Butterflies (Kacey Musgraves song)
"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[1][2] single from the album through MCA Nashville Records.[3] Musgraves wrote the song with Luke Laird and Natalie Hemby, and produced it alongside Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk.[4] According to Musgraves, "Butterflies" was co-written with Shane McAnally;[1] however, he was not credited as one its songwriters in the album's liner notes.[4]
"Butterflies"
2016
February 23, 2018
3:39
- Luke Laird
- Natalie Hemby
- Kacey Musgraves
- Daniel Tashian
- Ian Fitchuk
- Kacey Musgraves
Composition[edit]
A "genre-defying"[5] song described as country pop,[3][6] pop,[7] and disco[8] with a "reggae-fied twang",[9] "Butterflies" departs from the lyrical cynicism expressed in Musgraves' previous songs.[10] With lyrics "[representing] those feelings that you have when you're first meeting somebody and you fall in love".[11]
Background[edit]
The song was written in early 2016 shortly after Musgraves had met singer–songwriter Ruston Kelly.[1] The pair were married in 2017 before filing for divorce three years later.[12]
Critical reception[edit]
Rolling Stone compared the "earnest" lyrics of "Butterflies" to Taylor Swift's work from Fearless (2008).[10] NPR compared its sound to Little Big Town, with its production "stepping easily beyond any genre category".[9]
Live performance[edit]
Musgraves first performed "Butterflies" on January 21, 2017 on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion.[10] In 2018, Musgraves performed the song on Today in March,[13] Austin City Limits in November,[14] and at the 13th Billboard Women in Music event in December.[15] In April 2018, Musgraves recorded an acoustic performance of the song in London to serve as one of the original videos for the Hot Country playlist on Spotify.[16]
Music video[edit]
The music video for "Butterflies", like the clip for "Space Cowboy", was directed by Courtney Phillips and shot in Mexico City.[17] It was released on May 4, 2018 and shows Musgraves walking around a city at night.[8][18]
Accolades[edit]
"Butterflies" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance at the 61st annual awards ceremony in 2019.[5]
Chart performance[edit]
On Billboard's weekly charts, the song peaked at number 32 on the Hot Country Songs chart and number 56 on the Country Airplay chart, spending two weeks on the latter.[19][20]
Cover versions[edit]
Rock band Hawthorne Heights covered "Butterflies" for their two-track project Dads of Sad (2019); Musgraves reacted positively to the emo cover.[21] The song was performed by contestant Cali Wilson on the 17th season of the American music competition series The Voice.[22]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Golden Hour.[4]