Girl Crush

{{about|the Little Big Town song|a close but non-sexual relationship between two or more women|Womance|the song by New Politics|Vikings (album)}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Girl Crush

| cover = LBTGIRLCRUSHSINGLEART.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Little Big Town

| album = Pain Killer

| released = {{Start date|2014|12|15}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = {{hlist|Country|blue-eyed soul}}

| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=13}}

| label = Capitol Nashville

| writer = {{hlist|Lori McKenna|Hillary Lindsey|Liz Rose}}

| producer = Jay Joyce

| prev_title = Day Drinking

| prev_year = 2014

| next_title = Smokin' and Drinkin'

| next_year = 2015

}}

"Girl Crush" is a song written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose, and performed by American country music group Little Big Town. It was released on December 15, 2014 as the second single from their sixth studio album, Pain Killer.{{cite web|title=Future Releases - Country|url=http://www.allaccess.com/country/future-releases|publisher=AllAccess Music Group|access-date=9 December 2014}} The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics, won five music awards, including two Grammys (Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song), reaching number 3 on the Country Airplay charts and number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, ended up being the second-most played song of 2015 on the format, and is certified seven-times Platinum in the US.

Content

As CMT's Alison Bonaguro wrote, the song is "about a girl obsessing over another girl because that girl stole her lover ... On the other hand, it could also be about a girl obsessing over the girl who is with the man that she wants but has never had." Bonaguro added that it is not a girl crush (on another girl) per se, but rather a girl desiring to taste her rival's lips in order to taste him and "to drown in her perfume, to have her long blond hair — and so on — all in an effort to get him back".{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1731945/im-crushing-on-little-big-towns-girl-crush/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123061058/http://www.cmt.com/news/1731945/im-crushing-on-little-big-towns-girl-crush/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 23, 2014|title=I'm Crushing on Little Big Town's "Girl Crush"|last1=Bonaguro|first1=Alison|access-date=9 December 2014}}

Lori McKenna stated that when she presented the idea to co-writer Liz Rose that Rose disliked the idea at first but that Rose changed her mind after hearing the first verse that Hillary Lindsey had written. Group members Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild heard the song and asked that it be saved for them.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/lori-mckenna-reveals-her-girl-crush-20141215|title=Lori McKenna Reveals Her 'Girl Crush'|last=Rodman|first=Sarah|date=15 December 2014|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=29 January 2015}}

=Composition=

"Girl Crush" is in the key of C major and a 6/8 time signature, with an approximate tempo of 58 dotted quarter notes per minute and a primary chord pattern of C-Em-F-G. Karen Fairchild's lead vocals range from G{{Sub|3}}-A{{sub|4}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0148163|title='Girl Crush' sheet music|work=MusicNotes.com|date=20 March 2015|access-date=2 May 2015}}

Critical reception

"Girl Crush" received critical acclaim. CMT's Alison Bonaguro writes, "If anyone knows how to write a country song that's never been written before, it's these three": Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, and Liz Rose. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country states, "Karen Fairchild's lead on Little Big Town's new single 'Girl Crush' may be the best vocal performance of the year. Her anguish drives through you like a steam engine, and afterward she's nothing but a puff of white smoke barely holding on to existence."{{cite web|last1=Dukes|first1=Billy|title=Little Big Town, 'Girl Crush' – ToC Critic's Pick [Listen]|date=2 December 2014 |url=https://tasteofcountry.com/little-big-town-girl-crush/|publisher=Taste of Country|access-date=9 December 2014}} Dukes adds, "listen to the song on repeat and find yourself exhausted … in the best possible way" and "mass homogeny on the radio makes it seem impossible to create a sound or write a song that's truly unique. It's as if all the good ideas have been used up. Little Big Town prove this is not the case on each album they release."

In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at No. 80 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-country-songs-1234986540/little-big-town-girl-crush-4-1235013671/|title =The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time|magazine = Rolling Stone|date =May 24, 2014}}

=Awards and nominations=

Year	Association	Category	Result
class="wikitable"
rowspan="3"\|2015	rowspan="3"\|Country Music Association Awards	Song of the Year	{{Won}}
Single of the Year	{{Won}}
Music Video of the Year	{{Nom}}
rowspan="8"\|2016	rowspan="3"\|Grammy Awards	Best Country Duo/Group Performance	{{Won}}
Song of the Year	{{Nom}}
Best Country Song	{{Won}}
rowspan="3"\|Academy of Country Music	Single Record of the Year	{{Nom}}
Song of the Year	{{Nom}}
Video of the Year	{{Nom}}
rowspan="2"\|CMT Music Awards	Group/Duo Video of the Year {{ref label\|A\|A

} || {{Won}}

| CMT Performance of the Year {{ref label|B|B|}} || {{Nom}}

:A{{Note|A}} "Girl Crush" as performed by Little Big Town.

