I'm Still a Guy

"I'm Still a Guy"
Single by Brad Paisley
from the album 5th Gear
ReleasedMarch 3, 2008 (2008-03-03)
GenreCountry
Length4:11 (album version)
3:55 (radio version)
LabelArista Nashville
Songwriter(s)Brad Paisley
Kelley Lovelace
Lee Thomas Miller
Producer(s)Frank Rogers
Brad Paisley singles chronology
"Letter to Me"
(2007)
"I'm Still a Guy"
(2008)
"Waitin' on a Woman"
(2008)

"I'm Still a Guy" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Brad Paisley. It was released in March 2008 as the fourth single from his album 5th Gear. As with the other three singles from that album, "I'm Still a Guy" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Content

"I'm Still a Guy" is a mid-tempo set in triple meter, written by Paisley along with Kelley Lovelace and Lee Thomas Miller. In the song, the narrator explains to his female companion that he is "still a guy" despite his companion's attempts to correct his stereotypical behavior and society's attempts to apply feminine traits to men.[1]

Paisley said that his intention was to "capture this struggle a little bit between men and women in a playful way".[1]

Initially, Paisley was not certain if a female audience would accept the song, so he sang it to his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley - who was pregnant at the time - straight after writing it at his co-writer and friend, Kelley Lovelace's, house. According to Miller, she "laughed long and hard at all the right places".[1] Just hours later, while back at Lovelace's house, he found out his wife's water had broken - Lovelace's words to him as he ran out of the door were "Don't forget the last song you wrote before you became a father!"[2]

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a B− rating. Coyne says that while the song would be great to create energy at a concert, it "lacks the strength to be a viable radio single. Instead, it sounds more like a ditty rather than a substantive song."[3]

Personnel

Chart performance

Paisley taking a selfie during a performance of "I'm Still a Guy", May 2022

The song debuted at number 48 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated March 8, 2008, moving up to number 28 the next week. It climbed to Number One on the country chart dated May 31, 2008, and stayed there for three weeks, giving Paisley his seventh consecutive Number One single and eleventh overall.[1]

Chart (2008) Peak
Position
Canada Country (Billboard)[4] 1
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[5] 54
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 33
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
Canada Country (Billboard)[8] 4
US Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 10

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[10] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[11] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Horner, Alanna (2008-06-30). "Story Behind the Song". Country Weekly. 15 (13): 13.
  2. ^ "BBC Radio 2 - Radio 2 Celebrates Country, Brad Paisley and Friends: BBC Radio Theatre, 2014".
  3. ^ Coyne, Kevin John (2008-02-19). "Brad Paisley - "I'm Still a Guy"". Country Universe. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  4. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  5. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  6. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  7. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  8. ^ "Top Canada Country Songs". R&R. December 12, 2008. p. 62.
  9. ^ "Best of 2008: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  10. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Brad Paisley – I'm Still a Guy". Music Canada. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  11. ^ "American single certifications – Brad Paisley – I'm Still a Guy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 31, 2016.