"Neon" is a song recorded by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released in March 2012 as the third single and title track from his album ''

Neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

'' (2011). The song was written by Shane McAnally,

Josh Osborne Josh Osborne (born c. 1980) is an American songwriter with several number-one singles to his credit. Early life Josh Osborne was born in Pike County, Kentucky, and raised in Virgie, Kentucky. Osborne grew up on US 23, renamed Country Music High ...

and Trevor Rosen. "Neon" received positive reviews from critics who praised the production, lyrics and Young's vocal performance. It stopped Young's five consecutive number-one hit run on the US

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, peaking at number 23. It also peaked at number 92 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song 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), denoting sales of over 500,000 units in the United States.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' gave the song four stars out of five, writing that Young "plays with notes high and low like a cat plays with a ball of yarn, sort of batting them back and forth, always in control." Tara Seetharam of ''Country Universe'' gave the song an A− grade, saying that Young's voice "sinks into the groove of the song so effortlessly you’d think he was singing in his sleep, skating around the melody with an appropriate blend of conviction and restraint." Jonathan Keefe of

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

, reviewing the album, called it a strong track that uses "creative imagery to explain the seductive draw of a bar." In 2017, ''

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'' 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 "Neon" at number three on his top 10 list of Young's best songs.

Music video

The music video was directed by Ryan Hamblin and premiered in May 2012. It was filmed at Melrose Billiards in Nashville, Tennessee.

Chart performance

"Neon" debuted at number 54 on the US ''

chart for the week of March 31, 2012. It also debuted at number 100 on the US ''Billboard''

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 for the week of August 11, 2012. With a peak of number 23 on the country music charts, it became Young's first single to miss the Number One spot since 2007's "You're Gonna Love Me" peaked at number 48.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2011 songs 2012 singles Chris Young (singer) songs Song recordings produced by James Stroud Songs written by Shane McAnally Songs written by Josh Osborne Songs written by Trevor Rosen