What I Cannot Change
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"What I Cannot Change" is a song written by Darrell Brown, and co-written and 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
LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...
. The song was released to country radio in August 2008 as the third and final single from her ninth studio album, ''
Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
'' (2007). The song was later supported by a set of
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
remixes, released in November 2008. When the song reached number one on the
Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart, Rimes became the first country artist to attain a number one single on both that chart and the
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. "What I Cannot Change" was praised by critics for Rimes's restrained vocal performance, however the song failed to enter the country charts following its release. The single received a nomination for
Best Female Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female *In 1 ...
at the
2009 Grammy Awards The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...
, her second consecutive nomination in the category. The song inspired Rimes to release a book of the same name and launch a "What I Cannot Change" website where fans could share stories of moments where they came to terms with what they could or could not change in their life.


Content

"What I Cannot Change" is a
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, revealing examination of love relationships and choosing acceptance instead of conflict. The song's chorus is a play on the first line of the
Serenity Prayer The Serenity Prayer is a prayer attributed to the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) in 1943. However, Winnifred Crane Wygal wrote an early version in the Santa Cruz Sentinel of March 15, 1933, as noted in the above cited research ...
. According to the digital sheet music published by Hal Leonard Music Publishing, the song was composed in the key of
G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...
and set to a "slow" tempo of 72 BPM. Rimes's vocals in the song range from a low note of G to a high note of D.


Critical reception

Writing for ''
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 ...
'', Deborah Evans Price called the song a "gorgeous ballad" on which Rimes has never sounded "more emotionally riveting or vulnerable," resulting in her "finest performance ever." ''Country Universe'' also praised "What I Cannot Change," calling the ballad, "the finest single of LeAnn Rimes' career." Reviewer Kevin Coyne praised the singer's "nuance," using "all of the shades of her voice to communicate the complicated mess of emotions that she is feeling." ''The 9513'' also reviewed the single and praised Rimes's vocal performance, calling her vocals, "a tremendously sensitive vocal performance that is easily one of the most nuanced of Rimes’ career." In a review of ''Family'', Jonathan Keefe of ''
Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...
'' praised the "lovely" song as "the most subtle, understated performance of her career." Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' ranked "What I Cannot Change" as the fourth-best country single of 2008 and expressed disappointment at the song's lack of chart success. "No song she's recorded has quite matched this single," writes Bjorke, calling it, "a mature single from a mature album by a mature artist."


Chart performance

"What I Cannot Change" failed to enter 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 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 after being released to radio in August 2008. A few months later, however, the song was given several electronic dance music
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
es and debuted on the ''Billboard''
Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart in late 2008. "What I Can't Change" reached #1 on the chart dated February 28, 2009. With this song, Rimes became the first country music artist to have topped both the ''Billboard'' country chart and the ''Billboard'' dance chart, surpassing
Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...
's previous record-best peak of two on the Dance Club Play chart with her cover of
The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
' "
You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge ...
".


Usage in media

The song was used in the 2010 release of the film, ''
Like Dandelion Dust ''Like Dandelion Dust'' is a 2009 drama film directed by Jon Gunn and based on the novel by the same name by Karen Kingsbury. The film won 26 awards at 23 film festivals. Plot Two police officers knock on the door of a home and a drunk man answe ...
''.


Track listings

Remixes EP # What I Cannot Change /nowiki>Kaskade_Radio_Mix.html" ;"title="Kaskade.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Kaskade">/nowiki>Kaskade Radio Mix">Kaskade.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Kaskade">/nowiki>Kaskade Radio Mix– 3:41 # What I Cannot Change [Jody Den Broeder Radio Mix] – 4:43 # What I Cannot Change [Scotty K Radio Mix] – 4:19 # What I Cannot Change [Bronleewe & Bose Radio Mix] – 4:01 # Good Friend And A Glass Of Wine [Wideboys Electro Radio Mix] – 3:33 # Good Friend And A Glass Of Wine oul Seekerz Radio Mix– 3:32 # Headphones lmighty Radio Mix– 3:37 Extended Mixes EP # What I Cannot Change askade Extended Mix– 5:08 # What I Cannot Change ody den Broeder Extended Mix– 8:03 # What I Cannot Change cotty K Klub Mix– 8:12 # What I Cannot Change ronleewe & Bose Extended Mix– 6:25 # Good Friend And A Glass Of Wine ideboys Electro Mix– 5:49 # Good Friend And A Glass Of Wine oul Seekerz Extended Mix– 8:54 # Headphones lmighty Extended Mix– 8:01 What I Cannot Change Exclusive CD Released with the book of the same name by LeAnn Rimes and Darrell Brown # What I Cannot Change – 4:34 # Spoken Words – 23:17 Promo CD single # What I Cannot Change – 3:40


Charts


Weekly charts


Year end charts


Release history


References

{{LeAnn Rimes singles 2008 singles LeAnn Rimes songs Curb Records singles Songs written by Darrell Brown (musician) Songs written by LeAnn Rimes 2008 songs