"The Bones" 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, ...
singer
Maren Morris
Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. While rooted in the Country music, country genre, her music also blends elements of Pop music, pop, R&B music, R&B, and Hip-Hop music, hip-hop. Born and raised in Arlingt ...
for her second studio album, ''
Girl
A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...
''. Morris co-wrote the song with
Jimmy Robbins
James Michael Robbins (born September 3, 1989, in Raleigh, North Carolina) is a country music Award-winning American songwriter and producer.
Biography
In addition to having penned ten number-one singles, he won a CMA Triple Play Award in 2014 ...
and
Laura Veltz
Laura Veltz is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter and musician. She previously was the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of family pop-rock group Cecilia. She was nominated for the first ever Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year at the 65 ...
, and it was produced by
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...
. "The Bones" was released digitally as a
promotional single
A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...
on February 22, 2019, and was later 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 May 20, 2019, as the album's second single.
The song became a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...
, peaking at number 12 on 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 ...
chart in 2020. The song ended up being the second-biggest country song of 2020 in the US. It is certified four-times platinum in the US.
[
The song was nominated at the ]63rd Grammy Awards
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...
for Best Country Song
The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter.
There ha ...
, earning Morris her twelfth nomination. The single won two Country Music Association
The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
awards (one for single of the year 2020 and one for song of the year 2020) and one Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...
award (for song of the year 2021).
Critical reception
Jason Fontelieu praised the songwriting behind "The Bones" and in a review of its parent album wrote that "despite a clumsy midsection, ''Girl'' finishes strong with "The Bones" near the end of the album." Mike Wass of ''Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
'' wrote that the harmonies in the Hozier remix "elevates he song
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
to a rawer, more emotional place." 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 ...
'' called the song "a soulful pop anthem with a hint of country thrown in for good measure."
Commercial performance
"The Bones" debuted at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' 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 dated March 9, 2019, and later debuted at number 57 on the ''Billboard'' 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 dated August 31, 2019 after its release to country radio. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart dated February 15, 2020, becoming Morris's fourth number one single on the chart and the first solo song by a female country artist to reach the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Radio Songs chart since Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's "You Belong with Me
"You Belong with Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her second studio album ''Fearless (Taylor Swift album), Fearless'' (2008). Swift wrote the song with Liz Rose and produced it with Nathan Chapman (record prod ...
". It spent a second week at the top, not only giving Morris her first multi-week number one single, but also making her the first solo female artist to chart a multi-week number one since Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...
's " Blown Away" spent two weeks at the top in late 2012. It reached number one in its 53rd week on the Hot Country Songs chart dated March 14, 2020, becoming the singer's first song to top that chart, as well as making for the second slowest climb to number one on that chart. Furthermore, it made Morris the first solo female artist to top that chart since Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American country pop singer. She began songwriting as a child and signed with Black River Entertainment in 2014, releasing her debut studio album the following year, '' The First Time''. ...
's "Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
" in October 2016. On the chart dated May 23, 2020, it charted its 11th week at number one, passing Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fourth studio album, ''Red'' (2012). It was released for digital download and to U.S. pop radio as the lead single from ''Red'' on Aug ...
", which spent 10 weeks at number one in October 2012, as the longest-lasting number one by a solo female on that chart. It ultimately spent 19 weeks at number one before being replaced by Gabby Barrett
Gabby Barrett Foehner (born March 5, 2000) is an American country music singer. She finished third on the 16th season of ''American Idol''. Her debut single " I Hope" was the first top 10 Hot Country Songs debut by an unaccompanied woman sinc ...
's " I Hope", making it the first time since 2011 that two back-to-back solo women topped the Hot Country Songs chart. The song has crossed over
''Crossed Over'' is a 2002 Canadian television film directed by Bobby Roth, and starring Diane Keaton as Beverly Lowry and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Karla Faye Tucker. It is based on Lowry's memoir ''Crossed Over: A Murder, A Memoir''.
Cast
*Dia ...
to pop and rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
radio, becoming Morris's first single to appear on the Adult Alternative Songs
Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...
chart, where it has peaked at number 17. It has become Morris's highest charting solo song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 so far, peaking at number 12.
Despite not reaching the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "The Bones" placed at number 9 on the year-end list for 2020. This is the first time that a song had not reached the top 10 of the Hot 100 but instead reached the top 10 of the year-end list since "I Don't Want to Wait
"I Don't Want to Wait" is a song written, recorded, and produced by American singer-songwriter Paula Cole. Cole wrote the song in mid-1996 and released it as second single from her second studio album, '' This Fire'' (1996), on October 14, 1997 ...
" by Paula Cole
Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, ''Harbinger (Paula Cole album), Harbing ...
in 1998.
"The Bones" was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 17, 2019, for 500,000 units in combined sales and streams. The song has sold 195,000 copies in the United States as of March 2020. The song has also been certified 7× Platinum by Music Canada
Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...
as of July 2022. "The Bones" charted for 52 weeks on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as of the issue dated September 26, 2020, becoming the 74th song to spent at least 52 weeks on the chart.
Music video
The music video for "The Bones" premiered on August 15, 2019. It was directed by Alex Ferrari and shows footage of Morris while on vacation in Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
, Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
with her husband, 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 Ch ...
, all shot on vintage Super 8 film.
A video for the remix premiered on October 23 and features a time lapse
Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...
of artist Sydney Clawson drawing both artists on canvas.
Awards and nominations
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
* List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2020
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bones
2019 songs
2019 singles
Maren Morris songs
Columbia Nashville Records singles
Songs written by Jimmy Robbins
Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin
Songs written by Laura Veltz
Songs written by Maren Morris