"Legends" is a song by American

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

singer

Kelsea Ballerini Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American country pop singer. She began songwriting as a child and signed with Black River Entertainment in 2014, releasing her debut studio album the following year, '' The First Time''. ...

for her second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Unapologetically ''Unapologetically'' is the second studio album by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. It was released on November 3, 2017. Ballerini announced the album's title and release date on July 25, 2017. In August, the album's track listing wa ...

'' (2017). Ballerini co-wrote the track with

Hillary Lindsey Hillary Lee Lindsey is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including Michelle Branch, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shakira, Lady A, Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Bon ...

, and Forest Glen Whitehead. The song was released as a digital

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on June 7, 2017 and impacted American country radio on July 10, serving as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

for the album. "Legends" 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 ...

and number 10 on 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 ...

charts, while also reaching number 68 on the all-genre

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 ...

chart. The song also peaked at number three on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

airplay chart. Ballerini promoted the song with a performance at the 2017

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

and an accompanying music video directed by Jeff Venable that details the development of a relationship that ends in tragedy. Later that year, Ballerini also performed the song at the 2017

CMA Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

with country legend

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Content

"Legends" is a midtempo

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with bittersweet lyrics that reflect on a past love. While Ballerini wrote the song "from the perspective of a breakup," she also considers it a message to her fans for their continued support. Critics praised the song's mature songwriting, with 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 ...

'' writing that "Legends" is "a rare country song that looks back on the end of a relationship with a gratitude... that what they had was wonderful, but it needed to end." Musically, the song expands upon the country-pop stylings of Ballerini's debut album with "dramatic" orchestral elements.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

'' complimented Ballerini on her maturity and wrote that the song "does something she didn't always do on songs from ''The First Time''," meaning that "it's a complete effort, with everyone in the room committed to a shared vision." ''

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 ...

'' contributor

Chuck Dauphin Charles Frederick Dauphin III (February 17, 1974 – September 18, 2019) was an American sports and country music journalist. He was a radio broadcaster for WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee Dickson is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Located in ...

put "Legends" at number three on his top 10 list of Ballerini's best songs.

Commercial performance

"Legends" debuted at number 50 on the ''Billboard''

chart for the week of June 24, 2017 as the week's hot shot debut. It peaked at number one for the week of February 24, 2018 earning Ballerini her fourth number one hit on that chart. On the same week, the song also debuted at number 41 on the

chart and peaked at number ten for the week of February 24, 2018. On the week of December 16, the single debuted at number 98 on the Hot 100 chart before leaving the next week. It reappeared on the chart at number 99 the week of December 31, peaked at number 68 the week of February 24, 2018 and remained on the chart for twelve weeks. On February 26, 2018, "Legends" was certified gold 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) for moving 500,000 units in sales and streams. It has sold 171,000 copies in the US as of March 2018.

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Jeff Venable and premiered June 29, 2017. Inspired by the 2016

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

series, ''

This Is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American family drama television series that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. It s ...

'', the video shows the progression of a young couple's relationship from meeting through marriage and the birth of their son. In a tragic twist, the father is revealed to have died in a car crash on the child's seventh birthday. At the end of the video, the son is seen in the present day graduating from high school giving his mother the same one-finger wave his father used to. Kelsea's performance scenes were filmed on the cliffs of Big Sur, California.

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Country ballads Pop ballads 2010s ballads Kelsea Ballerini songs Black River Entertainment singles Songs written by Kelsea Ballerini Songs written by Hillary Lindsey