"Love Wins" is a song recorded by American singer
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...
. The song was written by Underwood with
Brett James
Brett James Cornelius (born June 5, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville. James' compositions have been credited on 494 recordings by a wide variety of artists. Signed to Career Records ( ...
and
David Garcia, and produced by Garcia and Underwood. It was released on August 31, 2018, as the second single from her sixth studio album, ''
Cry Pretty
''Cry Pretty'' is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood. The album was released on September 14, 2018, as Underwood's first album with Capitol Records Nashville after signing a global deal with Universal Music ...
''. "Love Wins" officially impacted country radio on September 17, 2018.
The song was featured in the motion picture, ''
Breakthrough''.
Writing and composition
The song was written by Underwood, Brett James, and David Garcia.
Underwood said of the song, "I do think that we as humans are inherently good and we need to remember that. Because we're different, that doesn't make somebody else bad, it just makes us different. We wanted that song to be hopeful and to maybe make somebody stop and think about that."
Further expanding on what motivated her to write the song, Underwood said, "If we don’t sing or write important songs, what’s the point? It’s just noise and static. If you are scared about what people are going to ask you about something that you feel passionately about - this art - you are going to write fluff. At the end of my life, will I care? Will it mean anything?"
The song is composed in the key of
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
with a moderately fast tempo of approximately 132
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
. It follows the chord pattern C-G-Em7-D, and Underwood's vocals range from G to D.
Critical reception
The song has received mostly positive reviews upon its release. Taste of Country described it as an "anthemic, mid-tempo power ballad," and highlighted the use of a backing choir. Robert Crawford, for
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
magazine, described it as "an open-armed anthem that calls for peace in a time of civil unrest". He continued, "Underwood is at her brazen best, filled with glory notes, gospel overtones and power-ballad gloss. She shies away from making direct references to politicians or unfair legislation, leaning instead on an "all you need is love" sentiment that goes down easily and inoffensively on both sides of the aisle".
''Kyle’s Korner'' gave a more mixed review of the song, saying that it was “heavily reliant on Underwood’s gravitas to sell people on the sentiment that things need to change, and while she succeeds in doing so, it doesn’t give listeners any ideas as to what they can do to make things better, which is something that a lot of people are yearning for right now.”
Commercial performance
"Love Wins" debuted at number 90 on the
Scottish Singles Chart
The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
for the week ending September 8, 2018.
In the United States, it debuted at number 30 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 ...
chart for the week ending September 15, 2018.
The following week, it debuted at number 34 on the
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.
The song peaked at number 11 on the
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 and number 14 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 ...
chart, becoming the first single of her career officially promoted to country radio to miss the top ten on either chart. Previously, Underwood had scored twenty-seven consecutive top ten hits on the Country Airplay.
As of March 2019, the song has sold 70,000 copies in the United States.
The song was certified Gold by the
RIAA
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 ...
on August 16, 2019.
Music video
The lyric video of the song was uploaded to Underwood'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 ...
channel on August 31, 2018. The official video premiered on
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
on September 10, 2018, and was released to
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 ...
the next day.
It was directed by
Shane Drake
Shane C. Drake is an American music video director and producer originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for many artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the ...
, whom Underwood had worked with previously on her video for "
Dirty Laundry". ''
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 ...
'' writes "the video begins with a hopeless-looking group of people walking on a road in a post-apocalyptical setting as Underwood, in a goddess-like orange dress, emotionally leans into the track’s sentimental lyrics. Underwood looks radiant in her silk dress as she approaches the country’s critical political moment -- touching on themes of immigration and violence, while offering optimistic advice. As the crowd continues their journey, they find comfort in each other, arriving in some sort of promise land as Underwood chants the chorus. The video then shifts perspective as the group of people, now a community, rejoice in their newfound land while Underwood, now wearing a white long-sleeve butterfly gown and a face full of colorful make-up, joyfully sings to the crowd. As the loud clapping drums follow her powerful voice, the party turns into a vibrant celebration with colored powder being thrown everywhere, all thanks to the power of love and unity."
Live performances
On September 13, 2018, Underwood performed the single live as a musical guest on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'' at
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
. She again performed the song on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'' on September 19, 2018. On November 14, 2018, Underwood performed the song at the
52nd Annual Country Music Association Awards. It also served as the encore to the set list of Underwood's
Cry Pretty Tour 360
The Cry Pretty Tour 360 was the sixth concert tour by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. The tour was in support of her sixth studio album ''Cry Pretty'' (2018), and began on May 1, 2019, in Greensboro, North Carolina and concluded o ...
.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Awards and nominations
CMT Music Awards
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References
{{authority control
2018 singles
2018 songs
Carrie Underwood songs
Capitol Records Nashville singles
Songs written by Carrie Underwood
Songs written by Brett James
Songs written by David Garcia (musician)
Music videos directed by Shane Drake