"So Small" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in August 2007 as the first single from her 2007 album Carnival Ride. Underwood co-wrote this song with Hillary Lindsey and Luke Laird.
| "So Small" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Carrie Underwood | ||||
| from the album Carnival Ride | ||||
| Released | August 14, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | Country pop | |||
| Length | 3:47 | |||
| Label | Arista Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Mark Bright | |||
| Carrie Underwood singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 First released cover | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "So Small" at CMT.com | ||||
Background
edit"So Small" is the first single for which Underwood shares a writing credit. Underwood co-wrote the song "I Ain't In Checotah Anymore" but it was not released as a single from her debut album, Some Hearts.
Underwood's quote on So Small:
"So Small" is a feeling song on how people invest so much of their time and energy into things that aren't really important, and you don't really realize that until it's too late. We're all guilty of it, as I know I am, of just letting silly things get in the way. The smallest thing can almost ruin my day, and at some point, I realize, 'Good gracious, Carrie! What are you doing?' I have a great life, and we need to remember the things that are truly important.[1]
Single release
edit"So Small" was officially released to country radio stations on July 31, 2007.[2]
The single was digitally released on Napster on August 14, 2007, the same day it was made available for sale on the Canadian iTunes Store, but was removed after several days. The song was permanently available for download on Napster and released on the U.S. iTunes Store on August 28, 2007.[3]
She debuted this song at the 2007 Country Music Association Awards.
Music video
editUnderwood's video for "So Small" was directed by Roman White.[4] The video was originally planned to be premiering on September 13 on CMT, but instead premiered on September 20, 2007 on CMT, where the channel became "Carrie Music Television" and aired the video continuously from 6:00am–12:00pm straight, playing it an estimated 66 times. The video was also made available to purchase exclusively on the iTunes music store on September 20.[5]
The video begins with a teenager girl walking down a country road alone at dusk, carrying only a backpack. A flashback is shown of her arguing with her mother before she walks out of her house. Two cars are then shown approaching her from opposite ends, driven by a man (played by Christian Kane) and a crying woman. As the woman's car nears the teenager, she steps in front of it in an attempt to commit suicide. The woman swerves to the left side of the road to avoid hitting her, colliding instead with the man's car. Both vehicles freeze in mid-collision with their occupants unharmed and unaffected by the collision, while the front of the vehicles crumple from the impact and the windshields shatter, sending glass flying everywhere. Both the man and the woman have flashbacks of themselves leaving home after having a fight with their respective families and leaving them. As the night fades with a sunrise, the collision is reversed, and the teenager steps back from the road instead of onto it. Seeing this, both the man and the woman stop their cars and step out. The video ends with the three of them returning to their homes and reconciling with their families.
Underwood is also seen throughout the video standing in the middle of the road in separate shots, singing both at night and in the morning.
Chart performance
edit"So Small" debuted at number 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs on August 18, 2007, surpassing the number 21 debut of Gretchen Wilson's "All Jacked Up" to becoming the highest chart entry by a solo country female artist in 43 years of Nielsen BDS history.[6][7] The record would later be surpassed by Taylor Swift's 2012 single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."[8] The song subsequently debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles on the same day.[9] It made its debut entry in the Hot 100 at 98 two weeks later. It jumped 76 positions on the Hot 100 in its third week on the chart, from 93 to 17, with 71,000 digital downloads,[10] becoming Underwood's fifth top 20 hit on the chart. As of May 2012, the single has been certified Platinum. It has sold 1,088,000 copies as of November 2015.[11]
The song also became Underwood's fourth number one single on the Billboard country music charts, holding the peak position for three weeks, and her fifth consecutive number one country single overall. After its three week run atop the charts, the song fell to number ten, becoming the largest fall from the number one spot on the chart since "You Win My Love" by Shania Twain fell to number 11 after two weeks at number one in 1996. "So Small" was displaced by Taylor Swift's "Our Song", making it the first time since 1999 that a solo female artist replaced another atop the chart, the last having been Jo Dee Messina's "Stand Beside Me" replacing Martina McBride's "Wrong Again".[12]
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[13] | 14 |
| Canada Country (Billboard)[14] | 3 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 17 |
| US Christian AC (Billboard)[16] | 21 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[17] | 1 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2007) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[18] | 37 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | August 14, 2007 | Music download | Sony Music |
| Australia | |||
| United States[3] | August 28, 2007 | Arista Nashville | |
| Canada | Airplay | Sony Music | |
| Australia | |||
| United States | Arista Nashville | ||
| New Zealand | October 20, 2007 | Music download | Sony Music |
Cover versions
edit- American Idol 2009 finalist Matt Giraud performed this song during Grand Ole Opry week.
- German band ItaloBrothers covered the song on their 2010 album Stamp!
- Ty Herndon released a version of this song on his 2019 album, "Got It Covered."
Awards and nominations
edit2010 CMA Triple-Play Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "So Small" | Triple-Play Songwriter (along with "All-American Girl" and "Last Name") | Won |
2008 CMT Music Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "So Small" | Female Video of the Year | Nominated |
14th Inspirational Country Music Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "So Small" | Inspirational Country Music Video of the Year | Nominated |
2008 BMI Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "So Small" | Songwriter of the Year (Carrie Underwood) | Won |
References
edit- ^ Darden, Beville. "Carrie Underwood Debuts New Music" Archived 2008-09-06 at the Wayback Machine. Music.AOL.com. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood's New Single Arrives". CMT.com. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
- ^ a b "So Small - Single" Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine. Phobos.apple.com. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
- ^ "Videos: Carrie Underwood, "So Small"". CMT.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood official site". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood's "So Small" Sets Country Music Record". CountryStandardTime.com. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
- ^ "Underwood Tries For Encore With 'Carnival Ride'". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
- ^ "New Swift Single Poised to Make Digital Chart Debut" (PDF). Billboard. August 20, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- ^ "So Small" Debut Position on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles on August 9, 2007. Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
- ^ "Soulja Boy 'Cranks' Hot 100 No. 1 With Debut Single", Billboard.com, September 6, 2007.
- ^ "Ask Billboard: Chart Beat's 'Piano Man' Returns!". Billboard.
- ^ "Historic Leap Gives Swift First No. 1" (PDF). Billboard. December 22, 2007. p. 175.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Christian AC)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ "Best of 2007: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
External links
edit"So Small" video at CMT.com