"Merry Go 'Round" | ||||
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Single by Kacey Musgraves | ||||
from the album Same Trailer Different Park | ||||
Released | September 10, 2012 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:28 | |||
Label | Mercury Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Kacey Musgraves singles chronology | ||||
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"Merry Go 'Round" is the debut single by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released in September 2012 as the lead single from her debut album Same Trailer Different Park . Musgraves co-wrote and co-produced the song with Shane McAnally, with additional writing from Josh Osborne and production assistance from Luke Laird.
"Merry Go 'Round" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 56th Grammy Awards. [1]
The song is a cynical observation on life in the American heartland. [2] It uses samples of the nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary as a continued play-on-words. The latter part of the song retells another traditional nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill, in a modernized fashion. It is in the key of F-sharp major, in a 2/2 time signature with an approximate tempo of 88 beats per minute. [3] The song's main accompaniment is guitar and banjo.
The song's plays on words in the chorus are only made possible by the General American merger of Mary, marry and merry.
Giving it 4.5 stars out of 5, Billy Dukes of Taste of Country compared the song's style and Musgraves' voice favorably to Miranda Lambert. [2] It received a "thumbs up" from Juli Thanki of Engine 145, who said that Musgraves "writes with a maturity beyond her 24 years, delivering an unflinching look into small-town life that’s more nuanced than the highly romanticized rural anthems offered up by many of her male counterparts." [4]
It also made "NPR Music's 100 Favorite Songs of 2012" list. [5] It was number 1 on Billboard's "10 Best Country Singles of 2013" list. [6]
Rolling Stone named it the 49th best single of 2012. [7] It was also ranked number 362 in the 2021 revision of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [8]
Directed by Perry Bean, the music video premiered in September 2012. [9]
"Merry Go 'Round" peaked at No. 14 on the Hot Country Songs chart. [1] The song reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country Airplay chart. The song has sold 825,000 copies in the US as of February 2014. [10]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [18] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Country pop is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres like rock, pop, and country, continuing similar efforts that began in the late 1950s, known originally as the Nashville sound and later on as Countrypolitan. By the mid-1970s, many country artists were transitioning to the pop-country sound, which led to some records charting high on the mainstream top 40 and the Billboard country chart. In turn, many pop and easy listening artists crossed over to country charts during this time. After declining in popularity during the neotraditional movement of the 1980s, country pop had a comeback in the 1990s with a sound that drew more heavily on pop rock and adult contemporary. In the 2010s, country pop metamorphosized again with the addition of hip-hop beats and rap-style phrasing.
"Neon Moon" is a song written by Ronnie Dunn and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in February 1992 as the third single from their debut album Brand New Man. The song became their third consecutive number one single on the country charts. It was also their first single not to have an accompanying music video.
Shane Lamar McAnally is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. McAnally has written, and/or produced over 50 number one songs. Writing and producing for artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt, Kenny Chesney, Walker Hayes, Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Lady A, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Midland, and more. He has received Billboard’s Trailblazer Award for his work both in country music and in championing voices in the LGBTQ community.
Luke Robert Laird is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one Billboard singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Undo It"; Blake Shelton's "Gonna"; Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger"; Rodney Atkins's "Take a Back Road"; Eric Church's "Drink in My Hand", "Give Me Back My Hometown", and "Talladega"; Little Big Town's "Pontoon"; Luke Bryan's "I See You" and "Fast"; Thomas Rhett's "T-Shirt"; Kenny Chesney's "American Kids"; Lady Antebellum's "Downtown"; and Jon Pardi's "Head Over Boots." He has also written and produced songs for Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Kacey Musgraves, Toby Keith, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Darius Rucker, and many others.
"Springsteen" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Church. It was released on February 21, 2012 as the third single from his third studio album Chief. Church wrote this song with Jeff Hyde and Ryan Tyndell. The song was inspired by a memory of a girl and another artist's song, but he chose to center it around an idol of his, Bruce Springsteen, and tells the story of a teenage romance.
Kacey Lee Musgraves is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 2007, Musgraves appeared on the fifth season of the USA Network singing competition Nashville Star, where she finished in seventh place. In 2012, she signed with Mercury Nashville and released the hit single "Merry Go 'Round". Her major-label debut studio album, Same Trailer Different Park (2013), won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2013.
