"Burning House" is a song by American country music singer Cam. It is the second single from her debut album Untamed, and it has reached the top 5 on Country Airplay. Cam wrote the song with Tyler Johnson and Jeff Bhasker.
History and content
According to Billboard, the idea for the song came when Cam learned that an ex-boyfriend of her would be at a party that she was attending, and that night, she had a dream that she was trying to rescue him from a burning house. She recounted the dream to producer Tyler Johnson via Skype, and he offered a guitar riff inspired by Metallica’s "Nothing Else Matters" while she came up with "two off-the-cuff opening lines that alternate between standard 4/4 time and 3/4 bars".[3] When they recorded the song with producer Jeff Bhasker, Johnson played acoustic guitar on the recording, with a few notes spliced in from Cam's guitarist, Doug Showalter, due to Johnson having difficulty playing the last four notes of the riff. The song also features a piano, muted bass and drums, and a small string section arranged by Hamilton Ulmer.[3]
Reception
Critical
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country praised Cam’s voice and the musical arrangement, saying “The newcomer’s performance is stark and personal. Her production team does a great job of not getting in the way.” He also said that “Cam is the one who wronged her man, not vice-versa. The other way around is an over-told story, but there’s nothing unoriginal” about "Burning House".[4]
Billboard ranked "Burning House" at number 24 on its year-end list for 2015: "In one four-minute track, Cam manages to pack in frustration, despair, anguish, and torment. But what makes it beautiful is the wounded vocal melody set against gentle guitar strumming and understated strings. This is the rare quiet breakout hit of 2015."[5]
Commercial
The song was released after Cam performed it twice on the Bobby Bones Show, and the song entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 43 on the song release (chart date June 27, 2015), selling 13,000 copies.[6] It debuted at number 48 on the Country Airplay chart dated for July 11, 2015.[3] It then entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 94 on the chart date of August 1, 2015. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on October 14, 2015, and Platinum on December 16, 2015.[7] The song has sold 950,000 copies in the US as of February 2016.[8]
Music video
The music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy and premiered in October 2015.[9]
Personnel
From Untamed liner notes.[2]
- Musical
- Jeff Bhasker - piano, background vocals
- Connie Ellisor - violin
- Carl Gorodetzky - string contractor
- Jim Grosjean - violin
- Tyler Johnson - acoustic guitar, background vocals
- Tony Lucido - bass guitar
- Anders Mouridsen - electric guitar
- Cam (as Camaron Ochs) - lead vocals, background vocals
- Carole Rabinowitz - cello
- Douglas Charles Showalter - acoustic guitar
- Hamilton Ulmer - string arrangements
- Technical
- Jeff Bhasker - production
- Jon Castelli - mixing
- Tyler Johnson - production, engineering
- Lindsey Marias - vocal production
- Melissa Mattey - string engineering
- Ryan Nasci - mixing engineer
- Ernesto Olivera - engineering
- Alex Salibian - engineering
Chart and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
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References
- ↑ "Burning House". Roughstock. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- 1 2 Untamed (CD insert). Cam. Arista Nashville/RCA. 2015. 88875-07049-2.
- 1 2 3 Roland, Tom (15 July 2015). "Country Singer Cam Dreams Up a Smoldering Ballad With 'Burning House'". Billboard. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Dukes, Billy (17 June 2015). "ToC Critic’s Pick: Cam, ‘Burning House’ [Listen]". Taste of Country. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "Billboard 25 Best Songs of 2015: Critics' Picks". Billboard.com.
- ↑ Matt Bjorke (June 17, 2015). "Country Music's Top 30 Digital Singles: Week of June 17, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure given here
- 1 2 "American single certifications – Cam – Burning House". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- 1 2 Bjorke, Matt (February 8, 2015). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Chart: February 8, 2016". Roughstock.
- ↑ Schillaci, Sophie (October 14, 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: Cam Literally Burns a House to the Ground in Stunning 'Burning House'. It begins with Cam standing outside of the burning house and which she decided to step inside where she looks around and there she sees a group of people while her boyfriend is standing right in front of her. Then, she walks up the stairs into a bedroom where Cam sees her boyfriend from earlier and hugs him ending the video with the look at the burning house. Video". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Cam – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Cam.
- ↑ "Cam – Chart history" Billboard Canada Country for Cam.
- ↑ "Cam – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Cam.
- ↑ "Cam – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Cam.
- ↑ "Cam – Chart history" Billboard Country Airplay for Cam.
- ↑ "Cam – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Cam.
- ↑ "Best of 2015: Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Best of 2015: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
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