song" is a "no frills heartbreak song" that finds the narrator becoming jaded towards love. Despite having been burned by previous relationships, Morris remains optimistic and believes that a

love song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

can restore her faith in finding love.

Background and release

"I Could Use a Love Song" was announced as the album's third single on February 24, 2017. The song was made available to country radio on March 13, but did not officially impact the format until March 27, 2017.

Critical reception

Mike Wass of ''Idolator'' expressed surprise over the choice of single, but wrote that the song "harks back to a time in country music when songs examined matters of the heart over simple arrangements," which works in the track's favor. Billy Dukes of ''

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 favorably. He wrote that "I Could Use a Love Song" is "more immediately accessible than her previous two radio hits," and praised Morris for expressing a new side to her artistry.

Music video

The music video of the song was released on May 6, 2017, and starred

Shelley Hennig Shelley Catherine Hennig (born January 2, 1987) is an American actress and model. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Teen Choice Award and two Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Prior to pursuing an acting career, Hennig compet ...

and Garrett Hines as the couple. ;Accolades

Commercial performance

"I Could Use a Love Song" debuted at number 56 on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart dated April 1, 2017 and was the week's highest-debuting single. On the week dated September 2, the song debuted at number 97 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 before dropping to number 100 the week of September 9, and left the week after. The track reappeared on the chart dated September 23 at number 92 and reached number 56 the week of January 20, 2018 before leaving the chart completely, remaining there for twenty-one weeks. It has sold 206,000 copies in the United States as of December 2017. It peaked at number one on the Country Airplay chart dated January 20, giving Morris her second number one single and her first as a solo artist.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2016 songs 2017 singles Maren Morris songs Columbia Nashville Records singles Song recordings produced by busbee Songs written by Jimmy Robbins Songs written by Laura Veltz Songs written by Maren Morris