"Why Wait" is the title of a song written by Neil Thrasher

Neil Thrasher

Joe Neil Thrasher, Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records in 1996 and charted two singles on the Billboard country charts in early 1997...

, Tom Shapiro

Tom Shapiro

Tom Shapiro is an American songwriter and occasional record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. To date, he holds four Country Songwriter of the Year awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated, as well as the Songwriter of the Decade award from the Nashville Songwriters...

 and Jimmy Yeary and recorded by country music

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...

 band Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...

. It was released as the first single from their seventh studio album Nothing Like This

Nothing Like This

Nothing Like This received positive reviews from most critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine with Allmusic gave it a four-star review, saying "Nothing Like This doesn’t offer anything new, it’s Rascal Flatts who have never strayed from the sunny sound of their 2000 debut - but everything from the...

, released on November 16, 2010. It is their first single released by Big Machine Records

Big Machine Records

Big Machine Records is an Independent American record label specializing in country music artists. It was launched in 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta. The label was part of a joint venture between Borchetta and country singer Toby Keith, although Keith dropped his...

.

Music video

The music video, directed by Billy Zabka, was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, following a story reminiscent of the comedy film The Hangover

The Hangover

The Hangover is the second solo album by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke, released in 1997.-Track listing:All tracks by Clarke unless otherwise stated.# "Wasn't Yesterday Great" – 2:45# "It's Good Enough for Rock N' Roll" – 3:12...

. David Arquette

David Arquette

David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...

 plays the man in the video who proposes to his girlfriend. Rick Harrison, owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and star of the History Channel original show Pawn Stars

Pawn Stars

Pawn Stars is an American reality television series on the History Channel, produced in Manhattan by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24-hour family business operated by patriarch Richard...

, makes a cameo appearance in the video when the Flatts and Arquette stop at the pawn shop to buy an engagement ring. Also in the video are cameos by Ron White

Ron White

Ronald "Ron" White is an American stand up comedian and satirist who has had two Grammy Award-nominations, and is RIAA certified 10x Platinum for CD and DVD sales of over 10 million units...

, Carrot Top

Carrot Top

Scott Thompson , better known by his stage name Carrot Top, is an American comedian known for his bright red hair, prop comedy, and self-deprecating humor.-Early years:...

, Victoria Justice

Victoria Justice

Victoria Justice is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and dancer. She debuted as an actress at the age of 10 and has since appeared in several films and television series including the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 and Victorious...

, Wayne Newton

Wayne Newton

Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...

, and Penn and Teller.

Reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song a three-out-of-five rating, saying the lyrics "may be 'cheesy' to some, but it fits right where we'd expect a Rascal Flatts song to go." Giving it a "thumbs up," Jim Malec of American Twang thought that it was a return in sound to the band's earlier albums, also praising the "great details and images" of the lyrics as well as Gary LeVox

Gary LeVox

Gary LeVox is the lead vocalist of American country trio Rascal Flatts. His stage name literally means "The Voice", a name he lifted from the studio-console label for his lead-vocal track....

's vocals. Tara Seetharam gave the song a B+ rating, referring to it as "a tasteful, vintage-Flatts track marked by an infectious rush of joy." She positively commented on the production, lyrics, and LeVox's vocals, stating that "the song gets everything right."

Chart performance

"Why Wait" debuted at #34 on the U.S. 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...

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...

charts for the week of August 14, 2010, and became the group's eleventh Number One hit for the week of December 18, 2010. > > >

Chart (2010-2011)	Peak position