"I Am Invincible" is a song written by Brett Boyett and
Nash Overstreet
Hot Chelle Rae ( ) (formerly known as Miracle Drug) is an American pop rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. The band currently consists of Ryan Follesé (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Nash Overstreet (lead guitar, backing vocals), a ...
, and recorded by the American singer-songwriter
Cassadee Pope
Cassadee Blake Pope (born August 28, 1989) is an American pop and country singer. She was the lead vocalist and songwriter of the pop band Hey Monday, with whom she released one studio album and two EPs. Pope embarked on a solo career in early ...
for her forthcoming second studio album. It was released to digital retailers through
Republic Nashville
BMLG Records, formerly Republic Nashville, is a record label established in 2009 by Republic Records in New York and Big Machine Records in Nashville. It is headquartered on Music Row and utilizes the combined resources of Big Machine Records and ...
on July 24, 2015 as the album's intended
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
and impacted American country radio on September 8, 2015.
Ultimately the song did not appear on Pope’s second studio album. Pope debuted the empowerment
anthem
An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
at the opening ceremonies of the
2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games
The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games were a multi-sport event for athletes with intellectual disabilities held in Los Angeles, United States from July 25 to August 2, 2015, in the tradition of the Special Olympics movement.
These Game ...
on July 25, 2015.
Upon its release, "I Am Invincible" received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Pope's vocal range as well as the song's blending of
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, while the ...
elements and the
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
styling of Pope's work with
Hey Monday
Hey Monday was an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. They released their debut album '' Hold On Tight'' in 2008, which produced the singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with the ...
.
[ The song also garnered significant fan attention, reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' Twitter Real-Time chart.
]
Content
"I Am Invincible" is an anthemic
"Anthemic" is a song by live electronic music project Magnetic Man. It is the fourth single to be released from the debut album ''Magnetic Man'' and was released as a digital download on 22 July 2011. For its release, grime rapper P Money was adde ...
ballad written by Brett Boyett and Nash Overstreet
Hot Chelle Rae ( ) (formerly known as Miracle Drug) is an American pop rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. The band currently consists of Ryan Follesé (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Nash Overstreet (lead guitar, backing vocals), a ...
with a duration of three minutes and thirty-two seconds. The song begins with a spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
dedication "For my girls, the fighters, the warriors," before transitioning into the first verse
Verse may refer to:
Poetry
* Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry
* Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza
* Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme
* Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...
. Its lyrics convey a message of self-empowerment and surviving obstacles in one's life, with Pope affirming of the chorus that she is "invincible." Critics have noted the song's thematic similarity to recent pop anthems, including Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
's " Roar" (2013) and Rachel Platten
Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and author. After releasing two albums independently in 2003 and 2011, she signed with Columbia Records in 2015 and released her mainstream debut single, "Fight Song", w ...
's "Fight Song
A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...
" (2015). Pope related to the song's message on a personal level, but also felt the song reflected the struggles she and other female artists had been facing in finding success in country music.[
Musically, the song combines elements of pop, ]rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, and 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, while the ...
. It is instrumented by banjo, mandolin, guitar, and keyboard.[ Pope's vocals lack the ]twang
Twang is an onomatopoeia originally used to describe the sound of a vibrating bow string after the arrow is released.Hensleigh Wedgwood, ''A Dictionary of English Etymology: Q - Z'' (1865), p. 433. By extension it applies to the similar vibrati ...
emulated on '' Frame by Frame'' (2013), but the song follows the storytelling approach and instrumentation of modern country music.[ With its "heavy rock guitar"][ and "powerful", country-influenced vocal arrangement, the song's style was described by Marissa R. Moss of '']Rolling Stone Country
Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...
'' as "Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...
-meets-Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...
."[ Country music blog '']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 wi ...
'' also likened Pope's delivery to that of American recording artist Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...
.[
]
Music video
The music video was directed by Roman White Roman White is a music video and film director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Cassadee Pope, Josh Groban, Easton Corbin ...
and premiered in September 2015.
Chart performance
Release history
References
External links
{{authority control
2015 songs
2015 singles
Cassadee Pope songs
Republic Nashville singles
Music videos directed by Roman White