| "Cowboy Casanova" | ||||||||
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| Single by Carrie Underwood | ||||||||
| from the album Play On | ||||||||
| Released | September 14, 2009 (see release history) |
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| Format | CD single, music download | |||||||
| Genre | Country, country rock[1] | |||||||
| Length | 3:53 (album version) 3:41 (radio edit) |
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| Label | Arista Nashville | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood[2] | |||||||
| Producer | Mark Bright | |||||||
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA) Gold (CRIA) |
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| Carrie Underwood singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Cowboy Casanova" is a country song by American recording artist Carrie Underwood. The song was written by Mike Elizondo, Brett James and co-written by Underwood herself. It was released on September 14, 2009 by Arista Nashville as the lead single from her third studio album, Play On. The song sold 1,697,000 copies making it the 3rd biggest single of her career behind "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats".
The song received positive reviews from critics and became the fastest climbing country single of 2009. It also became Underwood's eighth number one country single in the United States. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 1, 2010. The song gave Underwood the title of solo female artist with most top ten country hits in the 2000s, which is tied with Reba McEntire.
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After the end of her "Carnival Ride Tour", in February 2009, Underwood began writing songs for her new album Play On. She collaborated with a number of producers which included Brett James, one of the three co-writers of her hit single "Jesus, Take the Wheel",[3] and Mike Elizondo, who had collaborated with Eminem and Dr. Dre. Elizondo came up with the main melody of the song, to which James and Underwood set the lyrics.[3] James then suggested the title "Cowboy Casanova" off a list of potential titles that he had, and the lyrics talk about a male character who is a "devil in disguise." In an interview with CMT Underwood said,
An unfinished version of the song leaked online on September 2, 2009 after receiving airplay from KMPS-FM in Seattle. The label then rush-released the official version to Carrie Underwood's YouTube channel on September 3, 2009.[5] It was officially made available for download on September 14, 2009.
"Cowboy Casanova" is a moderately paced country song. It incorporates elements of rock-inspired guitar riffs in the introduction and verses, and also the violin and banjo-esque qualities which travel into the refrain. The song is composed in D minor, set in common time with a tempo of 120 beats per minute.[1] Underwood's vocals span from A3 to D5.[1]
The song has been met with generally favorable reviews. Billboard reviewed the song favorably, stating that it "gives [Underwood] the chance to display the sassy side of her musical persona, which made previous hit "Before He Cheats" such an impact record. Blessed with a versatile set of pipes that make the best of any tune, Underwood shines on this steamy upbeat number".[6] Matt Bjorke of Roughstock also gave a favorable review, saying, "Although the song borrows familiar melodic themes, the production is sparkling; Carrie sings the verses with rapid-fire precision and the hook is just infectious. This may very well be my favorite Carrie Underwood single yet."[7] The 9513 critic Jim Malec gave it a thumbs-down in his review, describing Underwood's voice as "lucid" and "commanding" in comparison to her vocal performances on Carnival Ride, but calling the song's subject matter "dead weight."[8] Kevin Coyne of Country Universe said that on “Cowboy Casanova”, Underwood makes a strong attempt but doesn’t quite pull it off. We’re left with just a decent single that doesn’t feel quite country enough or quite pop enough to make it a keeper, therefore giving her a grade of B-.[9]
"Cowboy Casanova" was released on September 14, 2009 for digital download. The song logged a first week sales of 110,236 copies in downloads. The song also made Underwood the only solo country artist in 2009 to debut a digital single above the 100,000.[10] The song also became the fastest climbing single in Underwood's career and also the fastest-climbing single of 2009 in the country music genre.[11] Additionally, the song gave Underwood the most Top 10 hits on the country chart this decade - ten top ten singles followed by Faith Hill and Martina McBride each with nine.[12]
So far, 1,697,000 copies of "Cowboy Casanova" were sold in the USA.[13]
The music video was filmed on September 2, 2009, in New Orleans, Louisiana.[14] It premiered during CMT's Big New Music Weekend on October 2, 2009.[15]
The video was directed by Theresa Wingert and it features Underwood and an entourage of attractive female dancers all wearing flapper party gowns. She warns the video's audience, as well as her entourage, about smooth-talking attractive men and their true intentions. An attractive man sporting a fancy outfit that consists of an overcoat and a fedora gazes at the scene with interest. The man, a well representation of the song's topic, seemingly has designs on Underwood and as the video progresses the dancers become dressed in revealing clothing, consisting of garters and corsets. Eventually Underwood, along with her empowered entourage, have a showdown with the man in a back-alley and defiantly spurn his advances, leading him to give up and walk away. The video also became Underwood's first choreographed video.[16]
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Cowboy Casanova" | Song of the Year[17] | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Cowboy Casanova"[18] | Video of the Year | Won |
| 2010 | "Cowboy Casanova"[18] | Female Video of the Year | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Cowboy Casanova"[19] | Female Music Video of the Year | Won |
| 2010 | "Cowboy Casanova"[19] | Female Single of the Year | Won |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Cowboy Casanova"[20] | Music Video of the Year | Won |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Cowboy Casanova"[21] | Triple-Play Songwriter (along with "Temporary Home", "Undo It") | Won |
"Cowboy Casanova" debuted at number 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of September 19, 2009. "Cowboy Casanova" was also marked as Underwood's fastest climbing song in the chart, climbing to number 11 only one week after its official release and reaching number one in only ten weeks. The song only took ten weeks to rise to the peak position.[22] The song made its debut on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 96, making a jump to number 11 in its second week. The song became Underwood's eighth number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of November 21, 2009, and her sixth top twenty Hot 100 chart.
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Certifications
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| Preceded by "Toes" by Zac Brown Band |
Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one single November 21, 2009 |
Succeeded by "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum |
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