Ready, Set, Don't Go
Encyclopedia
"Ready, Set, Don't Go" is a country
song performed by American recording artists Billy Ray Cyrus
and Miley Cyrus
. It was released as the lead single
from Home at Last, Cyrus' tenth studio album. It was sent to country radio stations on July 11, 2007 with a radio edit as a B-side. The song is a soft country ballad with some use of pop
and soft rock
elements. The song has received different interpretations though, in actuality, Cyrus wrote the song several years before its release when his middle daughter, Miley, moved to Los Angeles
in order to pursue an acting career with an audition for the Disney Channel Original Series Hannah Montana
. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" received critical praise, with reviewers complimenting its lyrical content. It also reached positive commercial responses for Cyrus, compared to his downfall in previous years. Peaking at number eighty-five on the Billboard Hot 100
, it became Cyrus' first entry on the chart since "You Won't Be Lonely Now" (2000).
The song's accompanying music video
was directed by Elliot Lester and features some of Cyrus' home videos; it received a CMT Music Award nomination at the 2008 CMT Music Awards. The song eventually became re-released as a duet
with his daughter, pop
star Miley Cyrus
, in October 2007. At the time of the single's release, she was fourteen and enjoying the success of her debut album Meet Miley Cyrus. The duet version became Miley's debut in country music and received better commercial outcomes. It reached its highest international peak in the Billboard Hot 100 at number thirty-seven and became Cyrus' first international chart entry since "Could've Been Me
" (1992). Cyrus, with and without his daughter, performed the song at several venues, most notably Miley's first headlining concert tour, the Best of Both Worlds Tour
.
song which some of merges Home at Lasts adult contemporary
style. It is set in common time
with a ballad tempo of 76 beats per minute. The song is written in a key of D major
. Cyrus' and Miley's vocals each span two octaves, from B3 to B5. The verses use a chord progression of D-Bm7-G twice, followed by Em and A, while the chorus uses G-A-D twice followed by G-Bm-Em-A-D.
The song's lyrics, written by Cyrus and Casey Beathard
, have been interpreted in a variety of ways. Scott Sexton, writing for About.com
, "Ready, Set, Don't Go" believed the song could have described a number of subjects. He said, "It is either about woman leaving a man, or a father watching his child leave and spread their wings". Cyrus discussed Home at Last in an interview with Calvin Gilbert of CMT News in which he said the song was about children growing up and moving on, from his own experience of moving his family to Los Angeles
to help Miley with her acting and singing career.
noted that it was a "great ballad [...] the music flowed with the powerful words, and was a great rockin
' tune." Stephen Thomas Erlewine
, writing for Allmusic, selected the song as one of the best tracks on Home at Last.
s Hot Digital Songs
Chart which led to an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100
for the week ending August 4, 2007. The solo version debuted and peaked at number eighty-five on the Billboard Hot 100
. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" became Cyrus' first appearance on the Hot 100 since "You Won't Be Lonely Now" (2000), which peaked at number eighty. It also peaked at number forty-seven on Hot Country Songs
and number fifty-eight on the canceled Pop 100
chart.
for the week ending October 27, 2009. On the week ending January 26, 2008, the song ascended to number forty on the Hot 100, becoming Cyrus first top forty hit since his debut single "Achy Breaky Heart
" (1992), which peaked at number four. The song ultimately peaked at number thirty-seven on the Hot 100 for the week ending February 16, 2008. It also peaked at number four on Hot Country Songs
, Cyrus' first top ten on the chart since "Busy Man
" (1999) peaked at number three, and number forty-four on Pop 100
. In the Canadian Hot 100
, the song debuted at number ninety-four for the week ending on November 24, 2006. For the week ending February 2, 2008, the song reached its peak on the chart, at number forty-seven. It became Cyrus' first international chart entry since "Could've Been Me
" (1992).
. It then transition into showing him. He is sitting on top of two black trunks
in a dark, vacant room, wearing a lavender-colored shirt with a gray tee underneath, jeans, and cowboy boots. As Cyrus continues playing the guitar, images of Miley appear on the background. The images range from Miley's infant to teenage years. As Cyrus sings, nodding his head and flipping his hair intensely, a variety of home videos are played. This continues for the rest of the video. The scene ends with a video of Miley leaving in a yellow taxi cab is shown in the background. The final scene has Cyrus with Miley as she takes her first steps and he says, "alright".
The video received a nomination for "Tearjerker Video of the Year", but lost to Kellie Pickler
's video for "I Wonder" at the 2008 CMT Music Awards.
. Cyrus introduced the song as a duet on October 9 on Dancing with the Stars
. Cyrus joined Miley on The Oprah Winfrey Show
on December 20 to perform the song. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" was most notably performed on the Best of Both Worlds Tour
. On selected dates, Cyrus and another one his daughters, Brandi, joined Miley to perform the song as an encore. On April 14, 2008, "Ready, Set, Don't Go" was performed as duet at the CMT Music Awards
. The performance begun with Cyrus, wearing an open white shirt with a brown tee underneath and jeans, playing an acoustic guitar
that was strapped to him. By the line, "wherever they are", Miley, wearing a multicolored cocktail dress
, joined him from the back of the stage.
On January 19, 2009, the song was performed at the Kids' Inaugural: "We Are the Future" event in celebration of Barack Obama
's inauguration. Dressed in a graphic tee and jeans, Miley finished performing "Fly on the Wall" and asked for Cyrus to join her onstage to perform the song. Cyrus was dressed in a black tee shirt, jeans, and a black leather jacket.
