"Wanted" | ||||
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Single by Hunter Hayes | ||||
from the album Hunter Hayes | ||||
Released | March 5, 2012 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:48 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Writer(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Hunter Hayes singles chronology | ||||
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"Wanted" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Hunter Hayes. It was released in March 2012 as the second single from his debut album Hunter Hayes (2011). Hayes co-wrote the song with Troy Verges. The song was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 2013 Grammy Awards. It is the second best-selling song by a male solo country singer in the US as of April 2014.Billboard ranked it the third-greatest country single of all time according to chart performance.
Upon release, "Wanted" was met with generally positive reviews and went on to be certified 4× Platinum in the US for sales of over 3.6 million. When the song topped the Hot Country Songs chart, Hayes broke the record held since 1973 by Johnny Rodriguez's "You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me)" as the youngest male artist to reach number one. The single was a moderate crossover hit in 2013 when it climbed to the top 15 on both the Adult Pop Songs and Adult Contemporary charts.
Hunter told Taste of Country about writing the song: "At the time, I was trying to tell somebody something, but I couldn't figure out how to say it. So I wanted to say it in music because I knew it would be a little more impactful. I wanted to say we are great in this relationship together, and I feel like it could even get better."
The song is a ballad expressing a desire to make a lover feel "wanted" by the narrator. It is in C major and an approximate tempo of 84 beats per minute.
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song 4.5 out of 5 stars. Dukes wrote, "It’s a mature lyric that will wrap around the hearts of country loving women nationwide." He added, "It's familiar without being generic and catchy without being syrupy." Giving it 5 out of 5 stars, Matt Bjorke of Roughstock wrote: "While 'Storm Warning' was a great opening salvo, 'Wanted' is the song that is going to make Hunter Hayes one of the music world’s most talented artists to arrive in years – that’s right – years."