"Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a song written by Brett James, Hillary Lindsey, and Gordie Sampson, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist Carrie Underwood. It was released on October 18, 2005, as the first single from Underwood's debut album '' Some Hearts'' (2005). The ballad tells of a woman seeking help from

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in an emergency and surrendering her control to a higher power. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" became the first of Underwood's record-setting 15 number-one singles 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 advertis ...

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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, spending six weeks at the number one position. The song enjoyed crossover success, peaking at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot Christian Songs chart and charting on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. It also became a top twenty hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" has sold over 2.743 million copies in the United States as of February 2016 and has been certified two-times Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Underwood has performed "Jesus, Take the Wheel" during multiple awards show appearances and has included the song on the set list for all of her headlining concert tours. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" won the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song and it won Single of the Year at the 2005 Academy of Country Music Awards, amongst other nominations at these and other award ceremonies. The song ranked number four on CMT's "40 Greatest Songs of the Decade".

Composition

"Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

song that lasts for three minutes and forty-six seconds. The song is composed in the key of

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

and is set in the

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of 4/4

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

with a moderately slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 76

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. Underwood's vocal range spans over two octaves from F to E. The song was written at co-writer Hillary Lindsey's house and is centered around the premise of what happens "when

takes the wheel," a phrase Gordie Sampson brought to the writing session as a possible title. Lyrically, the song tells the story of a woman who survives a

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

, seemingly as part of a miracle of divine intervention. Personal stories from the writers' pasts influenced details of the song's lyrics. Upon the song's release, some critics questioned the marketability of launching Underwood's career with an overtly faith-based song.

Critical reception

In a review of ''Some Hearts'',

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

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 Mus ...

praised Underwood's delivery of the song, writing that she "sounds equally convincing on such sentimental fare as 'Jesus, Take the Wheel' as on the soaring pop 'Some Hearts. In 2013, Matt Bjorke of ''RoughStock'' ranked "Jesus, Take the Wheel" as the tenth-best song of Underwood's career at that point, writing that that song "show dthe strength of her voice through complex vocal runs and tender verse readings." On a similar ranking in 2017, Chuck Dauphin of ''

'' placed the song as Underwood's fourth-best song to date. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song as Underwood's eighth-best, based on a reader-voted poll, in 2015 and wrote that "as Underwood's vocals soared into the stratosphere during the track's final chorus, so did her career."

Charts performance

"Jesus, Take the Wheel" debuted at number 39 on the ''

chart and eventually hit number one in January 2006, becoming the first of Underwood's record-setting 15 number-ones. The song spent six weeks atop the chart, the longest-running number one debut single since Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems was initiated in 1990 (this record would later be broken in 2024 when Shaboozey's

A Bar Song (Tipsy) "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" is a song by American country musician Shaboozey. The song was released April 12, 2024, as the fourth single from his third album '' Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going''. "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" tied " Old Town Road" by Lil ...

reached seven weeks at number one on

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

). Jesus, Take the Wheel additionally peaked at number four on the Hot Christian Songs chart and at number 23 on the

chart. This crossover airplay helped the song reach the upper tier of the all-genre ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, where it reached a peak position of 20. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" also hit number one of the Canadian country airplay chart compiled by ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

''. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" has been certified two-times Platinum in the United States as of August 2015. The Mastertone of the song was also certified Platinum in July 2008, making Underwood the first country artist to have two songs reach this milestone (after " Before He Cheats"). As of February 2016, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" has sold 2,473,000 copies in the United States. In 2007, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was certified Gold by

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

Live performances

Underwood gave her debut performance of the song at the 2005

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 ...

. On May 23, 2006, she again sang it at the 41st annual

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy ...

, where she won the Single of the Year Award for the song. ''Billboard'' described the latter performance as "captivating". In April 2006, she sang it on the CMT Awards, where "Jesus, Take the Wheel" won two major awards: Breakthrough Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year. Underwood performed the song during her debut tour: Carrie Underwood: Live in Concert, and has subsequently performed the track in all of her tours as well as during her sets at the CMA Music Festival,

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

, C2C: Country to Country and

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

festivals.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was Underwood's first and was directed by Roman White. It features her singing in various backgrounds such as a living room, through shelves, standing by a wall, and sitting in a chair. A woman, a young couple, and an older couple are all shown through the video trying to ease a baby, fighting over bills and making up, and trying to feed his wife respectively. In the music video, which was premiered on CMT on November 24, 2005. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was nominated for Music Video of the Year at the 2006

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

Awards and was ranked No. 64 on CMT's 100 Greatest Videos.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Awards and nominations

Notable covers

*2007: ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' sixth season contestant LaKisha Jones *2009: ''American Idol'' eighth season contestant Danny Gokey *2011:

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

, during ''

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

Girls Night Out'' *2012: ''American Idol'' eleventh season contestant Hollie Cavanagh *2012: Kristin Chenoweth, featured in the '' GCB'' episode "Hell Hath No Fury" and released on its official soundtrack *2013: '' The Voice '' fourth season contestant Danielle Bradbery

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2005 singles 2005 songs Canadian Country Music Association Song of the Year songs Arista Nashville singles Carrie Underwood songs Country ballads Vehicle wreck ballads Music videos directed by Roman White Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer) Songs about Jesus Songs written by Brett James Songs written by Gordie Sampson Songs written by Hillary Lindsey