Same Trailer Different Park is the debut studio album by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves, released on March 19, 2013, through Mercury Nashville. Musgraves co-wrote all 12 tracks and co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. Met with widespread critical acclaim, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Blowin' Smoke" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Kacey Musgraves, featured on her major label debut album, Same Trailer Different Park. It was released April 1, 2013, as the album's second single. It was written by Musgraves, Luke Laird, and Shane McAnally. As of July 10, 2013, the single has sold 135,000 copies in the United States.
"Follow Your Arrow" is a song recorded by American country music singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves. The song is featured on her major label debut album, Same Trailer Different Park. It was released on October 21, 2013, as the album's third single. It was written by Musgraves, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. It was named Song Of The Year at the 2014 CMA Awards. Rolling Stone ranked 'Follow Your Arrow' number 39 on its list of '100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time'.
Josh Osborne is an American songwriter with several number-one singles to his credit.
"Biscuits" is a song recorded by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves that serves as the lead single from her second major label studio album, Pageant Material. It was released to country radio on March 16, 2015, through Mercury Nashville and was released to digital retailers the following day. The song was written and produced by Musgraves and Shane McAnally, with additional songwriting by Brandy Clark and additional production by Luke Laird. In December 2015, Billboard ranked "Biscuits" number one on its "10 Best Country Songs of 2015" list and number 16 on its list of the 25 best songs of 2015 across all genres.
Pageant Material is the second studio album by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves, released June 23, 2015, through Mercury Nashville. Musgraves co-wrote all 13 tracks and co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. The album made numerous "Best Albums of 2015" lists and was nominated for Best Country Album at the 58th Grammy Awards.
American singer Kacey Musgraves has released six studio albums, one soundtrack, four demo albums, four extended plays, 23 singles, six promotional singles, and 15 music videos. The earliest of Musgraves's material was released in the early 2000s with the issuing of demo albums, beginning with children duo effort Texas Two Bits with fellow student Alina Tatum, which self-released Little Bit of Texas in 2000. This was followed by her first solo album Movin' On (2002). She signed to Mercury Nashville in 2012. In early 2013, Musgraves released her debut full-length album Same Trailer Different Park. Critically acclaimed, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number two on the Billboard 200. Its preceding lead single "Merry Go 'Round" peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The album would also spawn the top 40 singles "Blowin' Smoke" and "Follow Your Arrow". Same Trailer Different Park has since been certified platinum by the RIAA.
Big Day in a Small Town is the second studio album by American country music artist Brandy Clark. It was released on June 10, 2016, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was nominated for Best Country Album and the album's second single, "Love Can Go To Hell", was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Butterflies" is a song by American country singer–songwriter Kacey Musgraves from her fourth studio album, Golden Hour (2018). It was released on February 23, 2018 alongside "Space Cowboy" as the second single from the album through MCA Nashville Records. Musgraves wrote the song with Luke Laird and Natalie Hemby, and produced it alongside Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. According to Musgraves, "Butterflies" was co-written with Shane McAnally; however, he was not credited as one its songwriters in the album's liner notes.
Golden Hour is the fourth studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves, released on March 30, 2018, through MCA Nashville. Musgraves co-wrote all 13 tracks and co-produced the album with Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. A country pop record, Golden Hour also contains elements of disco, electropop, electronica, and yacht rock.
"Rainbow" is a song recorded by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released as the fifth and final single from Musgraves' third studio album, Golden Hour (2018) in February 2019. Musgraves co-wrote the song with Shane McAnally and Natalie Hemby. Its release coincided with her performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Star-Crossed is the fifth studio album by American singer Kacey Musgraves. It was released on September 10, 2021, by MCA Nashville and Interscope Records. Musgraves co-wrote and co-produced the album with American musicians Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian, with whom she collaborated on her fourth studio album, Golden Hour (2018), as well.
"I Remember Everything" is a song by American singer Zach Bryan featuring country music artist Kacey Musgraves. It appeared as track eleven on his fourth studio album Zach Bryan, released on August 25, 2023, and was sent to radio airplay in Italy on September 8, as the lead single from the album.