"Either Way" is a song written by

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, t ...

, Tim James and

Kendell Marvel Kendell Marvel is an American country music singer and songwriter. He released his debut solo album, ''Lowdown & Lonesome'' in October 2017. Early life Kendell Marvel was born and raised in Southern Illinois. He quickly discovered his talen ...

. It is the first single off Stapleton's 2017 album '' From A Room: Volume 1''. The song was first recorded by

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, " I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top ...

on her 2008 album '' Call Me Crazy''. It won the award for

Best Country Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is design ...

at the

60th Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...

Content

"Either Way" is a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

ballad performed with an acoustic guitar. Lyrically, is about the end of a relationship. Some reviewers opined in the song Stapleton offers a sparsely arranged requiem for a dormant marriage, telling the painful tale of a union nearing its end.

Critical reception

For Will Hermes of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', the ballad is set to acoustic guitar "that goes from broken whisper to chilling holler, with extravagantly curled phrasing informed, one imagines, by hours spent watching smoke plumes rise toward the ceiling." Also in ''Rolling Stone'', reviewer Robert Crawford wrote the studio version "doesn't differ much from that first live performance, with Stapleton screaming heartbroken lyrics over acoustic guitar arpeggios. Simple and stunning." Writing for ''

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 ...

'', Billy Dukes commented the record "is a tremendous vocal performance that assures fans he’ll continue to be the gold standard moving forward. His guitar shadows him as Stapleton works up the scale at each thundering chorus. Contrast the power of his vocals with the dark, fragile and hopeless nature of his lyrics."

Commercial performance

The song debuted on ''Billboards Hot Country Songs at No. 17 as the third best-selling country song of the week, with 23,000 copies sold. After his performance on the finale of ''The Voice'', it sold a further 21,000 copies. It has sold 87,000 copies as of June 2017.

Live performances

On May 23, 2017, Stapleton performed "Either Way" on the season 12 finale of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleop ...

''.

Cover versions

Australian

Judah Kelly Judah Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter best known for winning the The Voice (Australia season 6), sixth series of ''The Voice (Australian TV series), The Voice Australia'' in 2017. He signed with Universal Music Australia. Kelly describ ...

covered the song on his debut album, '' Count On Me'' (2017).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control 2008 songs 2017 singles Chris Stapleton songs Lee Ann Womack songs Songs written by Tim James (country music songwriter) Songs written by Kendell Marvel Songs written by Chris Stapleton Song recordings produced by Dave Cobb Country ballads Mercury Nashville singles