Love Me Like You Mean It

Last updated
"Love Me Like You Mean It"
Kelsea Ballerini - Love Me Like You Mean It (Digital single cover).jpg
Artwork for initial digital release
Single by Kelsea Ballerini
from the album The First Time and the EP Kelsea Ballerini
ReleasedJuly 8, 2014 (2014-07-08)
Recorded2014
Genre Country pop
Length3:19(album version)
3:15(video version)
3:03(single version)
Label Black River
Songwriter(s)
  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Josh Kerr
  • Forest Glen Whitehead
  • Lance Carpenter
Producer(s) Forest Glen Whitehead
Kelsea Ballerini singles chronology
"Love Me Like You Mean It"
(2014)
"Dibs"
(2015)
Music video
"Love Me Like You Mean It" on YouTube

"Love Me Like You Mean It" is a song co-written and recorded by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. Ballerini co-wrote the song with Josh Kerr, Forest Glen Whitehead and Lance Carpenter. [1] It was released on July 8, 2014, as Ballerini's debut single and the lead single from her debut studio album, The First Time , released on May 19, 2015, by Black River Entertainment. [2] [3] The song is about a young woman showing interest in a man. The song was previously released in promotion of Ballerini's 2014 self-titled EP. [4]

Contents

"Love Me Like You Mean It" peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Ballerini the first solo female to top that chart with her debut single since Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel" in 2006 and the first female country music artist to accomplish that on an independent label. It also charted at number five on the Hot Country Songs chart and number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 596,000 units in the US as of May 2016. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number three on the Canada Country chart and number 61 on the Canadian Hot 100. It garnered a Gold certification from Music Canada, denoting sales of 40,000 units in that country.

The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Kristin Barlowe, was shot in Nashville and features Ballerini playing party games outside with her friends and performing throughout various locations.

On April 5, 2024, in honor of the song's tenth anniversary, Ballerini released a new version of the song entitled "Love You Like You Mean It (Reimagined)". [5]

Content

The song is a mid-tempo country pop song that, according to the digital sheet music published by Hal Leonard Music Publishing, is composed in the key of E major, in cut time with a primary chord pattern of E–B–Fm7add4–Asus2. Ballerini's vocal ranges one octave, from B3 to B4. [6] Natalie Wiener of Billboard called "Love Me Like You Mean It" a song "about being a young woman who's openly expressing interest in a man," making the song a subtle message of feminism. [7] She compared the song's opening line, "Oh hey, boy with your hat back/Mmm I kind of like that/if you wanna walk my way," to Carly Rae Jepsen's 2012 hit, "Call Me Maybe". [7]

Reception

Critical

Taste of Country reviewed the single favorably, saying that "Ballerini mixes modern production techniques with a straight-up country message to create an identifiable country-pop blend." [8] In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin placed "Love Me Like You Mean It" at number one on his top 10 list of Ballerini's best songs. [9]

Commercial

"Love Me Like You Mean It" debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of October 18, 2014, [10] and debuted at number 48 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of December 13, 2014. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart for the week of July 4, 2015, making Ballerini the first solo female to send her debut single to the top of that chart since Carrie Underwood did with "Jesus, Take the Wheel" in 2006; it also made her the first female country music artist to do so on an independent label. [11] The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 14, 2015, and certified Platinum on August 4, 2016. [12] The song has sold 596,000 copies in the US as of May 2016. [13] In Canada, the song reached the top three of the Canada Country chart and peaked at number 61 on the Canadian Hot 100. It was certified Gold by Music Canada on September 12, 2016. [14]

Music video

An acoustic music video was directed by Robert Chavers and premiered in November 2014. [15] The official music video, directed by Kristin Barlowe, [16] was filmed in Nashville [17] and premiered in March 2015. [18] In it, Ballerini is seen playing games like musical chairs and Twister with her friends outside, while performing the song from various locations inside a trailer and in the doorway of a house.

