Jesus, Take the Wheel
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| “Jesus, Take the Wheel” | |||||
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| Single by Carrie Underwood from the album Some Hearts |
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| Released | October 2005 (U.S.) | ||||
| Format | Digital download | ||||
| Genre | Country, pop, Christian | ||||
| Length | 3:46 | ||||
| Label | Arista | ||||
| Writer(s) | Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Brett James | ||||
| Producer | Mark Bright | ||||
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA) | ||||
| Carrie Underwood singles chronology | |||||
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| Some Hearts track listing | |||||
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"Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a Grammy Award-winning song written by Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson. It is the first single from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. The song was nominated for Song of the Year, and won Best Female Country Vocal Performance as well as Best Country Song at the Grammy Awards.
"Jesus, Take the Wheel" was certified Platinum by the RIAA in April 2006.
The song debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and eventually spent six weeks as No. 1. That ties Underwood with several other female artists — including Kitty Wells, Faith Hill and Taylor Swift — as runners-up for the longest-running No. 1 song by a solo female artist; the record is held by Connie Smith (1964's "Once a Day").
It proved to be a crossover hit, eventually making it to number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and selling around 1.171 million digital downloads.
During the fifth season of American Idol, Carrie Underwood went back to the show to perform the song.
Proving the song's success, at the 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was named Single of the Year.
On December 11, 2006, Oprah Winfrey held an "iTunes" concert featuring Carrie Underwood, Josh Groban, Michael Buble, and Tony Bennet. Carrie performed "Jesus, Take the Wheel" there.
On April 17, 2007, American Idol season 6 contestant LaKisha Jones performed this song during the "Country" theme week, but received poor reviews from the judges. This marked the second time an American Idol winner's song was covered on the show with the first being Lisa Tucker on season 5 covering Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You".
"Jesus, Take the Wheel" finished 4th on the 2006 Year-End Hot Country Songs Chart.
[edit] Music video
The music video for it was originally slated for release on November 4, 2005 but was delayed and made available at a later date on Yahoo! Launch.
The song tells the story of a young mother who lives a hectic life. On her late-night drive on a snow-covered road in Cincinnati, Ohio, the woman begins sorting out her emotions and bemoans not having enough time to do the things that really matter. Then, her car hits a patch of black ice, causing the woman to lose control of her car. She panics, takes her hands off the steering wheel and cries out to Jesus; shortly thereafter, the car stops spinning and safely stops on the shoulder. After taking stock of the situation (and seeing that her baby has remained fast asleep in the rear seat), the woman decides to let "Jesus take the Wheel" of her life.
The video for "Jesus, Take The Wheel" spent 3 weeks at #1 on CMT's Top 20 Countdown, and in December 2006, it was revealed that it was the #5 video of 2006 according to CMT's Top 20 of 2006 Countdown.
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (2005-2006) | Peak position |
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| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 20 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 17 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 36 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs | 18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 23 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Chirstian Adult Contemporary | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Chirstian Songs | 4 |
| Canadian Country Singles Chart | 1 |
[edit] Succession
| Preceded by "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts |
Grammy Award for Best Country Song 2006 |
Succeeded by "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood |
| Preceded by "She Let Herself Go" by George Strait |
Hot Country Songs number one single by Carrie Underwood January 21-February 25, 2006 |
Succeeded by "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton |
| Preceded by "Beautiful Liar" by Beyonce & Shakira |
GIB Singles Chart number one single by Carrie Underwood May 6, 2007-May 20, 2007 |
Succeeded by "Take Control" by Amerie |
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