"It's America" is the title of a country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 song written by Brett James

Brett James

Brett James Cornelius is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Signed to Career Records as a solo artist in 1995, James charted three singles and released a self-titled debut album that year...

 and Angelo Petraglia. It was recorded by American country music singer Rodney Atkins

Rodney Atkins

Rodney Allan Atkins is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the Billboard country chart that year, but did not release an album until 2003's Honesty, which included the number 4 hit "Honesty ".If You're Going Through Hell, his second...

, who released it in November 2008 as a single. The song is the lead-off single and title track to his third studio album, It's America

It's America

-Singles:The album's first single release was its title track, written by Brett James and Angelo Petraglia. Released in late 2008, the song went on to become the fifth Number One single of his career. It was followed by "15 Minutes" at number 20, and "Chasin' Girls", which failed to make the Top...

.

Content

"It's America" is an up-tempo, backed by banjo

Banjo

In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

, in which the narrator lists off various American images before saying that he is proud to live in the United States. The first verse describes his stopping at a lemonade

Lemonade

Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.The term can refer to three different types of beverage:...

 stand and considering the stand a "picture-perfect postcard", while in the second verse, he describes watching a news story of a community's members gathering to rebuild the community after a tornado.

Reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song a mixed review. Bjorke called it "a song that aims to reaffirm what made Rodney Atkins a star". He added that although the message was good, the song's production did not fit Atkins' voice and detracted from the lyric.

Jim Malec of The 9513 gave it a "thumbs down" rating. His review criticizes the use of the word "it", asking, "What is the 'it' that supposedly represents this nation of millions?" Malec also said, " But 'It’s America' pretends that the images it presents as fundamental exist in isolation, which simply isn’t true. And it makes no attempt to discuss why those images are personally relevant[…] 'It’s America' is a symbol not a song, an advertisement not art."

Chart performance

"It's America" debuted at #57 on the Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

chart dated November 29, 2008, and entered the Top 40 in its third chart week. The song became his fifth Number One on the chart dated May 2, 2009.
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Chart (2008-2009)	Peak position