Wasting All These Tears

Album: Frame by Frame (2013)
Charted: 37
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Florida native Cassadee Pope discovered her love of singing at a young age and cultivated her talent as a member of St. Ann School Jazz Band while in middle school in West Palm Beach In 2008 she co-founded the pop punk band Hey Monday and became their lead vocalist. The band was discovered by Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz, and they released their first studio album, Hold on Tight, in October 2008 with Wentz's label Decaydance and Columbia Records.

    Pope embarked on her first solo acoustic tour across the east and west coast in 2012. She released her debut self-titled EP on May 22, 2012, before successfully auditioning for season 3 of the singing competition, The Voice in the summer. She advanced to finals, winning the title on the live finale results day in December 2012. Pope signed with country music label Republic Nashville, an imprint of Big Machine Records the following month.

    This was released as Pope's first single from her debut album on the Republic Nashville label. The song, co-written by Caitlyn Smith and Rollie Gaalswyk, was sung by Pope on The Voice on June 4, 2013.
  • Pope told Billboard magazine that she had a feeling about the song from the beginning. "It was one of the first songs I heard in publishing meetings," she said. "It was my first time doing those. I had always written my own music. I fell in love right from the first line. It reels you in, There's such a picture that it paints. I knew it was a song I wanted for the album. I didn't think it would be the first single. I thought it would be something we released a little further down the line. Then, we recorded it, and I started playing it for people, I started performing it live, and the reaction was just undeniable. It had so much emotion. I think it's a great first impression for people."
  • The song was certified Platinum after reaching over one million downloads. Taylor Swift was the previous solo female Country singer to reach Platinum certification on a debut single, with 2006's "Tim McGraw."
  • This was co-written by country singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith, whose resumé also includes Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "You Can't Make Old Friends," Lady Antebellum's "747" and Rascal Flatts' "Let It Hurt."

    The other co-writer was Smith's husband, pop singer/songwriter Rollie Gaalswyk. The pair penned the tune together, over a bottle of red wine. Asked by Radio.com if it felt strange writing a break-up song with her husband, Smith replied: "We're both writers and we both have crazy ideas and crazy lines coming. I don't always write from, 'I have lived every word of this song.'"

    "Sometimes when you write you put on an actor hat and you can play a different character," she added, "which makes writing breakup songs with your husband a little easier."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."