"Waiting on You" is a song written and recorded by Canadian

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, songwriter, and guitarist

Lindsay Ell Lindsay Elizabeth Ell (born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian-American country pop singer, songwriter, guitarist and television personality from Calgary, Alberta. Her music incorporates elements of rock and blues. She was signed to the US record labe ...

. It was released May 29, 2017 as Ell's sixth

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 ...

and serves as the lead single for her third studio album, '' The Project'' (2017). Ell co-wrote the song with

Adam Hambrick Adam Hambrick (born April 17, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter who has also written for Dan + Shay ("How Not To"), Justin Moore (" Somebody Else Will"), Eli Young Band, Lindsay Ell ("Waiting on You"), and several other mus ...

and Andrew DeRoberts, while

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 Sugarland produced the track. "Waiting on You" is also included on Ell's debut extended play, '' Worth the Wait'' (2017). The song became Ell's first top five single on the Canadian

country chart 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 ...

Release and promotion

Following a string of successful one-off singles between 2013 and 2016, Ell released her debut extended play, ''Worth the Wait'', in March 2017. "Waiting on You" was selected as the record's lead single and was made available to country radio stations via the digital Play MPE service on May 8, 2017. It officially went for adds at the format in the United States on May 29, 2017. A radio edit of the song was released digitally on March 2, 2018 in promotion of the album's UK physical release. Ell was scheduled to appear on the

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

country station

KNCI KNCI (105.1 FM, "New Country 105.1") is a commercial radio station in Sacramento, California, United States. The station is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International. KNCI carries a country music format, alongside a classic countr ...

on June 16, 2017 as part of a promotional radio tour for the single, but the appearance was cancelled the day before. Through her

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, Ell explained that she had been asked not to attend " of my personal life," referring to her relationship with Bobby Bones, a popular radio personality from a rival station. The controversial decision renewed discussions about the challenges faced by female artists and generated increased interest in the single. Ell appeared on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's lea ...

'' four days later, on June 20, 2017, and performed the song to general acclaim.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

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'' wrote that "everything about this song is looser, more honest and much more compelling than anything Ell had released previously."

Chart performance

"Waiting on You" debuted at number 60 on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart dated July 15, 2017. This earned Ell her fourth entry on the country charts in the United States. The song peaked at number 42 in November 2017, making it her highest-charting single on Country Airplay to date. Follow-up single, " Criminal", would surpass this peak the following month. In October 2017, "Waiting on You" reached number 4 on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart, becoming her highest-peaking single to date in her home country.

Music video

A music video directed by Peter Zavadil premiered July 5, 2017 through CMT.

Charts

References

{{Lindsay Ell 2017 songs 2017 singles BBR Music Group singles Lindsay Ell songs Songs written by Lindsay Ell Songs written by Adam Hambrick