"Never Say Never" is a song by American

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 ...

singers

Cole Swindell Colden Rainey Swindell (born June 30, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Craig Campbell (singer), Craig Campbell, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, and Luke Bryan, and has released four albums for W ...

and

Lainey Wilson Lainey Denay Wilson (born May 19, 1992) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. She performed at an early age, before going to Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville to pursue a career as a country performer. In 2014, she released her f ...

. It was released on November 19, 2021, as the second single from Swindell's fourth studio album ''

Stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

''. Swindell co-wrote the song with

Jessi Alexander Jessica Leigh Alexander-Stewart (born November 18, 1976), known professionally as Jessi Alexander, is an American country music artist and songwriter. She is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, and won both the Country Music Association Award for ...

and Chase McGill, and it was produced by

Zach Crowell Zach Crowell is a songwriter and record producer who was born and raised in Nashville, TN. Crowell is involved in a joint admin agreement with Sony Music Publishing. He has written/produced over 30 number one songs and is a three-time Grammy A ...

. It 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 in April 2022, becoming Swindell's seventh number one single, and Wilson's second.

Background and content

On November 18, 2021, Swindell and Wilson announced the collaboration on social media, "Never Say Never" is the first duet between the two artists. Swindell stated in a press release: "I wrote 'Never Say Never' with Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill in 2018 about a relationship you just can't stay away from, I have been a fan of Lainey Wilson's for a while now and what she brings to this song is everything it needed". Wilson said: "' Things a Man Oughta Know' was such an incredible ride, I can’t wait to get this next song out into the world and see where it leads".

Composition

Billy Dukes of ''

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 ...

'' wrote that the producer Zach Crowell "adds a swirl of emotions with steel guitar, keys and a thundering rhythm section" that contrasts Swindell's previous work.

Critical reception

''Music and Tour News'' commented that Wilson's presence "give the stellar song an added dimension" and the two artists "sound absolutely fantastic together on the smash-hit".

Music video

The music video was released on January 12, 2022, and directed by FlyHi Films’ Michael Monaco. The video was filmed in

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, last named Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex, (or, unofficially, ''Brushy'') is an entertainment venue in the community of Petros, Tennessee, Petros in Morgan County, Tennessee, owned by Chattanooga ...

located at the suburb of

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. It tells a story about "a forbidden relationship between a prison guard with an inmate".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Lainey Wilson 2021 singles 2021 songs Cole Swindell songs Lainey Wilson songs Songs written by Jessi Alexander Songs written by Chase McGill Songs written by Cole Swindell Warner Records Nashville singles Male–female vocal duets Song recordings produced by Zach Crowell