The Reason Why

The Reason Why is the fourth studio album by American country group Little Big Town. It was released on August 24, 2010 via Capitol Nashville. "Little White Church," which was released in March 2010 as the album's lead-off single, has since become a Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

For other uses, see The Reason Why (disambiguation).
The Reason Why
Studio album by
Little Big Town
ReleasedAugust 24, 2010
GenreCountry
Length45:55
LabelCapitol Nashville
Producer
Little Big Town chronology
A Place to Land
(2007)		 The Reason Why
(2010)		 Tornado
(2012)
Singles from The Reason Why
  1. "Little White Church"
    Released: March 8, 2010
  2. "Kiss Goodbye"
    Released: October 18, 2010
  3. "The Reason Why"
    Released: March 7, 2011

Content

The album's title track was released as a digital single on July 27, 2010 to begin an iTunes countdown to the album release on August 24, 2010. Three further digital singles — "Kiss Goodbye," "Why, Oh Why," and "All the Way Down" — were released weekly leading up until the album release. "Little White Church," the album's first single release to radio, was a Top 10 on the Hot Country Songs charts, with a peak of number 6. "Rain on a Tin Roof," written by Chris Stapleton and Trent Willmon, previously appeared on Julie Roberts's 2004 self-titled debut album.[1] "Kiss Goodbye" and the title track were released as the album's second and third singles, respectively; both reached a peak of number 42 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Mojo Radio(8.7/10)[2]
American Twang[3]
Allmusic[4]
Country Weekly[5]
Slant[1]

The Reason Why received primarily positive reviews from music critics. Giving it four stars out of five, Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine thought that it was the band's most consistent album, praising the vocal harmonies as well as the cuts on which Karen Fairchild sang lead. He also thought that the band's sound was less derivative of Fleetwood Mac on this album than on previous works.[1] Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly rated it three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the group had "renewed energy" on it, also highlighting Fairchild's lead vocals.[5] Both Keefe and Phillips compared "Little White Church" favorably to Little Big Town's 2005 single "Boondocks." Thom Jurek of Allmusic also thought that the album showed a growth in sound over the band's two albums for Equity Music Group, giving it four stars out of five.[4] Jim Malec of American Twang thought the group’s vocal arrangements were "overbearing and gimmicky," claiming that the album often "sounds like the soundtrack to a Broadway musical." However, he complimented the group member's individual voices, in particular Karen Fairchild's.[3]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."The Reason Why"Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook, Wayne KirkpatrickFairchild, Westbrook4:52
2."Runaway Train"WestbrookWestbrook3:45
3."Kiss Goodbye"Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Steve McEwanSweet4:02
4."Shut Up Train"Lindsey, Chris Tompkins, Luke LairdFairchild3:48
5."Why, Oh Why"Fairchild, Schlapman, Westbrook, Jonathan Singleton, Chris StapletonSchlapman3:45
6."Little White Church"Fairchild, Schlapman, Westbrook, Sweet, KirkpatrickFairchild3:06
7."You Can't Have Everything"Fairchild, Schlapman, Westbrook, Sweet, KirkpatrickSchlapman3:28
8."All the Way Down"Fairchild, Schlapman, Westbrook, Sweet, KirkpatrickFairchild3:08
9."All Over Again"Fairchild, Schlapman, Westbrook, Sweet, KirkpatrickSweet4:08
10."Rain on a Tin Roof"Stapleton, Trent WillmonWestbrook4:24
11."Life Rolls On"Fairchild, Schlapman, Westbrook, Sweet, KirkpatrickWestbrook, Sweet3:10
12."Lean Into It"Fairchild, Schlapman, Westbrook, Sweet, KirkpatrickSweet4:19

Personnel

Little Big Town

Additional Musicians

Chart performance

Album

The Reason Why debuted at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and became their first number 1 record on the U.S. Billboard Country Albums charts, with first week sales of 41,939.[6] As of the chart date January 8, 2011, the album has sold 150,298 copies in the U.S.[7]

Weekly charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[8] 5
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (2010) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[10] 50
Chart (2011) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[11] 70

Singles
Year Single Peak chart
positions
US Country US
2010 "Little White Church" 6 59
"Kiss Goodbye" 42 —
2011 "The Reason Why" 42 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References
  1. Keefe, Jonathan (August 9, 2010). "The Reason Why review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  2. Rose, Rustyn. "Review: The Reason Why". Mojo Radio. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  3. Malec, Jim. "The Reason Why review". American Twang. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  4. Jurek, Thom. "The Reason Why review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  5. Phillips, Jessica (August 30, 2010). "Reviews". Country Weekly. 17 (35): 52. ISSN 1074-3235.
  6. "Little Big Town Scores First #1 Of Career | New Country Music, Listen to Songs & Video". Roughstock.com. September 1, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  7. "Final Holiday Sales #s of 2010 Are Huge for Country Artists". Roughstock. December 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  8. "Little Big Town Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  9. "Little Big Town Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  10. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  11. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
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