"Run" is a song written by American singer-songwriter

Matt Nathanson Matthew Adam Nathanson (born March 28, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock and roll music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic (sometimes a 12-string) and electric guitar, and has played both sol ...

with

Jennifer Nettles Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...

and

Kristian Bush Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...

of country duo Sugarland, and recorded for Nathanson's seventh studio album, '' Modern Love'' (2011). The song is performed as a duet between Nathanson and Nettles, with Bush contributing backing vocals as well as the acoustic and electric guitar accompaniments. It made its debut at the 2010

CMA Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

on November 9, 2011. A remastered

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

version was released to digital retailers via

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

the same day as the third single from ''Modern Love''.

Background and release

"Run" was released to digital retails on November 9, 2011 through

. It was serviced to

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

radio on January 16, 2012 through Vanguard and Capitol Records. Accreditation of the song varies, with ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'' crediting Bush and Nettles separately as featured artists, the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

crediting Sugarland collectively, and the digital single attributing the song to Sugarland as the primary artist and Nathanson as a featured artist.

Critical reception

Bobby Peacock of ''Roughstock'' gave a positive review of "Run", which he declared "at its core... boils down to a country lyric," commenting that "the seemingly different voices (not to mention musical backgrounds) unite perfectly, helped by a slick (but in a good way), powerful pop production." ''PopCrush'' reviewer Scott Shetler deemed "Run" inferior to Nettles' previous pop/rock collaboration ( Bon Jovi's " Who Says You Can't Go Home"), but consented that "Run" was a "pleasant pop song with a decent hook and nice harmonies" and ultimately ranked the song 3.5/5 stars. 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 ...

'' described "Run" as a "stop-and-thinker that could easily be dismissed if listened to haphazardly" due to the hidden depths of the lyrics, and lauded the combination of Nathanson and Nettles' voices: "Not since Jon Bon Jovi has a male lead complimented Nettles’ beckoning drawl so naturally." Andrew Leahey of ''

'' was more critical of the song and Nettles' vocals in particular, leading him to label "Run" as "one of the album’s most misguided moves".

Music videos

Three official music videos exist for "Run". The Sugarland version was directed by Valarie Allyn Bienas and premiered February 9, 2012. This video feature live footage from the CMA Awards performance. A solo Matt Nathanson video premiered March 27, 2012 and a collaborative video (titled "Run ft. Sugarland") premiered the following day on March 28, 2012; the latter video was directed by Brendan Walter.

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Sugarland 2011 songs 2011 singles Matt Nathanson songs Sugarland songs Vanguard Records singles Songs written by Jennifer Nettles Songs written by Kristian Bush Vocal collaborations