Hard to Love

"Hard to Love"
Single by Lee Brice
from the album Hard 2 Love
Released	May 14, 2012
Format	Digital download
Genre	Country
Length	3:40
Label	Curb
Writer(s)	Billy Montana John Ozier Ben Glover
Producer(s)	Kyle Jacobs Matt McClure
Lee Brice singles chronology
"A Woman Like You" (2011) "Hard to Love" (2012) "I Drive Your Truck" (2012)

"Hard to Love" is a song recorded by American country music artist Lee Brice. It was released in May 14, 2012 as the second single from Brice's album Hard 2 Love. The song was written by Billy Montana, John Ozier and Ben Glover. It involves the singer asking his lover why she puts up with him despite his misgivings at romance.

The song received positive reviews from critics who praised Brice's performance of someone else's lyrics. "Hard to Love" gave Brice his second number-one country hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It also peaked at numbers 4 and 27 on the Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts respectively. It received minor chart success in Canada, peaking at number 51 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song was certified Platinum by both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Music Canada for selling over an amount of units from their respective countries.

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Eric Welch and features Brice performing his guitar in a room filled with light bulbs.

Content

In the song, the male narrator states that he is "hard to love" and questions why his lover still tolerates him. Co-writer Ben Glover said, "We thought we’d write a classic song about dudes saying, ‘You know I’m kind of a pain in the ass.’ We said, ‘Let’s just talk about ourselves in the song'".^[1]

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave "Hard to Love" three and a half stars out of five, writing that "the song doesn’t come to life as easily as some others Brice has performed or written" but "Brice should have no trouble finding his way up the charts."^[2] Ashley Cooke of Roughstock gave the song four stars out of five, saying that "although Brice didn’t write this song, he’s done a great job at finding one that fits his sound and his style."^[3]

Music video

The music video was directed by Eric Welch and premiered in April 2012.^[4]

Chart performance

"Hard to Love" debuted at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of May 26, 2012.^[5] The song has reached number one on the Country Airplay chart for the week of November 10, 2012, giving Brice his second number one country hit.

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6]	51
US Billboard Hot 100[7]	27
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[8]	1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9]	4

Year-end charts

Chart (2012)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100[10]	95
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[11]	18

Chart (2013)	Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12]	68

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[13]	Platinum	80,000
United States (RIAA)[14]	Platinum	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. Conaway, Alanna (May 9, 2012). "Lee Brice, ‘Hard to Love’ – Lyrics Uncovered". Taste of Country. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
2. Dukes, Billy (May 3, 2012). "Lee Brice, ‘Hard to Love’ – Song Review". Taste of Country. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
3. Cooke, Ashley (May 15, 2012). "Single Review: Lee Brice - "Hard To Love"". Roughstock. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
4. "CMT : Videos : Lee Brice : Hard to Love". Country Music Television. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
5. Morris, Edward (May 19, 2012). "Carrie Underwood Spends a Second Week at No. 1 With Blown Away". Country Music Television. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
6. "Lee Brice – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Lee Brice.
7. "Lee Brice – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Lee Brice.
8. "Lee Brice – Chart history" Billboard Country Airplay for Lee Brice.
9. "Lee Brice – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Lee Brice.
10. "Best of 2012 - Hot 100 Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
11. "Best of 2012: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
12. "Best of 2013: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
13. "Canadian single certifications – Lee Brice – Hard to Love". Music Canada. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
14. "American single certifications – Lee Brice – Hard to Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 27, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics