"Riot" is a song written by Jaron Boyer and Sara Haze, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

group

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second co ...

as the third single from their ninth studio album ''

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'' (2014).

Content

The song is a "pleading ballad replete with piano, strings and

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console label ...

's tender tenor and gentle vibrato". In it, the narrator pleads that his lover not leave him, saying that "there would be a riot" should she do so.

Critical reception

Giving it an "A", Tammy Ragusa of ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overvie ...

'' wrote that "A well-written lyric…gives a simple twist as Gary,

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American bassist, vocalist, pianist, record producer and songwriter. From 1999 to 2021, he was a member of the country pop group Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born ...

and

Joe Don Rooney Joe Don Rooney (born September 13, 1975 in Baxter Springs, KS) is an American musician. From 1999 to 2021, he was the lead guitarist and high octave harmony singer in the American country pop trio Rascal Flatts. In addition to the Electric guita ...

add their full band and harmonies in the verses and soar through the choruses, building to a crescendo that will leave you breathless when it drops back to just Gary's ethereal vocal, piano and strings."

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 ...

also favorably reviewed the song, saying that "Sonically, ‘Riot’ is complex and beautiful, playing to the strengths of each band member perfectly ... The guitar riffs and crescendoing instrumentation create a soaring sound, while the soft cello underneath provides the foundation for a track that will play just as well in intimate acoustic settings as it will in the huge arenas Rascal Flatts play on a regular basis."

Music video

The music video was directed by Brian Lazzaro and premiered in April 2015.

Chart performance

The song has sold 201,000 copies in the US as of August 2015.

Year-end charts

References

{{Rascal Flatts singles 2014 songs 2014 singles Rascal Flatts songs Big Machine Records singles Songs written by Jaron Boyer