"Payback" is a song 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, ...

group

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

. It was released in June 2014 as the second single from their ninth studio album, '' Rewind''. The song was written by

Aaron Eshuis Aaron James Eshuis is an American songwriter and record producer, originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Eshuis moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and later signed a worldwide publishing deal with SMACKSongs in 2017. Eshuis has earned c ...

, Neil Mason, and

Ryan Hurd Ryan James Hurd (born November 2, 1986) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In addition to writing No. 1 singles for Blake Shelton, Lady A, and Luke Bryan, Hurd has recorded for RCA Records Nashville. Career Hurd was born in C ...

Critical reception

The song received a favorable review from ''

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 ...

'', calling it "an undeniable country earworm that’s bound to be a live show favorite" while adding that "it doesn’t sound like anything else on the radio, but stays true to Rascal Flatts’ repertoire."

Music video

The music video was directed by Gary Halverson and premiered in October 2014.

Chart performance

"Payback" debuted at number 46 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Country Airplay chart for the week of June 21, 2014. It also debuted at number 47 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart for the week of July 12, 2014. The song peaked at number 21 on the Country Airplay chart for the week of October 25 holding that spot for two weeks, making it the group's first single to miss the top 20.

Year-end charts

References

{{Rascal Flatts singles 2014 songs 2014 singles Rascal Flatts songs Songs written by Ryan Hurd Big Machine Records singles Song recordings produced by Howard Benson Songs written by Aaron Eshuis