"Never Say Never" is a song 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, ...

singers

Cole Swindell Colden Rainey Swindell (born June 30, 1983) is an American rock music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Craig Campbell, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, and Luke Bryan, and has released four albums for Warner Bros. Records Nashvil ...

and

Lainey Wilson Lainey Denay Wilson (born May 19, 1992) is an American country music singer–songwriter and actress. Wilson performed from an early age, before going to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career as a country performer. In 2014, she released her f ...

. It was released on November 19, 2021, as the second single from Swindell's fourth studio album ''

Stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

''. Swindell co-wrote the song with

Jessi Alexander Jessica Leigh Alexander (born November 18, 1976) is an American country music artist and songwriter. Biography She has had her songs recorded by Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood and Little Big Town. She also launched her own recording career in 2 ...

and Chase McGill, and it was produced by

Zach Crowell Zach Crowell is a songwriter and record producer, who was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Crowell is involved in a joint publishing agreement with Round Hill Music and Taperoom Music. In 2012, he co-wrote and produced the song "Confe$$io ...

. It peaked at number one 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 ...

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 in April 2022, becoming Swindell's seventh number one single, and Wilson's second.

Background and content

On November 18, 2021, Swindell and Wilson announced the collaboration on social media, "Never Say Never" is the first duet between the two artists. Swindell stated in a press release: "I wrote 'Never Say Never' with Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill in 2018 about a relationship you just can't stay away from, I have been a fan of Lainey Wilson's for a while now and what she brings to this song is everything it needed". Wilson said: "'

Things a Man Oughta Know "Things a Man Oughta Know" is a song recorded by American country music singer Lainey Wilson. It was released in August 2020 as the second single from Wilson's ''Redneck Hollywood'' EP and would later be included on her 2021 album '' Sayin' What ...

' was such an incredible ride, I can’t wait to get this next song out into the world and see where it leads".

Composition

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 ...

'' wrote that the producer Zach Crowell "adds a swirl of emotions with steel guitar, keys and a thundering rhythm section" that contrasts Swindell's previous work.

Critical reception

''Music and Tour News'' commented that Wilson's presence "give the stellar song an added dimension" and the two artists "sound absolutely fantastic together on the smash-hit".

Music video

The music video was released on January 12, 2022, and directed by FlyHi Films’ Michael Monaco. The video was filmed in

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary last named Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex (also called ''Brushy'') was a large maximum-security prison in the town of Petros in Morgan County, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correctio ...

located at the suburb of

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

. It tells a story about "a forbidden relationship between a prison guard with an inmate".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Lainey Wilson 2021 singles 2021 songs Cole Swindell songs Lainey Wilson songs Songs written by Jessi Alexander Songs written by Chase McGill Songs written by Cole Swindell Warner Records Nashville singles Male–female vocal duets