Burnin' It Down


"Burnin' It Down" is a song written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins and Florida Georgia Line members Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley and recorded by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released in July 2014 as the first single from his Aldean's 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt. The song won the "Top Country Song" category at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, but polarized critics.

Content

The song is a midtempo ballad about a sexual encounter with a lover. Aldean told Country Music Television that he considered the song "baby making music". He also felt that it was a different song style for him due to it being more sexual in nature and featuring a drum loop.

Critical reception

The single has polarized critics. Leeann Ward of Country Universe gave the song a D grade, writing that "There’s a line between a passionate love song and a passionless song. There’s a line between a sexy song and a sex filled song. And there’s a line between a classy, passionate love song and a classless, passionless sex filled song." Ward also said that “Burnin’ it Down” crosses the line to the latter categories on all accounts." Website Saving Country Music gave the song a similar review, rating the song "Two Guns Way Down". It called the song "a roast", heavily criticizing its EDM-oriented production and its lyrics, saying the song "isn't sexy, it's creepy".
Giving it a B grade, Tammy Ragusa of Country Weekly was more favorable, writing that "Jason proves he can also change things up, which he does dramatically through edgy, urban-and-pop-influenced arrangements and production" and that "the song's sexy lyrics push the boundaries of what might be construed as traditional themes in country music." In a review of Old Boots, New Dirt for Billboard, Chuck Dauphin praised "Burnin' It Down" as "the most musically adventurous track that Aldean has ever recorded".

Commercial performance

During its first week in release, the song sold 184,000 downloads in the United States and debuted at number 42 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. In its second week, the song moved from number 42 to 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. On September 29, 2014, the song was certified Platinum by the RIAA just nine weeks after release, becoming the fastest single of 2014 to do that. It reached its millionth sales mark in October 2014. As of April 2015, the song has sold 1,589,000 copies in the US.
In Canada, the song sold 15,000 downloads in its debut week.

Music video

The music video was directed by Wes Edwards and premiered in August 2014.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Hot Country Songs 84

Decade-end charts