Format Digital download Genre Country rock Label EMI Nashville | Recorded 2013–14 Length 3:18 | |
Released March 9, 2015 (March 9, 2015) | ||
"Like a Wrecking Ball" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Church. It was released on March 9, 2015 as the fifth and final single from his fourth studio album The Outsiders. The song was written by Church and Casey Beathard.
Contents
Background
Church told a crowd during a show that "It's about... it's about sex".
Critical reception
In regards to the "physicality" of the lyrics, Billy Dukes of Taste of Country said "To be certain, this is a non-traditional babymaker from country music's least likely Romeo. And that's why it works. "Like a Wrecking Ball" silences Church's crowd when he includes it between two more guitar-driven numbers at concerts. It's a unified moment of "Whoa!" Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an "A" grade, praising the production and comparing the song to Dwight Yoakam's "Nothing", writing that ""Like a Wrecking Ball" sounds like nothing on the radio today. Irregular rhythms, a vocal sung out of the corner of his mouth, and a lyric that makes every other love song out there sound like child's play." and that the song was "An instant contender for the best single of 2015."
Commercial response
The song debuted on Hot Country Songs at No. 44 and Country Airplay at No. 55 for charts dated March 7, 2015. It entered Billboard Hot 100 at No. 100 on April 11, 2015. The song peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart dated July 25, 2015. The song has sold 1,026,000 copies in the US as of November 2015.
Music video
The music video, composed of live footage from the 2015 CMT Music Awards, was directed by Joe DeMaio and premiered in June 2015.