"Leave the Pieces" is a song written by

Jennifer Hanson Jennifer Kathleen Hanson (born August 10, 1973) is an American country music artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “ Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hi ...

and Billy Austin, 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, ...

duo

The Wreckers The Wreckers were an American country music duo formed in 2005 by Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, both of whom had solo recordings before the duo's foundation. In 2006, the duo released its debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'', which produ ...

for their debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'' for which it served as lead single with a February 7, 2006, release. Though it was the first single from their first album, it was The Wreckers' third single overall: they had released two singles in 2005, "The Good Kind", which peaked at #115, and "

I'm Feeling You "I'm Feeling You" is a song recorded by Santana with The Wreckers (Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp) for Santana's 2005 album '' All That I Am''. The song was written and produced by Kara DioGuardi and John Shanks, with Branch credited as a co-wr ...

", in collaboration with

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

, which peaked at #55. "Leave the Pieces" entered the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 68, eventually reaching number 34 on the Hot 100. The song also hit number 1 on ''Billboards

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. It was the first track by a first-time charting duo to top the ''Billboard'' country music chart since 1991, and the first by a female duo since 1953.

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: ''The Spirit Room'' and '' Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Co ...

said of the song's success, "To see our hard work in getting this project off the ground result in my first number-one as an artist could not be more meaningful", while

Jessica Harp Jessica Leigh Harp (born February 3, 1982) is an American songwriter and former country artist from Kansas City, Missouri. Between 2005 and 2007, Harp and Michelle Branch recorded and performed as The Wreckers, a duo that topped the country cha ...

said "It's an amazing feeling to have our debut single go number one, especially getting to share it with my dear friend. The fact that we've achieved such success is something I can't even comprehend yet. I just know that the stars have aligned, and it feels good to be a Wrecker.""The Wreckers' "Leave the Pieces" Hits Number One on Billboard's "Hot Country Songs" Chart"

Market Wire GlobeNewswire provides press release distribution services globally, with substantial operations in North America and Europe. GlobeNewswire was a Nasdaq, Inc. subsidiary from September 2006 until April 2018 when West Corporation (now Intrado ...

. August 28, 2006. Retrieved September 9, 2006. The song has sold 1,155,000 copies in the United States as of November 2019.

Critical reception

In December 2006, The Wreckers were 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 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 ...

" for "Leave the Pieces."

Commercial performance

The song debuted 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 ...

chart at No. 53 for the week of April 15, 2006. It reached No. 1 on the chart dated September 9, 2006. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on February 22, 2008. It reached over a million in sales by April 2013, and has sold 1,155,000 copies in the United States as of November 2019.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was released in March 30, 2006, directed by

Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy is an American music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV. She is the first woman to win the Country Music Asso ...

. The video features a girl (played by Harp) who is leaving her boyfriend (played by actor Nick Steele), because he is on the fence about their relationship. Harp packs all her clothes and her friend, played by Branch, comes and picks her up. The video includes shots of the women performing on a porch and in/beside an old car, and it topped CMT's ''Top Twenty Countdown'' for two consecutive weeks in August 2006.

Film and television appearances

"Leave the Pieces" was used in the 2011 episode "Homecoming and Coming Home" of ''

Hart of Dixie ''Hart of Dixie'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The CW from September 26, 2011, to March 27, 2015. The series, created by Leila Gerstein, stars Rachel Bilson as Dr. Zoe Hart, a New Yorker who, after her dreams of b ...

''.

Formats and track listings

;Australian CD single #"Leave the Pieces" (Pop Edit) #" My, Oh My" (Demo Version) #"Stand Still, Look Pretty"

Cover versions

Holly Tucker and The Swon Brothers performed the song on

The Voice (U.S. season 4) The fourth season of the American reality talent show ''The Voice'' premiered on March 25, 2013, on NBC and was hosted by Carson Daly, while Christina Milian returned as the social media correspondent. Coaches Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton retu ...

during the elimination episode of the 5th week of the live shows. Hanna Ashbrook and Summer Schappell covered the song on

The Voice (U.S. season 9) The ninth season of the American Reality television, reality talent show ''The Voice (American TV series), The Voice'' premiered on September 21, 2015 on NBC. Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Pharrell Williams returned as coaches for the season. Gwe ...

during the Battles round.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2006 songs 2006 debut singles The Wreckers songs Songs written by Jennifer Hanson Song recordings produced by John Shanks Music videos directed by Trey Fanjoy