Reception

The video was nominated at the 2015 CMT Music Awards in the category of Breakthrough Video of the Year, but lost to Sam Hunt's "Leave the Night On". [19] [20]

Track listing

Digital download [2]
No.TitleLength
1."Love Me Like You Mean It"3:19
Country Dance Mix single [21]
No.TitleLength
1."Love Me Like You Mean It" (Country Dance Mix)3:35
Dance Mix single with Dave Audé [22]
No.TitleLength
1."Love Me Like You Mean It" (featuring Kelsea Ballerini) (Dance Mix)3:28
CD single [23]
No.TitleLength
1."Love Me Like You Mean It"3:03
2."Love Me Like You Mean It"3:03
3."Love Me Like You Mean It"3:03
4."Research Hook #1"0:18
5."Research Hook #2"0:10
Total length:9:37

Charts and certifications

Release history

CountryDateFormatVersionLabelRef.
WorldwideJuly 8, 2014 Digital download Original Black River [2]
United StatesSeptember 22, 2014Country radio [31]
WorldwideAugust 28, 2015Digital downloadCountry Dance Mix [32] [33] [21]
February 12, 2016 Dave Audé Dance Mix [22]
WorldwideApril 5, 2024
Reimagined [34]

Related Research Articles

Jesse Lee is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Atlantic Nashville in 2007, she released her debut single "It's a Girl Thing" in 2009, which debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for June 6, 2009. A second single, "Like My Mother Does," was released in 2010, which failed to chart. Jesse and Atlantic Records parted ways after three and a half years together. She is signed as a songwriter with Disney Music Group. In addition to her solo career, Lee co-wrote Kelsea Ballerini's "Peter Pan".

Black River Entertainment is an independent record label in Nashville, Tennessee, specializing in country music. The company is partially owned by Terry Pegula. The label’s roster includes Kelsea Ballerini and she is the label’s main focus. The company also contains Black River Publishing and Sound Stage Studio both out of Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelsea Ballerini</span> American singer (born 1993)

Kelsea Nicole Ballerini is an American country pop singer and songwriter. A four-time Grammy nominee, she has gained success since the 2010s, being honored with the Gene Weed Milestone Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Rising Star Award at the Billboard Women in Music.

<i>The First Time</i> (Kelsea Ballerini album) 2015 studio album by Kelsea Ballerini

The First Time is the debut studio album by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. It was released on May 19, 2015, by Black River Entertainment. The album's track listing and cover art was released on April 1, 2015. With the album's first three singles all reaching number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, Ballerini became the first new female artist to send her first three releases to the top of the charts.

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"Dibs" is a song co-written and recorded by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini for her debut studio album The First Time (2015). Ballerini co-wrote the song with Josh Kerr, Ryan Griffin, and Jason Duke. It was released to American country radio by Black River Entertainment on July 20, 2015 as the album's second single. The song was previously included on Ballerini's 2014 self-titled EP.

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"Used to Love You Sober" is a song recorded by American country music singer Kane Brown. It was first released on October 21, 2015 as his debut single, then re-released under the Sony / RCA Nashville label on February 16, 2016 after Brown was signed to the label. Brown co-wrote the song with Josh Hoge and Matt McVaney.

<i>Kelsea Ballerini</i> (EP) 2014 EP by Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea Ballerini is the self-titled debut extended play (EP) by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. It was released on November 24, 2014, by Black River Entertainment. The EP contains five tracks that would later be included on Ballerini's debut full-length album, The First Time, in 2015, including the singles "Love Me Like You Mean It", "Dibs", and "Yeah Boy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pan (Kelsea Ballerini song)</span> 2016 single by Kelsea Ballerini

"Peter Pan" is a song co-written and recorded by American recording artist Kelsea Ballerini. It was released to American country radio by Black River Entertainment as the third single from her debut studio album The First Time (2015). Ballerini co-wrote the song with Forest Glen Whitehead and Jesse Lee. The track is a country pop ballad about a lost love being compared to the song's namesake as a metaphor for being immature and having a tendency to run off to his own fantasy.

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References

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