A Woman Needs (song)
Encyclopedia
"A Woman Needs" is the title of a song recorded by American country
artist Jessica Harp
. The song, which is the title-track of Harp's debut album
, was released to country radio on January 19, 2010 and to digital retailers on December 8, 2009. It is the second and final single from the album, which was digitally released on March 16, 2010.
In an interview with Country Music Tattle Tale, Harp revealed that the song is her personal favorite from the album, because it resonated with her personal experience of attempting to land a record deal in country music, and described that "A Woman Needs" set the mood for the rest of the album.
." The Georgia Jukebox gave the song a positive review, describing her vocals favorably: "Harp shine[s] through her music with her voice, which is both strong and sexy, and reminds of singers like Alanis Morrisette, and features a sound that is equally country and pop."
and centers around a woman who was unable to live out her dreams, but is able to see her daughter fulfill those dreams. In the video, Harp is shown with three friends at three different stages of her life; childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The girls continue to stay friends, originally connected by stars they drew on their hands and later by temporary tattoos applied as teens. In the end, as adults, their friendship lives on in the form of matching permanent tattoos, to signify that they will always be best friends. Additionally, after quitting her job at the coffee shop to follow her dreams of becoming a country singer, her boss supports her decision by giving her an acoustic guitar and a bus ticket to Nashville, Tennessee
.
Hot Country Songs
chart for the chart week of February 27, 2010, and reached a peak of #56 in its third week on the chart.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist Jessica Harp
Jessica Harp
Jessica Leigh Harp is an American songwriter and former country artist from Kansas City, Missouri. Between 2005 and 2007, Harp and Michelle Branch recorded and performed as The Wreckers, a duo that topped the country charts in 2006 with the Grammy-nominated "Leave the Pieces." After The Wreckers...
. The song, which is the title-track of Harp's debut album
A Woman Needs
-Chart performance:A Woman Needs debuted at #31 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart, selling 2,918 copies in its first week....
, was released to country radio on January 19, 2010 and to digital retailers on December 8, 2009. It is the second and final single from the album, which was digitally released on March 16, 2010.
Content
"A Woman Needs" is an up-tempo country song, featuring a prominent banjo line with fiddle and steel guitar fills. The song's female narrator describes the experience of wanting freedom to do as she pleases; her dad doesn't approve of this, while her mom understands what its like to be a young woman. The narrator elaborates on some of these things that "a woman needs".In an interview with Country Music Tattle Tale, Harp revealed that the song is her personal favorite from the album, because it resonated with her personal experience of attempting to land a record deal in country music, and described that "A Woman Needs" set the mood for the rest of the album.
Reception
Matt Bjorke of Roughstock reviewed the song favorably, describing it as a "well-worn 'sow my oats' story [that] weaves into a cohesive mission statement about how we all need to ‘spend time on our own’ to find out who we are." He also spoke positively about the song's production and noted that Harp has a "little rockin’ indie spirit to her music a-la Miranda LambertMiranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is an American country music artist who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut...
." The Georgia Jukebox gave the song a positive review, describing her vocals favorably: "Harp shine[s] through her music with her voice, which is both strong and sexy, and reminds of singers like Alanis Morrisette, and features a sound that is equally country and pop."
Music video
The music video, directed by Kristin Barlowe, was filmed on November 19, 2009. It made its premiere on The Boot on January 25, 2010, following a three-part series of behind the scenes videos that were posted weekly leading up to its release. In the making of the video webisodes, Harp described the theme of the video, which is based on the movie Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya SisterhoodDivine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (film)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a 2002 American comedy-drama film starring Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd, directed and written by Callie Khouri...
and centers around a woman who was unable to live out her dreams, but is able to see her daughter fulfill those dreams. In the video, Harp is shown with three friends at three different stages of her life; childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The girls continue to stay friends, originally connected by stars they drew on their hands and later by temporary tattoos applied as teens. In the end, as adults, their friendship lives on in the form of matching permanent tattoos, to signify that they will always be best friends. Additionally, after quitting her job at the coffee shop to follow her dreams of becoming a country singer, her boss supports her decision by giving her an acoustic guitar and a bus ticket to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
Chart performance
"A Woman Needs" debuted at #58 on the U.S. BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart for the chart week of February 27, 2010, and reached a peak of #56 in its third week on the chart.
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs | 56 |