"I Run to You" is a song 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
Lady A
Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar), ...
ntebellum. It was released on January 26, 2009, as the third and final single from the group's
self-titled debut album.
Hillary Scott
Hillary Dawn Scott-Tyrrell (born April 1, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the co-lead singer of Lady A, previously known as Lady Antebellum, a country music group that was formed in 2006, and is signed to Big Machine Records ...
,
Charles Kelley
Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and lead singer and founding member of the country music trio Lady A, which was formed in 2006 and are signed to Big Machine Records.
Early life and career
Kelle ...
and
Dave Haywood
David Wesley Haywood (born July 5, 1982) is an American country musician and songwriter. He is one-third of the American country music band Lady A, in which he plays guitar, piano and mandolin, and sings backing vocals.
Early life
Haywood's fat ...
, who comprise Lady Antebellum, co-wrote the song with
Tom Douglas. "I Run to You" is the group's first number-one single, reaching that peak in July 2009, and it features lead vocals from both Scott and Kelley.
The song won the 2009 CMA Single of the Year Award on November 11, 2009. It won the
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 Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:
* In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group
* From 1971 to 19 ...
and was also nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Country Song
The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter.
There ha ...
on December 2, 2009, but lost to
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 ...
's "
White Horse".
In the UK and Europe, "I Run to You" was the second single taken from their ''Need You Now'' album. It was released on August 9, 2010, in support of their debut UK live show at
Shepherd's Bush Empire
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...
. The single made the A-list playlist on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
.
Content
"I Run to You" is a mid-tempo with
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 ...
and
string section accompaniment. In it, the narrators — lead singers Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott — claim that they turn to each other to escape the negativity and prejudice of the world.
Critical reception
Brady Vercher of Engine 145 gave the song a "thumbs down" review, calling it "a vague profession of love" and adding, "The song comes across as purposefully cryptic because they either didn’t fully develop the idea, haven’t become comfortable opening up in their lyrics, or they just didn’t feel the need to focus on the lyric other than as a device to support the melody."
Dan Milliken of Country Universe gave the song a B rating, saying that it "rolls sweetly along and never tries to sound more important than it really is".
Paul Worley
Paul Worley (born February 16, 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Re ...
, who co-produced the album and played guitar on it, said, "The song is an expression against hate, prejudice, negativity, running the rat race, but ultimately the redemption of love! And it has an irresistible melody and a head-bobbing groove. What could be better?"
Chart performance
"I Run to You" debuted at number 50 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 dated January 31, 2009. After spending 26 weeks on the chart, the song became the trio's first number one hit for the week of July 25, 2009. The song has also become Lady Antebellum's first top 40 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 27. On the
Billboard Year-End
''Billboard'' Year-End charts are cumulative rankings of entries in '' Billboard'' magazine charts in the United States in any given chart year. Several hundred Year-End charts are now published by ''Billboard'', the most important of which are ...
charts, "I Run to You" was ranked as the number 1 country single of 2009. It also debuted at number 39 on the U.S. ''Billboard''
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
charts for the week of July 17, 2010. It also debuted at number 27 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary Tracks charts for the week of September 4, 2010.
It was certified 2× 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/o ...
(RIAA) on April 29, 2013 for digital sales of 2,000,000 copies.
[
]
Music video
A music video, directed by Adam Boatman, was released for the song in March 2009. The video follows a chain of events, which depicts how one good deed leads to another. It begins with a mother giving money to a man playing guitar on the sidewalk, who walks into a coffee shop and loans money to a businessman who left his wallet at home. The businessman then helps a woman pick up her stack of papers that scatters when she falls over. Later, the woman takes a seat on the bench and waits for the bus. The mother from the beginning arrives at the bus stop and she gives up her seat for her. Included with these are scenes of the trio singing in a small hotel room.
A second video for the European release of "I Run to You" was shot and debuted on their record label Parlophone'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 ...
page on July 30, 2010. This alternate video was directed by Christopher Sims.
Cover versions
*Kian Egan
Kian John Francis Egan (born 29 April 1980) is an Irish Pop music, pop singer, songwriter and musician, best known as a member of pop group Westlife. Westlife has released twelve albums, embarked on thirteen world tours, and won numerous awards ...
, formerly of Westlife
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
, covered this song in a duet with his wife, Jodi Albert
(born 22 July 1983) is an English actress and singer, best known for playing Debbie Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', as a member of Simon Cowell's British girl group Girl Thing, and as a member of Irish girl group Wonderland.
E ...
, on his 2014 debut solo album ''Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
''.
Formats and track listings
Digital download
# "I Run to You" - 4:16
US digital download — single (Acoustic)
# "I Run to You" (Live) - 3:49
European digital download — single[European digital downloads:
*UK:
*Germany:
*France: ]
# "I Run to You" - 4:18
# "I Run to You" (Live at The Ryman) - 5:01
Personnel
The following musicians perform on this track:
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2008 songs
2009 singles
Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles of the year
Capitol Records Nashville singles
Country ballads
Lady A songs
Song recordings produced by Paul Worley
Songs written by Charles Kelley
Songs written by Dave Haywood
Songs written by Hillary Scott
Songs written by Tom Douglas (songwriter)