"Where Are You Now" is a song written by

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Kim Richey Kimberly Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Career Kim Richey came onto the music scene in the 1990s and entered her first recording contract at the age of 37. Kim signed with Mercury Nashville. She spent the n ...

. It was originally recorded by American

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 the ...

artist

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

for her 2000 studio album, ''

Real Live Woman ''Real Live Woman'' is the eighth studio album by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood, released on March 28, 2000. The album reached #4 on the ''Billboard'' country albums chart. It produced a #16 hit on the ''Billboard'' country mus ...

.'' It was released as the album's second

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 ...

in 2000 via

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. That year, the song became a charting hit 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 ...

'' country songs survey.

Background and content

"Where Are You Now" was written by country artist Mary Chapin Carpenter and songwriter Kim Richey. In 2000, it was described by ''Billboard'' magazine as being a song about the aftermath of a breakup. According to an interview with Kim Richey, the pair composed the song while they were touring on the road together. Richey had previously written Trisha Yearwood's number one single, "

Believe Me Baby (I Lied) "Believe Me Baby (I Lied)" is a song recorded by American country music artist Trisha Yearwood. It was released in July 1996 as the lead single from her album, '' Everybody Knows''. It was Yearwood's fourth single out of five during the course of ...

", in 1996. "Where Are You Now" was recorded in November 1999 at the Sound Emporium, a studio located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. At this same studio, Yearwood also recorded the rest of her ''Real Live Woman'' album. The session was produced by

Garth Fundis Garth Fundis is an American country music record producer. Active since the 1970s, Fundis has produced albums for several country artists, including Alabama, Don Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Sugarland, and Keith Whitley. He has also served as a ju ...

and Yearwood herself. Fundis was her long-time producer on the MCA record label.

Critical reception

Since its release, "Where Are You Now" has received positive reception from writers and critics. ''Billboard'' magazine reviewed the song in June 2000 and inserted it onto their "spotlight" section of their reviews page. Writers praised Yearwood's vocals in their review: "Yearwood's vocal echoes wistful regret but demonstrates the resilience of a woman who might rather be part of a couple but can definitely stand strong on her own."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

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 databas ...

named the song one of his "album picks" when reviewing Yearwood's 2000 album. Mark Jennett of ''Culture Vulture'' also gave the song a positive response, calling it a "rocker" in his review of ''Real Live Woman.''

Release and music video

"Where Are You Now" was released first on Yearwood's 2000 studio album, ''Real Live Woman,'' in March 2000. In May 2000, the song was released as the album's second single via MCA Nashville Records. It was issued as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

containing a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "Some Days." It spent a total of 13 weeks 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 before peaking at number 45 that August. It was Yearwood's third single release to miss the ''Billboard'' country top 40. On the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Songs chart, "Where Are You Now" reached a similar position, peaking at number 42.Peak chart positions for country singles of Trisha Yearwood in Canada: *Singles released from 1991 to 2000 – That year, a

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 ...

of the song was later released. The video was directed by Morgan Lawley, who also directed the video for Yearwood's previous single release. To promote the single, Yearwood performed "Where Are You Now" on the 2000

Country Music Association 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 ...

, along with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Kim Richey. "It was a blast. I remember that night. We had such a great time singing it," Richey recalled of the performance.

Track listing

CD single * "Where Are You Now" – 3:09 * "Some Days" – 3:51

Charts

References

{{Trisha Yearwood singles 2000 songs 2000 singles MCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis Songs written by Mary Chapin Carpenter Songs written by Kim Richey Trisha Yearwood songs