"Circles" is a song recorded by American actress and

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 ...

artist

Jana Kramer Jana Rae Kramer (born December 2, 1983) Gives birthplace as Detroit, Michigan, of which Rochester Hills is a suburb. is an American actress and country music, country singer. She is known for her role as Alex Dupre on the television series ''One ...

for her second studio album, '' Thirty One'' (2015). It was written by

Alyssa Bonagura Alyssa Bonagura (born April 1, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life and career Alyssa Bonagura is from Franklin, Tennessee. She is the daughter of singers Michael Bonagura and Kathie Baillie of Baillie & the Boys. She has been sin ...

, Brandon Hood, and

Jeffrey Steele Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961), known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit ...

. "Circles" was first released to digital retailers in September 2015 as the first

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

from the album. The song was serviced to American country radio through Elektra Records Nashville and Warner Music Nashville on July 18, 2016 as the record's fourth official single. Upon release, the song has been met with mostly positive reviews, but has performed only modestly well on the charts. "Circles" peaked at No. 55 on the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart, and at No. 47 on the magazine's

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.

Content

"Circles" is a mid-tempo

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

that describes an unbreakable bond of love. Kramer described the track as a "really cool, dark and edgy love song," in an interview with ''

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 ...

''. The song's lyrics speak of "piecing together a broken heart," and refer to the narrator's love as "the only part of erunbroken." Elias Leight of ''

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 ...

'' described the song as a sonic standout on the album, writing, "'Circles' ... forgoes guitar squalls in favor of a dark bass groove. At times, it sounds like something that might have been pulled from an early '80s record." The song was written by

, Brandon Hood, and

and produced by

Scott Hendricks Scott Hendricks (born July 26, 1956) is an American record producer who has produced over 30 country music artists. His productions have garnered 121 Top 10s, and 78 Number One hits. Between 1995 and 1997, he was President and Chief Executive Off ...

Reception

Critical

In a review of ''Thirty One'', Chuck Dauphin on ''Sounds Like Nashville'' praised the song as an album highlight. "But, it's the ballads that really seem to soar here the most," writes Dauphin, "ranging from the heartbreak of 'Last Song' to the hopeful romantic feel of 'Circles.'"

Commercial

"Circles" debuted at number 60 on the ''Billboard''

chart dated October 1, 2016. It fell off the chart the following week but re-entered at 58 on the chart dated October 29, 2016. The song rose to 55 on the chart dated December 24, 2016 and has since peaked at this rank. "Circles" entered the

chart at number 47 on the chart dated December 10, 2016. The song has sold 43,000 copies in the US as of November 2016.

Music video

An accompanying music video was directed by Sean Hagwell and premiered September 3, 2016. Shot entirely in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

, the video features different angles of Kramer performing the song on a stage illuminated by spotlights. The video has been praised for its simple, "elegant" visual treatment.

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2016 singles Jana Kramer songs Elektra Records singles Warner Music Group singles Songs written by Jeffrey Steele Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks Country ballads Pop ballads Songs written by Alyssa Bonagura