"Pray for You" is the debut single by American singer

Jaron Lowenstein Jaron David Lowenstein (born March 18, 1974) is an American singer who formerly recorded with his identical twin brother, Evan, in the musical duo Evan and Jaron. As Jaron and the Long Road to Love, he released his debut single, "Pray for You" t ...

, credited as

Jaron and the Long Road to Love Jaron David Lowenstein (born March 18, 1974) is an American singer who formerly recorded with his identical twin brother, Evan, in the musical duo Evan and Jaron. As Jaron and the Long Road to Love, he released his debut single, "Pray for You" t ...

. It was written by Lowenstein and Joel Brentlinger. The song is Lowenstein's first solo

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

release, following three singles as part of the duo

Evan and Jaron Evan Mitchell Lowenstein and Jaron David Lowenstein (born March 18, 1974) are American musicians and identical twin brothers who performed as Evan and Jaron. Evan and Jaron have recorded three studio albums. The duo's most successful single is ...

. The song is included on his debut album, ''

Getting Dressed in the Dark ''Getting Dressed in the Dark'' is the debut country music album of artist Jaron Lowenstein, more commonly known as Jaron and the Long Road to Love. It was released on June 22, 2010 via Universal Republic. The album's first single, "Pray for Yo ...

''. The song was nominated for Single by New/Breakthrough Artist at the first-annual 2010 American Country Awards.

Content

In "Pray for You", the narrator is told to pray for those who have wronged him, so he prays for unfavorable events on his former lover (e.g. "I pray your brakes go out running down a hill"). Lowenstein told

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that the song "wasn't started or pushed by some major label or organization. I would love to take the credit for its success, but honestly this is something fans want and they are the ones calling radio to have them play it."

Critical reception

The song has been met with positive reviews. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock called the lyrics "clever" and thought that it was "unique enough lyrically" to be a hit.

Jim Malec Jim Malec is an American journalist and pop music critic known for writing about country music. Malec attended State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, where he worked as an editor for the college's student newspaper and was involved in a cen ...

of The 9513 gave it a thumbs-up, with his review saying that it "demonstrates a delightful disdain for mainstream protocol–the song is sinister, and that’s a wonderful respite among a seemingly never-ending pipeline of songs that heavy-handedly tell us how to live and what to believe."

Brian Mansfield Brian Mansfield (born September 24, 1963) is an American writer and journalist. Early life and education Mansfield grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from David Lipscomb High School. In 1984, Mansfield received a bachelor's degre ...

gave a positive review in ''

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''. In his review Mansfield called the song "a twisted novelty that combines country's fondness for spiritual themes and relational revenge."

Music video

The song has had two

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 ...

s. The first was directed by Hank Friedmann and aired on January 4, 2010. A second, issued on April 8, 2010, under the direction of Mark Klasfeld, includes a guest appearance from actress

Jaime Pressly Jaime Elizabeth Pressly (born July 30, 1977) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Best known for her role as Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'', she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ...

. The first music video is about a man who gets revenge on his ex-lover over a voodoo web site. The second music video is about a man who lives with this woman who abuses him in multiple ways.

Chart performance

"Pray for You" debuted at number 58 on the ''

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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 December 5, 2009, and peaked at number 13. On the chart dated for the week ending April 10, 2010, "Pray for You" entered the ''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 ...

at number 87, and has since peaked at number 34, providing the singer with his second Top 40 pop hit (he achieved his first as part of Evan and Jaron).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pray For You 2009 debut singles 2009 songs Jaron and the Long Road to Love songs Big Machine Records singles Republic Nashville singles Country ballads