The 10 Best Faith Hill Songs of All-Time
It’s impossible to talk about the top female artists in country without referencing Faith Hill. Ever since the release of her debut album, Take Me As I Am in 1993, she’s enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of the most influential and commercially successful country artists in the world. To date, she’s won 5 Grammys and 15 CMAs, sold over 40 million albums worldwide, and released a string of chart-topping singles. Here, we take a look back at her incredible career with our selection of the 10 best Faith Hill songs of all time.
10. Cry
As countrythangdaily.com says, if you ever feel like wallowing in a good crying session, the title track to Faith Hill’s fifth studio album should do very nicely. After reminiscing about a happy, carefree childhood, Hill digs deep into the melancholy as she laments the betrayals and bitterness of adulthood. Released as the lead single from Cry in 2002, the song was a crossover success, spending 11 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and reaching No. 12 and 33 on the Hot Country Songs chart and Hot 100 respectively. The following year, it earned Hill the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
9. Piece of My Heart
Janis Joplin’s version of Piece of My Heart may be the one most people know, but in 1993, Hill sprinkled a little country stardust over the song when she covered it for her debut album, Take Me As I Am. Hill had never heard Joplin’s version before recording the song, resulting in a much mellower, muted tone and with traditional country arrangements taking the place of Joplin’s full-tilt boogie. Released in 1994 as a single, it soared to No. 1 on both the US Hot Country Songs chart and Canada Country Tracks chart.
8. Stronger
Of all the songs on Hill’s fifth studio album Cry, few make better use of Hill’s extraordinary vocals better than Stronger. An emotional, soul-bearing triumph, it gives us Hill at her melodious best. It might not have received the single treatment, but it’s unquestionably one of the album’s chief highlights.
7. Wild One
In 1992, the country band Zaca Creek recorded Wild One, a country number written by Pat Bunch, Jaime Kyle, and Will Rambeaux, for their album Broken Heartland. The following year, country artist Evangeline covered it for her album French Quarter Moon and Faith Hill did the same for her debut album, Take Me As I Am. Hill’s proved the more successful of the two, climbing to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart in early 1994 and staying there for the next four weeks.
6. Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me
As Taste of Country notes, when Tim McGraw and Faith Hill became husband and wife in 1996, it only made sense for them to capitalize on the success of their solo careers and begin recording duets. Their first, It’s Your Love, was included on McGraw’s album Everywhere. Hill won the toss on their second, Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me, releasing it as the second single from her multi-platinum 1998 album, Faith. Described by Billboard as “a beautiful ballad loaded with star power,” it peaked at No. 3 on the US Hot Country Songs chart and No. 4 on the Canada Country Tracks chart.
5. The Way You Love Me
By 1999, Faith Hill was already an established country superstar. and The Way You Love Me didn’t dent her reputation one little bit. Released in February 2000 as the second single from her fourth studio album, Breathe, it was a major crossover success, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and No.6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also proved a big hit internationally, reaching No. 15 in the UK, No. 4 in Hungary, and No. 9 in Spain.
4. This Kiss
By 1998, Faith Hill had established herself as one of the biggest stars in country. With the release of This Kiss, she established herself as one of the biggest stars in music, period. An upbeat tune that makes full use of Hill’s elastic vocals, it became Hill’s first Top 10 hit on both the Adult Contemporary and Pop charts. If that wasn’t enough, it also spent three weeks at the top of both the US and Canadian Country charts and reached the Top 20 in both the UK and Australia.
3. There You’ll Be
Faith Hill has always known her way around a power ballad, and in 2001, she delivered one of her biggest and best to date with There You’ll Be. The song, which was written by hitmaker Diane Warren, was initially offered to Celine Dion. After Dion turned it down, Hill gave it the country treatment and turned it into one of the biggest hits of the year. It became her highest-charting single in the UK, reached the top ten on the US Billboard 100, and topped the charts in Canada, Portugal, and Sweden.
2. It Matters to Me
As Billboard notes, the difference between Hill’s first and second albums was vast, if for no other reason than the confidence of her delivery. Compared to the singles released from Take Me As I Am, the title track to It Matters to Me was a slick, polished affair that left no doubt about Hill’s gift for interpretation. Released in November 1995, it shot to the top of the Billboard country charts and became her first hit on the Hot 100.
1. Breathe
Finally, we come to Breathe, one of Hill’s most popular love songs and her biggest commercial success to date. Released as the lead single from her 8x Platinum-selling album of the same name, it spent six weeks at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart in October 1999, becoming Hill’s seventh No .1 on the chart. It also reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually becoming the number one pop single of 2000. If all that wasn’t enough, it landed Grammys for Best Country Album and Best Female Country Vocal Performance and helped Hill win her first Female Vocalist of the Year trophy at the following year’s CMAs.
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