"You Won't Be Lonely Now" is a song written by

Brett James Brett James Cornelius (born June 5, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville. James' compositions have been credited on 494 recordings by a wide variety of artists. Signed to Career Records (a ...

and

John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist and songwriter whose songs have sold more than 250 million records worldwide, recorded by some of the most prominent artists of the late twentieth century. His work crosses man ...

, 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 ...

singer

Billy Ray Cyrus William Ray Cyrus ( ; born August 25, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs cha ...

. It was released in May 2000 as the first single from the album ''

Southern Rain ''Southern Rain'' is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus released October 17, 2000. The album sold 14,000 copies in its first week of release and would go on to sell over 160,000 copies. It produced five single ...

''. The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

debuted at number 62 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

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) on July 8, 2000. It was the first of five singles released from the album, as well as the highest-charting single, peaking in the Top 20. "You Won't Be Lonely Now" was Cyrus' last Top 40 country hit until 2007, when "

Ready, Set, Don't Go "Ready, Set, Don't Go" is a country music, country song recorded by American singers Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter, Miley Cyrus. It was released as the lead single from ''Home at Last (Billy Ray Cyrus album), Home at Last'', Billy Ray Cyrus' t ...

" reached number 4.

Critical reception

William Ruhlmann 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 Mus ...

said that the song "properly displayed the artist's sense of determination against adversity, cloaked in the terms of a love song." ''Billboard'' gave the song a rave review, writing that it "could - and should be - the turning point in Cyrus' career that gets him back on the hit track."

Music video

The music video was directed by Jim Shea and premiered in June 2000. It was filmed on

Jekyll Island Jekyll Island is an island located in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-g ...

Chart performance

Year-end charts

Notes

Musician credits

* Drums: Chris McHugh * Bass Guitar: Mike Brignardello * Acoustic Guitar:

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer, studio guitarist, and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004 ...

, Gordon Kennedy * Electric Guitar: Dann Huff, Gordon Kennedy * Steel Guitar: Paul Franklin * Keyboards: Tim Akers, Steve Nathan * Percussion: Eric Darken * Background Vocals: Gene Miller, Vicki Hampton, Lisa Cochran

References

{{Authority control 2000 singles 2000 songs Billy Ray Cyrus songs Songs written by Brett James Songs with lyrics by John Bettis Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Monument Records singles Music videos directed by Jim Shea