"I Told You So" is the title of a song written and originally recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis. Travis's rendition was released in 1988 from his album Always & Forever and reached Number One on the U.S. Billboard and Canadian RPM country singles charts in June of that year. In 2007, the song was covered by Carrie Underwood on her album Carnival Ride, and her version was released in February 2009 as that album's fifth single. Underwood's version was re-recorded and re-released in March as a duet with Travis, reaching a peak of #2 on the U.S. country charts in mid-2009.

Content

"I Told You So" is a mid-tempo in which the narrator poses a hypothetical situation, asking how his lover would react if he said he wanted to come back home. He asks if she would say that she loves him, or "simply laugh at [him] and say 'I told you so'" because she has found someone else.

Randy Travis version

Randy Travis wrote the song and initially pitched to other artists such as Conway Twitty, Gary Morris, Lee Greenwood and Earl Thomas Conley all of whom turned it down. Randy decided to use it himself and recorded it for his 1987 album Always & Forever and released it as a single. His rendition was a Number One hit on the Billboard country charts, peaking in June 1988 and spending two weeks at that position. In 1989, it won an American Music Award for Favorite Country Single.

Randy Travis later recollected on Twitty's response to the song's popularity. "We were working shows with Conway after it was a #1 song for us, and he remembered it; and for a while every time Lib (Travis' Manager and Wife) would walk up to him, she'd just say "I Told You So." It got to the point that every time he'd see her coming he'd say "I don't want to hear it."

Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Carrie Underwood version

A cover version was recorded by Carrie Underwood on her 2007 album Carnival Ride. It is the fifth and final single released from the album.

Her version of the song is part of the tracklist for Now That's What I Call Country Volume 2.

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock called the song "very much a welcomed addition to the charts." He also states that Underwood may "'over sing' the title a bit in the chorus", but "the rest of the song is no doubt her best and truest country single to date."

Kevin J. Coyne of Country Universe gave the duet version of the song an A, saying even though these voices are far too strong for one to blend into the background of the other, the soft purity of Underwood’s voice perfectly complements the ragged twang of Travis’s ragged vocal.

The 9513 critic Brady Vercher, however, gave Underwood's rendition a "thumbs down" rating, saying "When she delivers the chorus she’s just a woman singing a song. Although technically proficient, it’s not very moving."

Music video

A music video for the single was released February 12, 2009 on CMT.com. It consists of Underwood performing the song at the Grand Ole Opry in a short, black dress. Before the performance, she states that "I Told You So" has always been "one of [her] favorites growing up". After the performance, Randy Travis comes out from the back of the stage and compliments Underwood. He said he was going to perform that song that night, but after hearing Underwood, he decided not to. He told her that the song is "far better suited" for Underwood's vocals than his own.

Duet version

Another version of "I Told You So" was released on March 17, 2009 to country radio airwaves as a new studio recording which pairs Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis. A digital single of that recording was made available for sale online to coincide with their American Idol performance on March 18, 2009. From the chart week of March 28, 2009 on, the song was credited to Underwood and Travis and marks Travis' first Top 40 single on the country charts since "Three Wooden Crosses" in 2003.

Performances

Celebrating the Grand Ole Opry Week on American Idol Season 8 and as Travis being their mentor, Underwood and Travis performed their duet for the first time live and on television. On April 5, 2009, she again performed this song at the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards where she won her very first nomination as 2009 ACM Entertainer of the Year.

Charts

Underwood's version of the song debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart at #38 for the week January 19, 2009, two weeks before its release date. On the issue date April 4, 2009, the song rose 48 positions from #57 to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Carrie Underwood's 4th Top 10 on the chart, and Travis' highest Hot 100 peak. With a #2 country peak, it is Underwood's first single since 2006's "Don't Forget to Remember Me" to miss Number One, breaking a string of six consecutive country Number One hits.

Chart (2009)	Peak Position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	25
Canadian Radio & Records Country Singles	1
Canadian Hot 100	18

References

1. Billboard Hot Country Songs
2. Rock on the Net
3. Archived page of Randy-Travis.com
4. Carrie's Hopes are High for CD #3
5. Carrie Underwood - "I Told You So"
6. [1]
7. http://www.cmt.com/videos/carrie-underwood/341406/i-told-you-so-live.jhtml?id=1605031