"Burnin' It Down" is a song written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins and Florida Georgia Line members Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley and recorded by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released in July 2014 as the first single from Aldean's 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt. The song won the "Top Country Song" category at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards,[1] but polarized critics.

"Burnin' It Down"
Single by Jason Aldean
from the album Old Boots, New Dirt
ReleasedJuly 22, 2014 (2014-07-22)
Recorded2013–14
Genre
Length3:39
LabelBroken Bow
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Michael Knox
Jason Aldean singles chronology
"When She Says Baby"
(2013)
"Burnin' It Down"
(2014)
"Just Gettin' Started"
(2014)

Content

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The song is a midtempo ballad about a sexual encounter with a lover, inspired by R&B music. Florida Georgia Line, two of the song's co-writers, originally planned on recording it until Aldean expressed interest in the song.[2]

Aldean told Country Music Television (CMT) that he considered the song "baby making music". He also felt that it was a different song style for him due to it being more sexual in nature and featuring a drum loop.[3]

Critical reception

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The single has polarized critics. Leeann Ward of Country Universe gave the song a D grade, writing that "There’s a line between a passionate love song and a passionless song. There’s [also] a line between a sexy song and a sex filled song. And there’s [even] a line between a classy, passionate love song and a classless, passionless sex filled song." Ward also said that “Burnin’ it Down” crosses the line to the latter categories on all accounts."[4]

Giving it a B grade, Tammy Ragusa of Country Weekly was more favorable, writing that "Jason [Aldean] proves [that] he can also change things up, which he does dramatically through edgy, urban-and-pop-influenced arrangements and production" and that "the song's sexy lyrics push the boundaries of what might be construed as traditional themes in country music."[5] In a review of Old Boots, New Dirt for Billboard, Chuck Dauphin praised "Burnin' It Down" as "the most musically adventurous track that Aldean has ever recorded".[6]

Commercial performance

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During its first week in release, the song sold 184,000 downloads in the United States[7] and debuted at number 42 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. In its second week, the song moved from number 42 to 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. On September 29, 2014, the song was certified Platinum by the RIAA just nine weeks after release, becoming the fastest single of 2014 to do that.[8] It reached its millionth sales mark in October 2014.[9] As of April 2015, the song has sold 1,589,000 copies in the US.[10]

In Canada, the song sold 15,000 downloads in its debut week.[11]

Music video

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The music video was directed by Wes Edwards and premiered in August 2014.[12]

Charts and certifications

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References

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  1. ^ "Billboard Music Awards 2015: See the Full Winners List". billboard.com. May 17, 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  2. ^ Leight, Elias (October 7, 2014). "Jason Aldean & Sam Hunt Chart New Path With R&B-Influenced Country". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Bonaguro, Alison (4 October 2014). "Jason Aldean on "Baby-Makin' Music"". Archived from the original on August 26, 2014.
  4. ^ "Single Review: Jason Aldean, "Burnin' It Down"". 9 August 2014.
  5. ^ Ragusa, Tammy (1 September 2014). "Reviews". Country Weekly. 21 (35): 66.
  6. ^ Dauphin, Chuck (October 7, 2014). "Jason Aldean's 'Old Boots, New Dirt': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  7. ^ "The Top 30 Digital Singles - July 30, 2014 | RoughStock". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  8. ^ Matt Bjorke (August 27, 2014). "The Top 30 Digital Singles – August 27, 2014". Roughstock. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014.
  9. ^ Paul Grein (October 8, 2014). "Chart Watch: All About That Transatlantic #1". Chart Watch. Yahoo! Music.
  10. ^ a b Matt Bjorke (April 15, 2015). "Country Music's Top 30 Digital Singles: Week of April 15, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure given here
  11. ^ "Weekly Music Sales and Analysis: 30 July 2014 - Alan Cross". 2 August 2014.
  12. ^ Reuter, Annie (August 29, 2014). "Watch Jason Aldean's Sexy 'Burnin' It Down' Video". radio.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  13. ^ "Jason Aldean Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  14. ^ "Jason Aldean Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Jason Aldean Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Jason Aldean Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
  17. ^ "Jason Aldean Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  18. ^ "American single certifications – Jason Aldean – Burnin' it down". Recording Industry Association of America.
  19. ^ "Best of 2014: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  20. ^ "Best of 2014: Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  21. ^ "Best of 2014: Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  22. ^ "Best of 2014: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  23. ^ "Best of 2015: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  24. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2020.