"Country Strong" is a song written by Jennifer Hanson, Tony Martin and Mark Nesler. It was recorded by singer Britni Hoover in 2007 for her debut album under the same name. Then it was recorded again by actress

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...

for the movie '' Country Strong'' in which Paltrow stars.

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

and Patty Griffin also provide background vocals for the song. The song is included on the movie's

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

that was released on October 26, 2010. The song was released to

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

radio on August 23, 2010, and has reached the Top 30 of the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. It has also been made into a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, featuring scenes from the film.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, of Country Universe, gave the song a "B−" rating, stating that most country acts now are faking being country. Coyne also stated that "there's nothing substantively different about Paltrow's new single and all of the other 'country and proud of it' songs that are out there. If it was recorded by any other new female singer that didn't have an established public persona, it wouldn't even raise an eyebrow." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song a 3½ star rating, stating the song was the "surprise of the week". Bjorke stated the song may be over-produced but showcased Paltrow's strong voice. While comparing it to " The Weary Kind", a song from the film '' Crazy Heart'', Bjorke said "Country Strong" isn't as compelling or engaging as "The Weary Kind", however, it does have a good chance to be a mainstream hit.

Music video

was filmed for the song. It features scenes from the film as well as a band performance. It was directed by Kristin Barlowe and Christopher Sims.

Chart performance

Awards and nominations

References

{{authority control 2010 singles American country music songs Gwyneth Paltrow songs Songs written by Jennifer Hanson Songs written by Mark Nesler Songs written by Tony Martin (songwriter) RCA Records Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore 2010 songs