"Mississippi Girl"
Single by Faith Hill
from the album Fireflies
ReleasedMay 28, 2005
RecordedJuly 31, 2004[1]
GenreCountry
Length3:52
LabelWarner Bros. Nashville
Songwriter(s)John Rich, Adam Shoenfeld
Producer(s)Byron Gallimore, Dann Huff, Faith Hill
Faith Hill singles chronology
"Baby You Belong"
(2003)		 "Mississippi Girl"
(2005)		 "Like We Never Loved at All"
(2005)

"Mississippi Girl" is a song written by John Rich and Adam Shoenfeld and recorded by American country music singer Faith Hill. Hill co-produced the song with Byron Gallimore and Dann Huff. It was released on May 28, 2005 as the lead single from her sixth studio album Fireflies (2005). Lyrically the song speaks that despite becoming famous, Hill hasn't forgotten about her roots and that a "Mississippi girl" doesn't change her ways just because everyone knows her name.

Noted as a highlight among the album, the song became a big success for her. The song marked her ninth and to date, final number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart and was her first number one since "The Way You Love Me" in 2000. It spent two weeks atop the top. It also peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Content

Written specifically for the Star, Mississippi-bred singer by John Rich (of Big & Rich) and fellow MuzikMafia member Adam Shoenfeld, the uptempo tune was anticipated within the industry[2] and spearheaded Hill's post-Cry "country comeback"[3] by insisting that she had not forgotten her roots:

'Cause a Mississippi girl don't change her ways
Just 'cause everybody knows her name.
Ain't big-headed from a little bit of fame ...

The song also references Hill's forays into acting, in an episode of Touched By An Angel and the 2004 film The Stepford Wives.

"Mississippi Girl" was considered identical in purpose and theme to singer Jennifer Lopez' 2002 hit "Jenny from the Block", a fact noted by a number of commentators at the time.[3][4][5]

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 27 on the Hot Country Songs chart on May 28, 2005, which was at the time the second highest debut on the chart by a female artist, only behind the number 24 debut of Shania Twain's 2002 single "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!". The single later rose to number 19 the next week on June 4. It rose to the top ten in its fourth week when it rose to number nine. The single kept steady in the top ten before entering the top five at number four on July 23, 2005. On September 3, "Mississippi Girl" rose to the top spot, spending two weeks atop the chart. The song became Hill's ninth and, to date, final number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart and her first since "The Way You Love Me" in 2000. It spent twenty weeks on the chart.

"Mississippi Girl" made its debut on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 on June 11, 2005 at number 85, becoming her first entry since "Cry" (2002). The song rose up to number 56 on June 18. It rose steadily before reaching its peak position of number 29 on August 27, becoming Hill's highest-charting single since her 2001 single "There You'll Be" peaked at number ten. "Mississippi Girl" overall spent twenty weeks on the chart.

"Mississippi Girl" made its debut on the now-defunct Pop 100 on June 18, 2005 at number 68, the second highest debut of the week and Hill's first entry on the chart. It rose to number 54 the next week. It reached its peak of number 51 on August 20, 2005.

"Mississippi Girl" made its debut on the Canada Country Top 30 chart by Radio & Records on May 27, 2005 at number 13. It rose to the top ten in its second week on June 3 at number eight. It topped the chart on August 5, spending three weeks at the top.

"Mississippi Girl" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance but did not win; however it did win the SESAC Country Song of the Year award for its two writers.[6]

Slant Magazine said the song had the "stench of desperation" about it, with "southern-fried production [meant to] ape shamelessly the things that the women who supplanted her at the top of Nashville's pecking order have been doing."[7]

Mississippi Girl was also the 500 millionth song download via the iTunes Store.[8]

Music video

There is also a music video for the song, directed by Wayne Isham. In It, Hill and her band are seen performing the song in concert (filmed at a concert in July 2005 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY), intercut with shots of Hill walking around rural settings in a white dress as CGI butterflies flutter about. The video received a CMT Awards nomination.[9] At the beginning of the video, it shows Hill diving into the water from a wooden bridge in a long white dress.

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes.[1]

  • Bruce Bouton — steel guitar
  • Bekka Bramlett — background vocals
  • Tom Bukovac — electric guitar
  • Paul Bushnell — bass guitar
  • Perry Coleman — background vocals
  • Eric Darken — percussion
  • Dan Dugmore — steel guitar
  • Dann Huff — electric guitar
  • Tim Lauer — accordion
  • Chris McHugh — drums
  • Jimmy Nichols — keyboards
  • Darrell Scott — mandolin

Chart performance

References

  1. 1 2 Fireflies (CD booklet). Faith Hill. Nashville, Tennessee: Warner Bros. Records Nashville. 2005. 48794-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ↑ "USA TODAY's Nashville reporter: Brian Mansfield", USA Today, May 24, 2005. Accessed June 23, 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Faith Hill: Fireflies", Stylus Magazine, August 29, 2005. Accessed June 23, 2007.
  4. ↑ "CNN.com - Transcripts". CNN.
  5. ↑ BBC - Folk and Country Review - Faith Hill, Fireflies
  6. ↑ CMT.com : Kenny Chesney : "Mississippi Girl," Carusoe, Carnival Music Win Top SESAC Honors
  7. ↑ "Faith Hill: Firefiles", Slant Magazine, 2005. Accessed June 19, 2007.
  8. ↑ "iTunes Music Store Downloads Top Half a Billion Songs". Apple Inc. 2005-07-18. Archived from the original on 2006-02-02. Retrieved 2006-02-17.
  9. ↑ Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert each land 3 CMT Awards noms - Reality TV World - News, information, episode summaries, message boards, chat and games for unscripted television programs
  10. ↑ "Faith Hill Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  11. ↑ "Faith Hill Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  12. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 2005". billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Best of 2005: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2005. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.