"Low" is a song written by Morgane Hayes, Stephanie Lewis and Shane Stevens. It was first 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

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs ch ...

. It was released as a

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 2008 via

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

and issued on the soundtrack for the film, '' Billy: The Early Years.'' The song became a minor 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 chart and received positive reviews.

Background

In a 2008 interview, Sara Evans explained her reasoning for recording "Low": "Any time you're creating music, you don't want to record the same song over and over again. You want something your fans never heard. And I never to get stale." Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' described "Low" as a song about perseverance that featured mixtures of country and bluegrass instrumentation. The song was originally composed by country music songwriters Morgane Hayes, Stephanie Lewis and Shane Stevens. "Low" was produced by Victoria Shaw and

Paul Worley Paul Worley (born February 16, 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Rec ...

Critical reception

"Low" received positive reviews from critics and writers following its release. Jared Johnson of

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 ...

highlighted the song as an "album pick" in his review of its corresponding album, ''Billy: The Early Years.'' Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' praised its acoustic instrumentation and traditional style, calling it "a wonderful surprise." He also found the song's lyrics to be strong. He concluded by stating: "Evans deserves to reclaim her status as an A-list country star with this. In a career that's been full of distinctive and memorable singles, this is one of the best." ''Country Standard Times Dan MacIntosh called Evans' song, "a passionate lyric to sink her teeth into." Russ Breimeier of ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

'' described the track as "pleasant" and "modern" in his review of the album it was released on.

Release and music video

"Low" was released as a single in September 2008 to country radio via

. It was released 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 ...

. In conjunction with its release, it was announced that "Low" would be issued as the first single in promotion of the soundtrack for the film, '' Billy: The Early Years.'' The film was based on the life of

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

. To help promote the single, Evans and country artist

Josh Turner Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country and gospel singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to MCA Nashville Records. That same year, his debut album's title track, "Long Black Train", was his breakthrough single ...

attended the world premiere of the film in October 2008. "Low" appeared 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 for two weeks in October 2008 before peaking at number 59 that same month. "Low" was Evans' first single since 2004 to peak outside of the ''Billboard'' country top 40. In October 2008, the official

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

was released, which included the single. Following its release, 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 single was issued directed by

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the sports films '' One on One'' (1977) and '' Ice Castles'' (1978). He subsequently ...

and Roger Pistole.

Track listing

CD single * "Low" – 3:07

Charts

References

{{authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs RCA Records singles Sara Evans songs Song recordings produced by Paul Worley Songs written by Shane Stevens (songwriter)