Something Worth Leaving Behind

Something Worth Leaving Behind
Studio album by Lee Ann Womack
Released	August 20, 2002
Recorded	2001
Studio	Sound Kitchen Studios House of Gain Studios Javelina Studios (Nashville, TN) Ocean Way Nashville Conway Recording Studios Westlake Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA) Hook Studios (North Hollywood, LA)
Genre	Country pop[1][2]
Length	57:36
Label	MCA Nashville
Producer	Lee Ann Womack Mark Wright Frank Liddell Mike McCarthy Matt Serletic
Lee Ann Womack chronology
I Hope You Dance (2000) Something Worth Leaving Behind (2002) The Season for Romance (2002)
Singles from Something Worth Leaving Behind
"Something Worth Leaving Behind" Released: May 20, 2002 "Forever Everyday" Released: October 14, 2002

Something Worth Leaving Behind is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Lee Ann Womack. It was released on August 20, 2002, by MCA Nashville; the UK version was co-released on Island Records.^[3]

After the huge crossover success of her 2000 song "I Hope You Dance", which became her only number one single on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, Womack decided to pivot to a more contemporary country sound, which was unlike her previous albums that were more in line with traditional country and of which garnered the singer critical acclaim and comparisons to legends like Loretta Lynn. Recording took place in studios around Nashville and Hollywood. It is Womack's first album to not have any songs co-written or written by her. Womack worked with producers Mark Wright, Frank Liddell, Mike McCarthy, and Matt Serletic.

Upon its release, Something Worth Leaving Behind received primarily mixed to negative reviews from music critics, with the attempt of a crossover album being negatively noted and the music being criticized for not being up to par with her previous albums. Although it debuted at number two on the Top Country Albums chart and number 16 on the Billboard 200, it quickly fell off both charts due to the poor success of both of its singles. As of March 7, 2005, the album has sold 300,000 copies in the United States, a commercial failure compared to the three-million Womack's previous album I Hope You Dance (2000) sold.^[4]

The title cut "Something Worth Leaving Behind" was released as the lead single on May 20, 2002. Despite a promising debut at number 54, it only peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, marking her lowest peaking lead single since her debut single "Never Again, Again" (1997) reached number 23. The second and final single, "Forever Everyday", peaked at number 37, becoming her lowest-charting single since "Don't Tell Me" (1999) reached number 56. With that, Something Worth Leaving Behind became Womack's first album to not have any top ten hits on the country charts. When speaking of the album in a retrospective interview in 2005, Womack said verbatim that the album was a misstep in terms of a career move and that she regretted it.