"Telescope" is a song recorded by American actress

Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere ( ; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has starred as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010), Kirby Reed in the slasher film, slasher Ho ...

. The song was written by

Hillary Lindsey Hillary Lee Lindsey (born August 11, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including Michelle Branch, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shakira, Lady A, Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Carrie Unde ...

and

Cary Barlowe Cary Barlowe (born 1982) is a multi No.1 hit American music songwriter, guitarist and a family member of the rock band Luna Halo. He is also a three-time Grammy Award-nominee. Born in Virginia on a Saturday, July 31, 1982, and raised in Nort ...

. It was released to country radio in October 2012 by

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta and ...

. It was the first official single from the album '' The Music of Nashville: Season 1 Volume 1''. The album also features a version of the song recorded by sisters Lennon and Maisy Stella. The UK compilation ''The Music of Nashville, Season 1: The Complete Collection'' (aka ''Nashville Deluxe'') also includes a version recorded live in Nashville by Panettiere. Panettiere and Lennon Stella recorded a version for the season four episode "Stop the World (And Let Me Off)," released as a digital single.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' gave the song three stars out of five. Dukes wrote that "Panettiere proves she can sing with the big girls, and no shortcut is taken in production" but called the song "made-for-television," stating that "lyrically, ‘Telescope’ isn’t sharp enough for a more established country star to sing." Ashley Cooke of ''Roughstock'' also gave the song three stars out of five. Cooke called it "a sassy upbeat song about a girl done wrong, with a very cute concept and catchy lyrics that stick in your head" but felt that Panettiere's voice was "a bit forced" and that the song wasn't "enough to move beyond the TV screen." Ben Foster of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a B+, calling it "cool" and "nearly irresistible." Foster wrote that the song "tackles the tried-and-true country music theme of cheating with a clever concept and a great hook" and Panettiere "rides the catchy beat with an assured performance – subtle when necessary, forceful when appropriate," but felt that "the production and background vocals are laid on a bit too thick in some places, particularly toward the end the song."

Music video

The music video was directed by

TK McKamy TK McKamy is an American film director, screenwriter, and editor known for directing music videos. Thomas Knox McKamy III was born in Stone Mountain, Georgia and raised in the small town of Nicholasville, Kentucky. The son of Knox and Lynn McK ...

and premiered in November 2012.

Chart performance

"Telescope" debuted at number 51 on the U.S. ''

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 for the week of November 10, 2012. It also debuted at number 47 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

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 for the week of November 10, 2012.

References

{{Nashville (TV series) 2012 songs 2012 singles Hayden Panettiere songs Big Machine Records singles Songs written by Hillary Lindsey Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Music videos directed by TK McKamy Songs written by Cary Barlowe Nashville (2012 TV series)