Savior's Shadow

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"Savior's Shadow"
Warner Bros. Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Scott Hendricks
Blake Shelton singles chronology
"Came Here to Forget"
(2016) 		"Savior's Shadow"
(2016) 		"She's Got a Way with Words"
(2016)
Music video
"Savior's Shadow" on
YouTube

"Savior's Shadow" is a song recorded by American country music artist Blake Shelton, taken as the second single from his tenth studio album, If I'm Honest (2016). It was released digitally on April 8, 2016, before being sent to Christian and country radio on April 11. The track was written by Shelton, Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall, while production was handled by Scott Hendricks.

A gospel song with Christian themes, "Savior's Shadow" served as a reminder that his faith was strong. Additionally, its lyrics detail losing faith during troubling times in his life, but ultimately result in him gaining more. It was generally well received by music critics, who applauded Shelton's change in musical genre. Some critics even positively noted his maturity through the track. A black and white music video was filmed for the track, and premiered on May 19, 2016. The singer performed it live for the first time on May 26, 2016 for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2016 on NBC.

Background and composition

According to Shelton himself, the initial idea for "Savior's Shadow" came to him in his sleep in May 2015. Although the singer did not remember the exact dream, he recalled "four lines of lyrics and [the] melody", which drew him to "grab his smartphone and s[ing] the passage into the memo function before it was lost".

Warner Bros. Nashville, he expressed gratitude from his fans, stating: "In all the years I've been doing this I've never experience this kind of reaction from a song. So proud."[3]

"Savior's Shadow" was written by Shelton, Alexander, and Randall, while production was handled by longtime collaborator

beats per minute.[5] His vocal range, which spanned from A3-E5, was accompanied by a piano, in addition to backup vocals.[5] An "introspective" gospel song,[6] it serves as "a guide" to demonstrate his faith "through trying times".[7] The gospel section and string arrangements was imagined by Charlie Judge, while Russ Pahl helped Shelton in creating "bittersweet steel notes" for the production.[1] Shelton sings: "I feel the rain, I hear the thunder / As He cries for me", demonstrating that Jesus was "a powerful source of strength" for the singer.[1] The first verse displays Shelton's "longing and willingness to stand" with Jesus after his relationship struggles: "Though the devil tried to break me / My sweet Jesus won't forsake me / When I'm in my Savior's shadow where I'm supposed to be".[8] Jeff Nelson of People claimed that the single offered some of Shelton's "most revealing lyrics", particularly the aforementioned lines.[9] The song commences with the singer praying: "I'm standing in my Savior's shadow, following his footsteps there / Every mountain, every ocean, He hears my prayer".[10]

Reception

"Savior's Shadow" was well received by

AXS's Lori Melton applauded Shelton for making "a huge creative departure" from his previous work.[8] Keith Harris, writing for Rolling Stone enjoyed the single, and felt "that the good ol' boy's maturing into a man".[11] Scott Stroud from The National appreciated the recording's honesty, in addition to it for containing "emotional sincerity".[12] Entertainment Tonight's Sophie Schillaci declared it a "deeply heartfelt ballad" and lauded its lyrics contrasting the Devil and Jesus.[13] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was more mixed in his review of the parent album; Wood was not impressed by the lyrics, summarizing that instead of being about religion and Christian faith, they are "mostly familiar images of thunder and rain, mountains and oceans".[14]

For the week ending April 30, 2016, "Savior's Shadow" debuted at the bottom position of the

Christian Songs chart, it debuted at number 17, for the week ending April 30, and managed to peak at number 14 two months later, for the week ending June 18.[20]

Promotion

A black-and-white music video for "Savior's Shadow" premiered on May 19, 2016 on Shelton's official YouTube account.[21] For the entirety of the video's duration, it features the singer sitting on a stool and playing the guitar. He sits in front of a solid white background while close-ups of Shelton strumming the guitar occasionally appear.[22] Shelton performed the song live for the first time as part of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2016 on May 26, 2016.[23][24]

Track listing

Digital download[25]
No.TitleLength
1."Savior's Shadow"2:42

Credits and personnel

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of If I'm Honest.[4]

Charts

Chart performance for "Savior's Shadow"
Chart (2016) Peak
position
US
Christian Songs (Billboard)[20]
 14
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[15] 50

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
North America April 8, 2016 Digital download
Warner Bros. Nashville
 [26]
United States April 11, 2016 Christian radio [1][27]
Country radio [1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Roland, Tom (May 11, 2016). "Blake Shelton Steps Out of His Own Past With 'Savior's Shadow'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Dukes, Billy (April 11, 2016). "New Blake Shelton Song 'Savior's Shadow' Came in a Dream [Listen]". Taste of Country. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  3. ^ Nolfi, Joey (April 11, 2016). "Hear Blake Shelton's new hymn-inspired song 'Savior's Shadow'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  4. ^
    Warner Bros. Records. 2016. 2-555352.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  5. ^ a b "Blake Shelton 'Savior's Shadow'". Musicnotes.com. 2016.
  6. ^ Taste of Country staff (May 20, 2016). "Album Spotlight: Blake Shelton, 'If I'm Honest'". Taste of Country. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  7. ^ Freeman, Jon (April 11, 2016). "Hear Blake Shelton's Hymn-Like 'Savior's Shadow'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Melton, Lori (April 22, 2016). "Review: Blake Shelton takes a strong leap of faith with 'Savior's Shadow'". AXS. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  9. ^ Nelson, Jeff (May 20, 2016). "Nine of the Most Revealing Lyrics on Blake Shelton's New Album". People. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  10. AXS
    . Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  11. ^ Harris, Keith (May 20, 2016). "Blake Shelton: If I'm Honest". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  12. ^ Stroud, Scott (June 13, 2016). "Album review: Blake Shelton's If I'm Honest is a crowd-pleaser". The National. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  13. ^ Schillaci, Sophie (May 20, 2016). "Blake Shelton's 'If I'm Honest': A Deep Dive Into the Album's Telling Lyrics". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  14. ^ Wood, Mikael (May 20, 2016). "Review: Blake Shelton could use more truth on the too-polished 'If I'm Honest'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Blake Shelton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  16. ^ Bjorke, Matt (April 19, 2016). "Top 30 Digital Singles Sales Chart: April 20, 2016". Roughstock. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  17. ^ "Blake Shelton Chart History (Country Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Blake Shelton Chart History (Christian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  19. ^ a b "Blake Shelton Chart History (Christian/Gospel Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Blake Shelton Chart History (Hot Christian Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  21. Radio.com
    . Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  22. ^ Vinson, Christina (May 19, 2016). "Blake Shelton Shares Serious Video for 'Savior's Shadow'". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  23. ^ WNWN-FM staff (May 27, 2016). "Blake Shelton Sings "Savior's Shadow" on "Red Nose Day" Event". WNWN-FM. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  24. ^ "Blake Shelton's Honesty Earns Him The Number One Selling Album In America With If I'm Honest". Blake Shelton. May 31, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  25. ^ "Blake Shelton – Savior's Shadow". Amazon. May 27, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  26. ^ "Blake Shelton: Savior's Shadow - Music on Google Play". Google Play. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  27. Viacom
    . Retrieved 23 June 2016.

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