The Outsiders (Eric Church song)

"The Outsiders"
Single by Eric Church
from the album The Outsiders
ReleasedOctober 22, 2013 (2013-10-22)
Recorded2013
Genre
Length4:11
LabelEMI Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jay Joyce
Eric Church singles chronology
"Like Jesus Does"
(2013) 		"The Outsiders"
(2013) 		"Give Me Back My Hometown"
(2014)

"The Outsiders" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Eric Church. It was released in October 2013 as the first single and title track from his 2014 album of the same name. Church wrote this song with Casey Beathard.

History

Church told Taste of Country that “It’s a bit of a statement. I wanted to send a message with this album that it’s gonna be different, it’s gonna be another level". He also described it as a mix of Waylon Jennings and Metallica.[2]

Church performed the song at the 2013 telecast of the Country Music Association awards.[3]

Critical reception

Giving it 3.5 stars out of 5, Will Hermes of Rolling Stone wrote that "doubles down on his hard-rock/hip-hop fixations with a song that opens on an unfuckwithable snarl-rap, ramps into a high-lonesome stadium chorus over a Southern-rock stomp, then feigns a Black Keys garage skronk before barreling into a prog-metal capper."[4] It received 4.5 stars from Matt Bjorke of Roughstock, who wrote that it was "musically interesting" and that it should "give Eric Church enough of a buzzworthy launching point for his upcoming 2014 album".[5]

Commercial performance

On its first week, the song debuted (and peaked) on the Country Airplay chart at No. 25, which is Eric Church highest debut on the chart.[6] The song entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 6, the highest leap in that chart since October 2012 when the chart's ranking methodology was modified to include sales and streaming.[7] The song sold 81,000 copies on its debut, the best-selling country song of the week.[8]

As of February 2014, the single has sold 466,000 downloads in the United States.[9] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 17, 2014 for 500,000 units in sales.[10]

Charts

Chart (2013–2014) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 32
Canada Country (Billboard)[12] 37
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 51
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[14] 6
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[15] 25

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[16] 100
Chart (2014) Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[17] 86

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[18] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Wyland, Sarah (23 October 2013). "Eric Church Releases "The Outsiders"". Great American Country. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  2. ^ Vinson, Christina (7 November 2013). "Eric Church Talks 'The Outsiders': 'It's a Cross Between Waylon and Metallica'". Taste of Country. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  3. ^ Shetler, Scott (6 November 2013). "Eric Church Earns Standing Ovation With Aggressive CMA Awards Performance of 'The Outsiders'". The Boot. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  4. ^ Hermes, Will (31 October 2013). "Eric Church "The Outsiders"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  5. ^ Bjorke, Matt (22 October 2013). "Single Review: Eric Church - The Outsiders". Roughstock. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  6. ^ Keith Caulfield (October 28, 2013). "Chart Highlights: Eric Church Earns Highest His Debut Ever On Country Airplay With 'Outsiders'". Billboard.
  7. ^ Wade Jessen (October 31, 2013). "Eric Church, Joe Nichols Shine On Hot Country Songs". Billboard.
  8. ^ Bjorke, Matt (2013-10-30). "Country Chart News - The Top 30 Digital Singles - October 30, 2013: Eric Church "Outsiders" #1; Cassadee Pope, Blake Shelton Gold, Scotty McCreery and Chris Young Notables". Roughstock.
  9. ^ Bjorke, Matt (2013-02-12). "Country Chart News - The Top 30 Digital Singles - Feb 12, 2014: Cole Swindell Dominates; Scotty McCreery Hits Gold". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
  10. ^ "American single certifications – Eric Church – The Outsiders". Recording Industry Association of America.
  11. ^ "Eric Church Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  12. ^ "Eric Church Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  13. ^ "Eric Church Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  14. ^ "Eric Church Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Eric Church Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Best of 2013: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  17. ^ "Best of 2014: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  18. ^ "American single certifications – Eric Church – The Outsiders". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 12, 2021.