| "Like a Wrecking Ball" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Eric Church | ||||
| from the album The Outsiders | ||||
| Released | March 9, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2013–14 | |||
| Genre | Country rock | |||
| Length | 3:18 | |||
| Label | EMI Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Jay Joyce | |||
| Eric Church singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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 2014 album The Outsiders . Church wrote this song with Casey Beathard.
Church once told a crowd during a show that "[the song is] about [...] sex". [1]
In regards to the "physicality" [2] 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!" [2] 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" and pointing out "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 describing the song as "[a]n instant contender for the best single of 2015." [3]
"Like a Wrecking Ball" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts at numbers 55 and 44, respectively, for charts dated March 7, 2015. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 100 for the week of April 11, 2015. The song peaked at No. 52 on the Hot 100 for the chart dated July 25, 2015. It peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. As of November 2015, the song has sold 1,026,000 copies in the United States. [4] The song was certified triple Platinum by the RIAA on July 15, 2022 for three million units in sales and streams. [5]
The accompanying music video for this was directed by Joe DeMaio and premiered in June 2015. It is composed of live footage that was shot during the 2015 CMT Music Awards.
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [6] | 75 |
| Canada Country ( Billboard ) [7] | 32 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [8] | 51 |
| US Country Airplay ( Billboard ) [9] | 11 |
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [10] | 6 |
| Chart (2015) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Airplay ( Billboard ) [11] | 53 |
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [12] | 10 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [5] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000 |
| ||
"Anywhere with You" is a song recorded by American country music artist Jake Owen. It was released in February 2013 as the fourth single from his third studio album, Barefoot Blue Jean Night. The song was written by Ben Hayslip, David Lee Murphy and Jimmy Yeary.
"Drink in My Hand" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Church. It was released in August 2011 as the second single from his 2011 album Chief. The song became Church's first number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Church wrote this song with Michael P. Heeney and Luke Laird.
"Time Is Love" is a song written by Tony Martin, Mark Nesler and Tom Shapiro and recorded by American country music artist Josh Turner. It was released in January 2012 as the lead-off single from Turner's album Punching Bag. It was covered by Mark Kozelek on his 2013 covers album Like Rats.
"Drunk on You" is a song written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins, and Josh Kear and recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan. It was released in February 2012 as the third single from his album Tailgates & Tanlines. It was also the first single that Bryan did not have a hand in writing.
"Shinin' on Me" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Jerrod Niemann. It was released in April 2012 as the first single from his album Free the Music. Niemann wrote the song with Lee Brice, Rob Hatch and Lance Miller while on tour with Brad Paisley.
"Tip It on Back" is a song written by Ross Copperman, Jon Nite, and Tully Kennedy and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released in August 2012 as the fourth and final single from Bentley's 2012 album Home. This song is also Bentley's first single that he did not co-write.
"I Like Girls That Drink Beer" is a song recorded by American country music singer Toby Keith and co-written with Bobby Pinson. It was released in July 2012 and is the first single from his album Hope on the Rocks, released on October 30, 2012.
"Beer with Jesus" is a song recorded by American country music singer Thomas Rhett. It was released in September 2012 as the second single from his debut album, It Goes Like This. Rhett wrote the song with Rick Huckaby and Lance Miller.
American country music artist Eric Church has released seven studio albums, two live albums, three extended plays, and 27 singles. He made his debut on the Billboard Hot Country Songs with his 2006 single "How 'Bout You". Church charted eight more singles between then and 2011 when he achieved his first number-one single with "Drink in My Hand". This would be the first of six solo number-one singles for him in his career, the other five being "Springsteen" in 2012, "Give Me Back My Hometown" and "Talladega" in 2014, "Record Year" in 2016, and "Some of It" in 2019. Church was also a featured artist on four other songs that have reached the top of the country music charts. These are Jason Aldean's "The Only Way I Know" in 2012, Keith Urban's "Raise 'Em Up" in 2015, the multi-artist collaboration "Forever Country" in 2016, and Luke Combs' "Does to Me" in 2020.
"Tornado" is a song recorded by American country music group Little Big Town. It was released in October 2012 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Tornado. The song was written by Natalie Hemby and Delta Maid.
"Hey Girl" is a song written by Rhett Akins, Chris DeStefano, and Ashley Gorley and recorded by American country music artist Billy Currington. It was released in March 2013 as the first single from Currington's 2013 album We Are Tonight. The song became Currington's seventh number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart. It also peaked at numbers 5 and 39 on the Hot Country Songs and Billboard Hot 100 charts, respectively.
"Aw Naw" is a song co-written recorded by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released in May 2013 as the first single from his fourth studio album, A.M.. The song was written by Young, Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley.
"Don't Let Me Be Lonely" is a song recorded by American country music group The Band Perry. It was released in August 2013 as the third single from their second album, Pioneer. The song was written by Sarah Buxton, Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins.
"Drink to That All Night" is a song recorded by American country music artist Jerrod Niemann. It was released in October 2013 as the first single from his third studio album. The album, High Noon, was released on March 25, 2014. The song was written by Derek George, Lance Miller, and Brad and Brett Warren.
"Song About a Girl" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Paslay. It was released on February 18, 2014, as the third single from Paslay's self-titled debut album. Paslay wrote the song with Jessi Alexander and Gordie Sampson.
"Leave the Night On" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Sam Hunt. It was released to country radio, by MCA Nashville on June 16, 2014 as the lead single from his debut studio album Montevallo (2014). The song was written by Hunt, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.
"Break Up with Him" is a song written and recorded by American country music group Old Dominion. Originally released as the second single off their self-titled EP on ReeSmack in January 2015, the band later signed with RCA Nashville in February 2015 and re-released the song on May 11 as the lead single from their debut album Meat and Candy. The song garnered positive reviews from critics praising the production and lyrical content.
"Mr. Misunderstood" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Church. was released in November 2015 as the first single and title track from his 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood. The song peaked at number 15 on both the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts respectively. It also charted at number 84 on the Hot 100. The song has sold 197,000 copies in the United States as of February 2016. It received similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number 7 on the Canadian Country chart and at number 70 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song, written by Church and Casey Beathard, has also received some positive reviews from music critics.
"Record Year" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Church. It was released in February 2016 as the second single from his 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood. Church wrote this song with Jeff Hyde. The song peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Country Airplay chart.
"Kill a Word" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Church as a duet with American musician Rhiannon Giddens. It was released in August 2016 as the third single from Church's 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood. Church wrote this song with Luke Dick and Jeff Hyde.