"I Melt" is a song written by

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console label ...

Wendell Mobley Wendell Lee Mobley (born in Celina, Ohio) is an American country music songwriter. He has written No. 1 hits for Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney. He began playing in local bands before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, where he found a job playing ...

, and

Neil Thrasher Joe Neil Thrasher Jr. (born July 13, 1965) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records in 1996 and charted two ...

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, ...

group

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

. It was released in July 2003 as the third single from the band’s 2002 album '' Melt''. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. ''

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 adverti ...

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 sa ...

chart, staying at that position for three weeks behind

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 19 ...

’s "

I Love This Bar "I Love This Bar" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in August 2003 as the first single from his 2003 album ''Shock'n Y'all''. The song reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot C ...

". This was the group’s seventh entry on that chart.

Content

Gary LeVox said of the song, "That was truly enjoyable to write. Neil and Wendell had the melody idea and a chorus idea, and they called me in and we finished it that day. It’s a sexy tune. I think a lot of women would like to hear a man say they don’t have to do anything special to make him melt."

Critical reception

Rick Cohoon of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

gave the song a positive review. He stated in his review that "

delivers a sultry, passionate performance backed up by some of the best harmony in Nashville."

Music video and controversy

The music video for "I Melt" was filmed in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

by directors Robert Deaton and George Flanigan.Rascal Flatts Discuss Their Racy Video
/ref> It made headlines in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' for a shot featuring guitarist

Joe Don Rooney Joe Don Rooney (born September 13, 1975 in Baxter Springs, KS) is an American musician. From 1999 to 2021, he was the lead guitarist and high octave harmony singer in the American country pop trio Rascal Flatts. In addition to the Electric guita ...

's bare buttocks, and model Christina Auria taking a shower in the nude. When it debuted on CMT on June 28, 2003, it became the first video showing nudity to air on the network.Rascal Flatts - Saucy Country Video Creates A Storm Of Controversy
/ref>

Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

, on the other hand, banned the video when the group refused to release an edited version.

Chart performance

"I Melt" debuted at number 54 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of July 12, 2003.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2003 singles 2002 songs Rascal Flatts songs Songs written by Neil Thrasher Country ballads Songs written by Wendell Mobley Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer) Lyric Street Records singles Songs written by Gary LeVox Obscenity controversies in music