B-side "Problems at Home" Format CD single Length 3:52 | Released April 16, 2001 Genre Country | |
Label Giant
Warner Bros. Nashville | ||
"Austin" is the title of a debut song written by David Kent and Kirsti Manna, and performed by American country music artist Blake Shelton. It was released in April 2001 as his debut single, and was served as the first single from the album Blake Shelton.
Contents
The song was originally released on the Giant Records label; however, that label closed its doors as the single was climbing the charts, with Shelton and his single being transferred to the Warner Bros. Records label. "Austin" was not only Blake's debut single, but also his first number-one single, spending five weeks atop the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It was also a pop hit, peaking at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, his highest-peaking single on the Hot 100 until "Honey Bee" debuted at number 13 in 2011. "Austin" tied a record set by Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992. Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart" stayed atop the chart for five weeks, setting the mark for an artist's debut single in the Broadcast Data Systems era of the chart. BDS began monitoring radio play for the chart in January 1991.
Content
The song tells the story of a woman from Austin attempts to make contact with a former lover. She calls numerous times and is greeted by an answering machine that explains where he could be. At the end of the answering machine message, the man says "and P.S. if this is Austin, I still love you."
Commercial performance
"Austin" debuted at number 58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of April 28, 2001. It reached the number-one spot on August 11, 2001, and stayed there for five weeks until September 15, 2001, when "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight" by Toby Keith overtook "Austin" for number-one spot. The song was certified Gold on February 25, 2015, and Platinum on June 9, 2015, by the RIAA. The song has sold 929,000 copies in the U.S. as of January 2016.
Music video
This was Blake Shelton's first music video, and was directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions. The music video debuted on CMT on July 17, 2001. It depicts Shelton standing in front of a red 1968 first generation Ford Mustang and projector screen with a woman on it. The woman attempts to call the narrator and it eventually shows her driving to where the narrator is and walking up to Shelton.