"Riot" is a song written by Jaron Boyer and Sara Haze, and recorded by American

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 ...

group

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

as the third single from their ninth studio album ''

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'' (2014).

Content

The song is a "pleading ballad replete with piano, strings and

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console l ...

's tender tenor and gentle vibrato". In it, the narrator pleads that his lover not leave him, saying that "there would be a riot" should she do so.

Critical reception

Giving it an "A", Tammy Ragusa of ''

Country Weekly ''Country Weekly'' (known as ''Nash Country Weekly'' from 2015–16) was an American magazine about country music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site Nash Country Daily. O ...

'' wrote that "A well-written lyric…gives a simple twist as Gary,

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American musician, vocalist, record producer and songwriter. He is a member of the country music band Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born in Columbus, Ohio. He grad ...

and

Joe Don Rooney Joe Don Rooney (born September 13, 1975) is an American guitarist. He is the lead guitarist and high octave harmony singer in the country music band Rascal Flatts. In addition to the electric guitar, Rooney plays the acoustic and bass guitars, ...

add their full band and harmonies in the verses and soar through the choruses, building to a crescendo that will leave you breathless when it drops back to just Gary's ethereal vocal, piano and strings."

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

also favorably reviewed the song, saying that "Sonically, ‘Riot’ is complex and beautiful, playing to the strengths of each band member perfectly ... The guitar riffs and crescendoing instrumentation create a soaring sound, while the soft cello underneath provides the foundation for a track that will play just as well in intimate acoustic settings as it will in the huge arenas Rascal Flatts play on a regular basis."

Music video

The music video was directed by Brian Lazzaro and premiered in April 2015.

Chart performance

The song has sold 201,000 copies in the US as of August 2015.

Year-end charts

References

{{Rascal Flatts singles 2014 songs 2014 singles Rascal Flatts songs Big Machine Records singles Songs written by Jaron Boyer