Mr. Misunderstood (song)

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"Mr. Misunderstood"
File:MisterMisunderstood.jpg
Single by Eric Church
from the album Mr. Misunderstood
Released November 9, 2015 (2015-11-09)
Format Digital download
Genre
Length 5:18
Label EMI Nashville
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Jay Joyce
Eric Church singles chronology
"Like a Wrecking Ball"
(2015)		 "Mr. Misunderstood"
(2015)		 "Record Year"
(2016)

"Mr. Misunderstood" is a song by American country music artist Eric Church. It is the title track to, and lead single from, his fifth studio album, Mr. Misunderstood.

Content

The song's narrator addresses a misfit teenager, expressing sympathy for his being "misunderstood". In it, Church "says some encouraging words about the good things that will happen one day when people will appreciate him — especially the ladies." The song features no chorus, but rather a series of verses that all end in the title phrase. Among the lyrics, he name-drops singers that have influenced him, including Wilco and Elvis Costello.[1] He also recalls a young woman with whom he was in love, despite her father's unfavorable opinions of him, as well as Church's own "journey to becoming the musician he is now". As the song's tempo decreases again, Church echoes the title phrase, along with the words "I understand".[2] The song features several changes in tempo, with the middle verses being faster than the slower verses at the beginning and end. Acoustic guitar and steel guitar are the primary instruments.[1]

Reception

Critical

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote that the song "opens the door upon the possibility that the rest of the songs on the record -- the tales of heartbreak and longing, maybe even the stories of love and family -- are characters, not confession."[3] Billy Dukes of Taste of Country was also favorable, saying that "At its core, the track is a five-minute pep talk to the freak that lives inside all of us. He keeps rattling that nerve, and it keeps feeling good."[1]

Rolling Stone ranked "Mr. Misunderstood" at number 28 on its annual year-end list to find the best songs of 2015.[4]

Commercial

On the charts dated for the week ending November 21, 2015, the song debuted at No. 36 on the Billboard Country Airplay and No. 32 on Hot Country Songs, with 18,000 copies sold in its first week.[5] It was the second most-added song to playlists of country stations on the publication's survey, behind only "Break on Me" by Keith Urban. The corresponding album debuted at No. 3 on Top Country Albums in the same week.[6] The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 92 for chart dated January 16. 2016.[7] The song peaked at No. 15 on both the Country Airplay and the Hot Country Songs charts. The song has sold 197,000 copies in the US as of February 2015.[8]

Music video

The song's music video features Church singing the song in a school room. A teenage boy representing the one in the story is seen learning how to play guitar, and at the end of the video, leads the band in the song.[2] The music video won the award for Video of the Year at the 2016 ACM Awards.[9]

Accolades

Year Association Category Result
2016 ACM Awards[9] Video of the Year Won

Chart performance

Chart (2015–16) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 70
Canada Country (Billboard)[11] 7
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 84
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[13] 15
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[14] 15

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ "Eric Church – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Eric Church.
  11. ↑ "Eric Church – Chart history" Billboard Canada Country for Eric Church.
  12. ↑ "Eric Church – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Eric Church.
  13. ↑ "Eric Church – Chart history" Billboard Country Airplay for Eric Church.
  14. ↑ "Eric Church – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Eric Church.
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