"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 for the movie ''

Country Strong ''Country Strong'' is a 2010 American drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to resurrect her career, was directed and written ...

'' in which Paltrow stars.

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

and

Patty Griffin Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...

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

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

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

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

radio on August 23, 2010, and has reached the Top 30 of the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. It has also been made into a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, 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 ''Crazy Heart'' is a 2009 American drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper, in his feature directorial debut. Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb, the film centers on a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter ( ...

'', 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