"I Love You This Big" is the debut and coronation song by American

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, ...

artist and ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' season 10 winner,

Scotty McCreery Scott Cooke McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is an American country music singer. He rose to fame after winning the tenth season of ''American Idol'' on May 25, 2011. His debut studio album, '' Clear as Day'', was released in October 2011 and w ...

. It was written by Brett James,

Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actress. Dean has also written songs for many artists, with numerous Top 10 hits, including No. 1 hits for Rihanna and Katy Perry, earning the name " ...

, Jay "Saint" Smith and Lil' Ronnie Jackson, and was released in May 2011 as the first single from the album '' Clear as Day''. The song was first performed on the ''American Idol'' season 10 finale on May 24, 2011. The single was released to digital retailers after the final result show held on May 25, 2011. This song features backing vocals from Destinee & Paris.

Music video

A video for the song has been released. McCreery explained the video as "This is going to be kind of a nice little chill, summertime barbecue, kind of like a community thing on the Fourth of July." The music video was released on August 9, 2011. The video starts with McCreery and his band getting set up in daylight for a Fourth of July party to take place that night. Later, people begin showing up in groups to the party and setting up to watch the concert. That night McCreery is singing with his band for the concert. Meanwhile, the focus goes to four couples, a blonde, curly-haired girl looking for a guy and then finding him and hug, a blonde girl and a guy holding hands, talking and kissing, a black haired girl running into her guy friend and hugging and a blonde girl and a guy getting food, holding hands and talking. Fireworks go off in the air as McCreery goes into the key change, and the couples switch to watching the fireworks and the concert. McCreery's mother is featured in the video. It was filmed in Los Angeles at Andrews Point.

Composition

The song begins in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

with the final chorus in E major. The video was directed by

Shane Drake Shane C. Drake is an American music video director and producer originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for many artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! a ...

Commercial performance

"I Love You This Big" debuted at number 32 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart, following his win on ''American Idol''. This is the highest debut of any new Country artist since Neilsen’s inception on January 20, 1990. The song sold 171,404 units in its first week. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted and peaked at number 11. It is a top 15 radio hit.Idol Chatter 08-22-2011
/ref> The song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on November 11, 2014. As of February, 2014, the song has sold 915,000 copies.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2011 debut singles 2011 songs Scotty McCreery songs Songs written by Ester Dean Songs written by Brett James Country ballads Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer) Music videos directed by Shane Drake Mercury Nashville singles