"Runaway" is a debut song written by Stephen Barker Liles, Robert Blackledge and

Canaan Smith Canaan Lee Smith (born August 24, 1982) is an American country music singer and songwriter signed with Round Here Records, an independent label started by Florida Georgia Line. He has released two albums, ''Bronco (Canaan Smith album), Bronco'' ...

and recorded 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 ...

group Love and Theft. It is the lead-off single from the band's debut album '' World Wide Open''. The song debuted on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in March 2009.

Content

The song's narrator wants to get from with his current life as it is not going well, and he decides to become a "runaway."

Critical reception

Dan Milliken of Country Universe.net gave the song a C rating, and said this in his review of the song that the band "is another three-piece boy band who sound like they paid a lot of attention to 80’s pop-rock and care deeply about the inner yearnings of suburban girls between the ages of 11 and 17." Juli Thanki of Engine 145 gave it a thumbs-down, saying that the band "combine the adult contemporary pop of 'Iris' era

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

and the treacly sentiment featured in your average

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

song with the nonthreatening cuteness of the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...

." She also thought that the lead vocals lacked grit in comparison to the song's theme of running away.

Chart performance

"Runaway" debuted at number 60 on the ''Billboard''

chart for the week of March 14, 2009. It debuted at number 65 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

for the chart dated September 12, 2009.

Year-end charts

References

{{Love and Theft (band) 2009 debut singles 2009 songs Love and Theft (duo) songs Lyric Street Records singles Songs written by Canaan Smith