"Dibs" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

singer

Kelsea Ballerini Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, she began having success in the 2010s, being honored with the Academy of Country Music Awards#Special awards, Ge ...

for her debut studio album '' The First Time'' (2015). Ballerini co-wrote the song with Josh Kerr, Ryan Griffin, and Jason Duke. It was released to American country radio by

Black River Entertainment Black River Entertainment is an independent record label in Nashville, Tennessee, specializing in country music. The company is partially owned by Terry Pegula. The label’s roster includes Kelsea Ballerini and she is the label's flagship artis ...

on July 20, 2015, as the album's second single. The song was previously included on Ballerini's 2014 self-titled EP. The song received positive reviews from critics praising Ballerini's youthful enthusiasm throughout the production. "Dibs" peaked at number one on the ''

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 ...

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, giving Ballerini her second number-one country music hit overall. The song was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

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/o ...

(RIAA), and has sold 457,000 copies in the US as of March 2017. It also charted at numbers seven and 58 on both the

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. ...

and

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

charts respectively. The song achieved similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number eight on the

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

chart and number 96 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

chart. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Robert Chavers and features footage Ballerini took while on tour.

Reception

Critical

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 single a positive review, comparing it favorably to previous single " Love Me Like You Mean It" and praising the song's levity. "This airy track is never weighted down with too much emotion," writes the blog, "so even those who can't relate can at least appreciate something fun." John Freeman of '' Nash Country Weekly'' wrote Ballerini is

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

's "pop-country heir apparent," comparing the song to Swift's " Should've Said No" for its playful, sassy, and melodic elements. In 2017, ''

'' contributor

Chuck Dauphin Charles Frederick Dauphin III (February 17, 1974 – September 18, 2019) was an American sports and country music journalist. He was a radio broadcaster for WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee for 18 years, a radio show host and sports director at WNKX i ...

put "Dibs" at number eight on his top 10 list of Ballerini's best songs.

Commercial

"Dibs" debuted at number 59 on the ''

chart for the week of July 18, 2015. It also debuted at number 34 on the

chart for the week of August 29, 2015 and number 47 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'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart for the week of September 12, 2015. It debuted at number 93 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of November 11, 2015. It peaked at number 58 the week of February 26, 2016, and remained on the chart for seventeen weeks. The song has sold 457,000 copies in the US as of March 2017. The single debuted at number 96 on the

for the week of February 2, 2016 and dropped to number 98 the next week before leaving the chart completely. "Dibs" reached number one on the ''Billboard''

chart for the week of March 5, 2016, making Ballerini the first solo female country music artist to take her first two career singles to the top of the charts since

Jamie O'Neal Jamie O'Neal (born 3 June 1968) is an Australian-American country music singer and songwriter. In 2000, O'Neal released her first studio album, '' Shiver''. The album included the back-to-back number one singles " There Is No Arizona" and " Wh ...

in 2001 with " There Is No Arizona" and "

When I Think About Angels "When I Think About Angels" is a song by Australian country music artist Jamie O'Neal. Penned by O'Neal, Roxie Dean, and Sonny Tillis and produced by Keith Stegall, it was released on March 12, 2001, as the second single from her debut studio albu ...

Music video

A lyric video for "Dibs" premiered on Ballerini's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

channel on February 17, 2015, in promotion of her self-titled EP and then-forthcoming album. It was re-released on July 2, 2015, after the song was selected as the second official single from ''The First Time.'' The official music video premiered on October 22, 2015. Directed by Robert Chavers, the video consists of footage Ballerini took herself while on tour in

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

and

St. Leonard, Maryland St. Leonard is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 742 at the 2010 census. Residents of the Calvert Beach and Long Beach communities also use the St. Leonard ZIP code designation. Hist ...

, performing in front of live crowds, celebrating her 22nd birthday and spending time with her dog.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Kelsea Ballerini songs Songs written by Kelsea Ballerini Black River Entertainment singles