"Aw Naw" is a song co-written and recorded 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, o ...

artist Chris Young. It was released in May 2013 as the first single from his fourth studio album, '' A.M.''. The song was written by Young,

Chris DeStefano Christopher Michael DeStefano is a Grammy Award-winning American singer/songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist currently living in Nashville. As a songwriter, he has multiple #1 songs with artists Carrie Underwood ( “Good Girl ...

and

Ashley Gorley Ashley Glenn Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 60 number 1 songs and has over 300 songs recorded by artists including ...

. The song received positive reviews from critics who praised Young's take on bro-country with strong production and tolerable lyrics. "Aw Naw" peaked at numbers three and four on both the U.S. ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

and Hot Country Songs charts respectively. It also charted at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was certified

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by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA). It achieved similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number five on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the wor ...

chart and number 50 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song was certified Platinum by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(CRIA). An accompanying music video for the song, directed by

Chris Hicky Chris Hicky is a writer/director from Forrest City, Arkansas, United States, best known for directing many of Keith Urban's videos. Hicky has also directed videos for many other artists in the country music genre, including Dierks Bentley, Mad ...

, features Young hanging out at a bar behind the beverage door of a convenience store.

Composition

The song is in E

Dorian Dorian may refer to: Ancient Greece * Dorians, one of the main ethnic divisions of ancient Greeks * Doric Greek, or Dorian, the dialect spoken by the Dorians Art and entertainment Films * ''Dorian'' (film), the Canadian title of the 2004 film ' ...

, following a chord pattern of E-G-A.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

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 ...

'' gave the song four and a half stars out of five, writing that "this country-rocker is a progressive, creative and well-written leap forward for the ultra-talented singer." Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' gave the song a favorable review, calling it "a country song that sounds unlike the singer's previous catalog but not so different as to say he's chasing trends." Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a B− grade, saying that it is "a typical 2013 country party song that is easier to tolerate than most of the others because it's sung really well and at least sounds like it's been written and performed by people of legal drinking age." Jon Freeman of ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overvie ...

'' gave the song a C grade, writing that "you’ve heard this particular theme many times before and there’s nothing added to it here, but the earworm chorus is likely to generate spins on your favorite radio station."

Music video

The video was directed by

and premiered in June 2013. It starts with Young and his band members at a convenience store and are attracted by three women. Young follows one of them behind a beverage door and is led to a bar and parties with them. It turns out to be a dream but as Young leaves with his band, the convenience store owner drinks from a skull and crossbones glass shot (implying that it actually happened).

Chart performance

"Aw Naw" debuted at number 54 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

chart for the week of May 25, 2013. It also debuted at number 32 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart for the week of June 8, 2013. It also debuted at number 97 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week of August 3, 2013. It also debuted at number 98 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of September 14, 2013. As of December 2013, the song has sold 561,000 copies in the US.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2013 singles 2013 songs Chris Young (singer) songs RCA Records Nashville singles Music videos directed by Chris Hicky Song recordings produced by James Stroud Songs written by Chris DeStefano Songs written by Ashley Gorley Songs written by Chris Young (singer)