"Kiss Kiss" is a song recorded and co-written by Canadian

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 ...

artist

Madeline Merlo Madeline Rae Merlo (born February 9, 1994) is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. She signed to Open Road Recordings in 2013 and released her debut album, ''Free Soul'', three years later. In 2015, Merlo received the "Rising Star" award fro ...

. She wrote the track with Allison Veltz Cruz and

Jeff Pardo Jeffrey Thomas Pardo (born December 18, 1981) is an American Christian musician, who is mainly a music producer, songwriter, and composer. He has received a Grammy Award nomination at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Early life Pardo was born, Je ...

, who produced the track. It became Merlo's seventh Top 20 hit.

Background

Merlo told ''Sounds Like Nashville'' that "‘Kiss Kiss’ is an energetic step in a direction sonically I haven't gone before. Both the song and the music video feel mysterious and an exciting move in uncharted territory for my artistry. ‘Kiss Kiss’ represents the reckless place you can find yourself fresh off a breakup". The song was released shortly after

Lady A Lady A, known until 2020 as Lady Antebellum, is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar ...

recorded "

Champagne Night "Champagne Night" is a song recorded by American country music trio Lady A (then known as Lady Antebellum). It was released on April 13, 2020, following the group's appearance on an episode of the television series ''Songland''. "Champagne Night" i ...

", a track Merlo co-wrote and performed on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Songland ''Songland'' is an American songwriting competition series that aired on NBC from May 28, 2019, to June 15, 2020. The show, produced in cooperation with the Universal Television Alternative Studio, 222 Productions, Live Animals Productions and ...

''.

Content

The song finds Merlo singing to a

love interest (; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...

in hopes of jointly getting over break-ups. Merlo told ''Canadian Beats Media'', "This song is about one broken-hearted person finding another broken- hearted person. It’s about pretending to be in love. It’s about how we get through it. This song is phase one of heartbreak. ‘We’ll say it’s more than just a weekend rebound, it’s a lie but it’s a good one right now.’"

Critical reception

'' CMT'' called the track "a flirty, modern track that also shows off her songwriting ability". ''Front Porch Music'' referred to the track as "dangerous and sexy, with a rebellious electric guitar" and "the classic get-over-him/her, with a little tease, and accepting the rebound as part of the healing process for many".

Commercial performance

"Kiss Kiss" reached a peak of #13 on the ''Billboard''

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 dated September 26, 2020, tying Merlo's fifth-highest-charting entry there. As of February 2023, "Kiss Kiss" had received over 1.8 million streams through

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Music video

The official music video for "Kiss Kiss" premiered exclusively on CMT on August 3, 2020, and was directed by Brian K. Vaughn The video features Merlo at a

masquerade party ''Masquerade Party'' is an American television game show. During its original run from 1952 to 1960, the show appeared at various times on ABC, NBC, and CBS. A syndicated revival was produced for one season in 1974–75. The gameplay consisted ...

while her and a man both seek a rebound from a previous relationship. Merlo stated that the "video for ‘Kiss Kiss’ mirrors a step into a new space sonically for me with darker visuals to represent this fresh take on a breakup song".

Chart performance

References

{{authority control Songs about kissing 2020 songs 2020 singles Madeline Merlo songs Open Road Recordings singles Songs written by Jeff Pardo Songs written by Madeline Merlo