"Could've Been Me" is the title of a song written by Reed Nielsen and Monty Powell, and recorded by American country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus

William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...

. It was released in July 1992 as the second single from his multi-platinum selling

RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 debut album, Some Gave All

Some Gave All

-Album:-End of decade charts:-Sales and Certifications:-Singles:-Other charted songs:- Personnel :*Billy Ray Cyrus - vocals, rhythm guitar*Greg Fletcher - drums*Corky Holbrook - bass, vocals*Michael J...

. The song reached number 2 on the U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and reached number-one on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. It was the follow-up to the number 1 song, "Achy Breaky Heart

Achy Breaky Heart

"Achy Breaky Heart" is a hit country music song written by Don Von Tress. Originally titled "Don't Tell My Heart", its name was later changed to "Achy Breaky Heart" and was recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus on his 1992 album Some Gave All. As Cyrus' debut single and signature song, it made him famous and...

".

Content

The song is a moderate up-tempo in which the narrator hears from a friend that his ex-lover had gotten married. He calls and tells her that he finally realized it "could've been [him]" that she married.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard

Billboard (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...

magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "flair of Springsteen-ish style." She states to "look for the multiformat ball to keep on rolling."

Chart performance

"Could've Been Me" debuted at number 65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of July 4, 1992.

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Top Singles	72