Need You Now (Lady Antebellum song)

"Need You Now"
US single cover
Single by Lady Antebellum
from the album Need You Now
ReleasedAugust 11, 2009 (2009-08-11)
GenreCountry
Length
  • 4:37 (album version)
  • 3:56 (single version)
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Lady Antebellum singles chronology
"I Run to You"
(2009) 		"Need You Now"
(2009) 		"American Honey"
(2010)
Alternative cover
International single cover
Music video
"Lady Antebellum - Need You Now" on YouTube

"Need You Now" is a song recorded by American country music trio Lady A (known at the time as "Lady Antebellum"). The band co-wrote the song with Josh Kear, and produced it with Paul Worley. It serves as the lead-off single and title track to their second studio album of the same name, and was first released in the US on August 11, 2009, and it features lead vocals from both Scott and Kelley.[1][2] The song also served as their debut single in the UK and Europe, where it was released May 3, 2010. It won four Grammy Awards in 2011, including for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, the only country song to win both honors since "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Chicks (known at the time as the “Dixie Chicks”) won in 2006.

The song spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in late 2009.[3][4] Thereafter, "Need You Now" crossed over onto various pop and adult contemporary music charts, becoming a top five hit in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, as well as a top ten hit in the Netherlands and Norway. The song won Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards,[5] as well as Group Video of the Year at the 2010 CMT Music Awards.[6] For the chart week of November 30, 2010, the song became the group's highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 2,[7] the best position for a country song by a band on that chart since Lonestar's "Amazed" topped the tally at the beginning of the decade.[8] The single has been certified 11× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[9] It's the band's only song to crack the Billboard Decade End, doing so at number 68.[10]

A music video was shot for the song, directed by Dave McClister. In the video the song has an extended piano intro, and features all members of the group acting out scenes related to the storyline.[11] The song was initially released only to the country radio format in the United States and Canada on August 24, 2009,[1] but was remixed and re-released to all other formats domestically and internationally at the beginning of 2010. The song gained prominence internationally, in Europe and South America. The trio re-recorded the song again in Simlish to accompany the release of the Sims 3 expansion pack Ambitions.[12] By April 17, 2011, the song became the ninth most downloaded song in history, moving five million copies, and surpassed Taylor Swift's "Love Story" as the most downloaded country song in history.[13][14] It has since sold over 6 million copies in the US.[15]

The song was used in television series such as Hellcats and The Glades. "Need You Now" has also been covered by several artists, including Adele with Darius Rucker, Boyce Avenue and Glee Cast. "Weird Al" Yankovic included the chorus in "Polka Face", the polka medley from his 2011 album Alpocalypse.

  1. ^ a b ""Need You Now" US release date". Archived from the original on September 21, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  2. ^ "Need You Now – Single by Lady Antebellum". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on November 19, 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  3. ^ "Country top 10 for chart week of November 28, 2009". Billboard.com. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  4. ^ "Country top 10 for chart week of December 26, 2009". Billboard.com. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  5. ^ "Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood Reign at ACM Awards". CMT.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  6. ^ "2010 CMT Music Awards : Nominees". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  7. ^ "Hot 100 top 10 for chart week of March 30, 2010". Billboard.com. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  8. ^ "Hot 100 top 10 for chart week of March 4, 2000". Billboard.com. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  9. ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - February 12, 2010: Lady Antebellum certified singles". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 12, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  11. ^ "Music video of "Need You Now"". CMT.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  12. ^ "Lady Antebellum records "Need You Now" in Simlish". Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  13. ^ Grein, Paul (April 7, 2011). "Chart Watch Extra: Lady A Makes Country History". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  14. ^ Grein, Paul (April 20, 2011). "Week Ending April 17, 2011. Songs: Youth Will Be Served". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  15. ^ Paul Grein (January 4, 2013). "Week Ending Dec. 30, 2012. Songs: Taylor Knew Bruno Was Trouble". Chart Watch. Yahoo Music. Retrieved January 5, 2013.