"What If I Do" is a song written by

David Malloy David Ernest Malloy is an American country music and pop songwriter, record producer and A&R executive with 41 number one hits. He had received multiple Grammy nominations, as writer and/or producer, and has worked with many artists and proj ...

Ed Hill Edward Monroe Hill (born in Hanford, California) is an American country music songwriter. Hill has been active since the early 1970s. Hill plays piano and keyboard and has backed Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson.

and

Mark D. Sanders Mark Daniel Sanders (born September 7, 1950) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 No. 1 hits, 50 singles, and over 200 cuts, including the famous Lee Ann Womack single "I Hope You Dance", co-written with Tia Sillers. Earl ...

, and 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, ...

artist

Mindy McCready Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's '' Ten Thousand Angels'', w ...

. It was released on October 3, 1997 as the first single from Mindy's gold-selling second album ''

If I Don't Stay the Night ''If I Don't Stay the Night'' is the second studio album from American country singer Mindy McCready. The album was released on November 4, 1997 via BNA Records. The album peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums chart and featu ...

''. The song reached number 26 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 ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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.

Content

The song is in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

with a moderate tempo and a vocal range of A3-D5. In it, the female narrator questions whether or not to pursue a further relationship with her date.

Critical reception

Dan Milliken of the blog Country Universe wrote that "McCready gives a fantastically entertaining performance, speak-singing her lines with a bold campiness that most other gals wouldn’t dare."

Chart performance

"What If I Do" debuted at number 59 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of September 20, 1997.

References

1997 singles Mindy McCready songs Songs written by David Malloy Songs written by Mark D. Sanders Song recordings produced by David Malloy BNA Records singles Songs written by Ed Hill 1997 songs {{1997-country-song-stub