:B{{Note|A}} "Girl Crush" as performed by Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis was nominated as 2016 CMT Performance of the Year for their rendition of the song on the "CMT Artists of the Year" TV special on December 2, 2015. Their performance was in honor of Little Big Town in recognition of CMT's selection of the group as a "CMT Artist of the Year."

Commercial performance

"Girl Crush" debuted at number 48 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week ending November 8, 2014, before it was released as a single. It reached number one and remained there for thirteen consecutive weeks until it was knocked off by "Kick the Dust Up" by Luke Bryan. It debuted at number 55 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart for the week ending December 27, 2014. "Girl Crush" sold 10,000 copies in its debut week of November 8, 2014.{{cite web|last1=Bjorke|first1=Matt|title=Country Music's Top 30 Digital Singles: October 29, 2014|work=RoughStock |date=29 October 2014|url=http://roughstock.com/news/2014/10/30337-country-musics-top-30-digital-singles-october-29-2014/|access-date=8 January 2015}} The song reached more than two million in sales by early February 2016.{{cite web |url=https://headlineplanet.com/home/2016/02/08/little-big-towns-girl-crush-crosses-the-2-million-us-sales-mark/ |title=Little Big Town's "Girl Crush" crosses the 2 million US sales mark |author=Brian Cantor |work=Headline Planet |date=8 February 2016 }} As of November 2019, "Girl Crush" had sold 2,550,000 copies in the United States.{{cite web |last1=Bjorke |first1=Matt |title=Top 30 Digital Country Songs: November 24, 2019 |url=http://roughstock.com/news/2019/12/44051-top-30-digital-country-songs-november-24-2019 |work=Rough Stock |date=November 30, 2019 |access-date=December 12, 2019 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024182910/http://roughstock.com/news/2019/12/44051-top-30-digital-country-songs-november-24-2019 |url-status=dead }} In March 2025, the single was certified 7× multi-Platinum.

"Girl Crush" is Little Big Town's highest charting single on Billboard's all-genre Hot 100 chart, having peaked at number 18 for the week ending May 9, 2015 chart, besting the number 22 peak of "Pontoon" in 2012.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/307580/little-big-town/chart?f=379|title=Little Big Town - Chart history|magazine=Billboard|access-date=29 June 2017}} It is also their highest showing on the Canadian Hot 100, besting the number 39 position of "Pontoon" in 2012. It is also their longest-running number one single, 13 weeks atop Hot Country Songs. It broke the record set by The Browns' 1959 hit "The Three Bells" as the longest-running number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart by a group of three or more members.{{cite magazine|last1=Asker|first1=Jim|title=Kacey Musgraves 'Material'-izes at No. 1 on Country Chart; Little Big Town Ties Record|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6619994/kacey-musgraves-country-album-chart|magazine=Billboard|access-date=3 July 2015}}

Some radio stations were reported to have pulled "Girl Crush" from their playlists, in response to concerns from listeners who interpreted the song to be about lesbianism. In response, Fairchild said, "That's just shocking to me, the close-mindedness of that, when that's just not what the song was about…But what if it were? It's just a greater issue of listening to a song for what it is." In addition, the label created a short commercial in which the band discusses the song and its actual meaning.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/03/25/why-stations-are-pulling-little-big-towns-girl-crush-from-the-airwaves-and-what-that-says-about-country-radio-today/|title=Why stations are pulling Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush' — and what that says about country radio|last=Yahr|first=Emily|date=25 March 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=25 March 2015}} Billboard consulted several radio program directors on its panel and found only one who detailed a specific complaint from a listener; the magazine concluded that the controversy surrounding the song was mostly fabricated.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6516613/little-big-town-girl-crush-controversy-lesbian-complaints-radio|title=Controversy Over Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush' & Its 'Lesbian Theme' Is Mostly Fabricated|last=Stark|first=Phyllis|date=27 March 2015|magazine=Billboard|access-date=30 March 2015}}

Music video

The music video is in black-and-white.{{cite web|url=http://countryfancast.com/music-video-of-the-year/|title=Music Video Of The Year|date=11 December 2015 |access-date=14 January 2017}} It was directed by Karla and Matthew Welch and premiered in April 2015. The music video was filmed in Los Angeles, California and produced by Meritocracy Inc.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/videos/little-big-town/1188615/girl-crush.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412235445/http://www.cmt.com/videos/little-big-town/1188615/girl-crush.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 12, 2015|title=CMT : Videos : Little Big Town : Girl Crush|publisher=Country Music Television|access-date=April 10, 2015}} The music video is nominated for a 2016 Academy of Country Music Award for Video of the Year.{{cite web|url=http://www.acmawards.com/nominees |title=Nominees |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308114318/http://www.acmawards.com/nominees |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |work=ACM Awards}}

Live performances

February 2015 – The Ellen DeGeneres Show{{cite web|title=Little Big Town Performs 'Girl Crush'|website = YouTube| date=24 February 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM_xddfNTvs|access-date=19 May 2015}}
March 2015 – The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon{{cite web|last1=Bell|first1=Rebekah|title=Little Big Town Perform 'Girl Crush' on 'The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon' [Watch]|date=April 2015 |url=https://tasteofcountry.com/little-big-town-girl-crush-fallon/|publisher=Taste of Country|access-date=18 May 2015}}
April 2015 – The 50th Annual ACM Awards{{cite magazine|last1=Lynch|first1=Joe|title=Little Big Town Bring Provocative 'Girl Crush' to 2015 ACMs|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-615/6538735/little-big-town-girl-crush-2015-acms|access-date=18 May 2015}}
May 2015 – Billboard Music Awards with Faith Hill{{cite magazine|last1=Lynch|first1=Joe|title=2015 Billboard Music Awards: 10 Best Performances|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/bbma/6568582/2015-billboard-music-awards-best-performances|access-date=18 May 2015}}
November 2015 – CMA Awards{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/6753091/little-big-town-girl-crush-cma-awards|title=Little Big Town Performs 'Girl Crush' at the 2015 CMA Awards|magazine=Billboard|access-date=14 January 2017}}
February 2016—Grammy Awards{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/6875300/little-big-town-girl-crush-grammys-2016|title=Little Big Town Performs 'Girl Crush' at the 2016 Grammys|magazine=Billboard|access-date=14 January 2017}}

Meghan Linsey version

On the April 13, 2015 episode (Season 8) of The Voice, contestant Meghan Linsey (formerly one-half of Steel Magnolia) performed the song. Country singer Blake Shelton, who is a judge on the show, said that the song was his favorite on the radio at that point.{{cite web|url=https://tasteofcountry.com/meghan-linsey-girl-crush-the-voice/|title=Meghan Linsey Brings Her 'Girl Crush' to 'The Voice'|last=Dukes|first=Billy|date=14 April 2015|work=Taste of Country|access-date=23 April 2015}} Reba McEntire, who served as a mentor on the episode, also reacted favorably to Linsey's rendition.{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/article/the-voice-meghan-linsey-girl-crush|title=See The Voice's Meghan Linsey 'Kick the Dog Poo' out of Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush'|last=Anderson|first=Danielle|date=14 April 2015|work=People|access-date=23 April 2015}} Linsey's version peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=meghan linsey|chart=Country Songs}}|title=Meghan Linsey Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|access-date=April 23, 2015}} and number 1 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=meghan linsey|chart=Bubbling Under Hot 100}}|title=Meghan Linsey Album & Song Chart History - Bubbling Under Hot 100|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|access-date=April 23, 2015}}

Charts

= Weekly charts =

scope="col"\|Chart (2014–2015) !scope="col"\|Peak position
class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"
{{singlechart\|Canada\|29\|artist=Little Big Town\|artistid=485751\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardcanadacountry\|11\|artist=Little Big Town\|artistid=485751\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardhot100\|18\|artist=Little Big Town\|artistid=485751\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardcountrysongs\|1\|artist=Little Big Town\|artistid=485751\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardcountryairplay\|3\|artist=Little Big Town\|artistid=485751\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardadultcontemporary\|29\|artist=Little Big Town\|artistid=485751\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardadultpopsongs\|23\|artist=Little Big Town\|artistid=485751\|rowheader=true}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"|Chart (2015)

!scope="col"|Position

scope="row"| Canada (Canadian Hot 100){{Cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2015/canadian-hot-100 | title=Best of 2015: Canadian Hot 100 | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | date=2015 | access-date=December 9, 2015}}

| align="center" | 85

scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100{{Cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2015/hot-100-songs | title=Best of 2015: Hot 100 Songs | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | date=2015 | access-date=December 9, 2015}}

| align="center" | 63

scope="row"| US Country Airplay (Billboard){{Cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2015/country-airplay-songs | title=Best of 2015: Country Airplay | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | date=2015 | access-date=December 9, 2015}}

| align="center" | 38

scope="row"| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard){{Cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2015/hot-country-songs | title=Best of 2015: Hot Country Songs | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | date=2015 | access-date=December 9, 2015}}

| align="center" | 2

=Decade-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col"\| Chart (2010–2019) ! scope="col"\| Position
scope="row"\| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine\|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/decade-end/hot-country-songs\|title=Decade-End Charts: Hot Country Songs\|magazine=Billboard\|access-date=January 23, 2020}} \| 21

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"| Chart (2010–2019)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/decade-end/hot-country-songs|title=Decade-End Charts: Hot Country Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 23, 2020}}

| 21

Certifications

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|title=Girl Crush|artist=Little Big Town|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=2014|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=March 23, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Girl Crush|artist=Little Big Town|type=single|award=Silver|id=20626-7109-1|relyear=2014|certyear=2025|access-date=March 21, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=Girl Crush|artist=Little Big Town|type=single|award=Platinum|number=7|relyear=2014|certyear=2025|access-date=March 19, 2025|refname=riaa}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}