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 performed by American recording artists Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
and Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
. It was released as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from Home at Last, Cyrus' tenth studio album. It was sent to country radio stations on July 11, 2007 with a radio edit as a B-side. The song is a soft country ballad with some use of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
elements. The song has received different interpretations though, in actuality, Cyrus wrote the song several years before its release when his middle daughter, Miley, moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in order to pursue an acting career with an audition for the Disney Channel Original Series Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" received critical praise, with reviewers complimenting its lyrical content. It also reached positive commercial responses for Cyrus, compared to his downfall in previous years. Peaking at number eighty-five on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, it became Cyrus' first entry on the chart since "You Won't Be Lonely Now" (2000).
The song's accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Elliot Lester and features some of Cyrus' home videos; it received a CMT Music Award nomination at the 2008 CMT Music Awards. The song eventually became re-released as a duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with his daughter, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
star Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, in October 2007. At the time of the single's release, she was fourteen and enjoying the success of her debut album Meet Miley Cyrus. The duet version became Miley's debut in country music and received better commercial outcomes. It reached its highest international peak in the Billboard Hot 100 at number thirty-seven and became Cyrus' first international chart entry since "Could've Been Me
Could've Been Me
"Could've Been Me" is the title of a song written by Reed Nielsen and Monty Powell, and recorded by American country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus. It was released in July 1992 as the second single from his multi-platinum selling debut album, Some Gave All. The song reached number 2 on the U.S...
" (1992). Cyrus, with and without his daughter, performed the song at several venues, most notably Miley's first headlining concert tour, the Best of Both Worlds Tour
Best of Both Worlds Tour
The Best of Both Worlds Tour was the first concert tour by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. The tour was held to promote the double-disc album Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus , which consisted of the soundtrack to Hannah Montanas second season and her debut studio album...
.
Background
"Ready, Set, Don't Go" is a country popCountry pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
song which some of merges Home at Lasts adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
style. It is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
with a ballad tempo of 76 beats per minute. The song is written in a key of D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
. Cyrus' and Miley's vocals each span two octaves, from B3 to B5. The verses use a chord progression of D-Bm7-G twice, followed by Em and A, while the chorus uses G-A-D twice followed by G-Bm-Em-A-D.
The song's lyrics, written by Cyrus and Casey Beathard
Casey Beathard
Casey Beathard is an American country music songwriter. The son of former NFL general manager Bobby Beathard, he has co-written singles for several country music recording artists, including Top Ten singles for Gary Allan, Billy Ray Cyrus, Trace Adkins, and Kenny Chesney...
, have been interpreted in a variety of ways. Scott Sexton, writing for About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, "Ready, Set, Don't Go" believed the song could have described a number of subjects. He said, "It is either about woman leaving a man, or a father watching his child leave and spread their wings". Cyrus discussed Home at Last in an interview with Calvin Gilbert of CMT News in which he said the song was about children growing up and moving on, from his own experience of moving his family to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to help Miley with her acting and singing career.
Critical reception
"Ready, Set, Don't Go" received generally positive reviews from critics. Scott Sexton of About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
noted that it was a "great ballad [...] the music flowed with the powerful words, and was a great rockin
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
' tune." Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
, writing for Allmusic, selected the song as one of the best tracks on Home at Last.
Solo version
"Ready, Set, Don't Go" debuted at number sixty-seven on BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
Chart which led to an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for the week ending August 4, 2007. The solo version debuted and peaked at number eighty-five on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" became Cyrus' first appearance on the Hot 100 since "You Won't Be Lonely Now" (2000), which peaked at number eighty. It also peaked at number forty-seven on 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...
and number fifty-eight on the canceled Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
chart.
Duet version
The duet version of "Ready, Set, Don't Go" enjoyed much more commercial success than the original version due to Miley's popularity. It debuted at number eighty-five in the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for the week ending October 27, 2009. On the week ending January 26, 2008, the song ascended to number forty on the Hot 100, becoming Cyrus first top forty hit since his debut single "Achy Breaky Heart
Achy Breaky Heart
"Achy Breaky Heart" is a hit country music song written by Don Von Tress. Originally titled "Don't Tell My Heart", its name was later changed to "Achy Breaky Heart" and was recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus on his 1992 album Some Gave All. As Cyrus' debut single and signature song, it made him famous and...
" (1992), which peaked at number four. The song ultimately peaked at number thirty-seven on the Hot 100 for the week ending February 16, 2008. It also peaked at number four on 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...
, Cyrus' first top ten on the chart since "Busy Man
Busy Man
"Busy Man" is the title of a song written by Bob Regan and George Teren. It was recorded by American country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus on his 1998 album Shot Full of Love, from which it was released in October of that year as the album's third single. The song reached a peak of number 3 on the U.S...
" (1999) peaked at number three, and number forty-four on Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
. In the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
, the song debuted at number ninety-four for the week ending on November 24, 2006. For the week ending February 2, 2008, the song reached its peak on the chart, at number forty-seven. It became Cyrus' first international chart entry since "Could've Been Me
Could've Been Me
"Could've Been Me" is the title of a song written by Reed Nielsen and Monty Powell, and recorded by American country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus. It was released in July 1992 as the second single from his multi-platinum selling debut album, Some Gave All. The song reached number 2 on the U.S...
" (1992).
Music video
The music video for "Ready, Set, Don't Go" was directed by Elliot Lester. The video begins with a close-up of Cyrus' hand playing an acoustic guitarAcoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. It then transition into showing him. He is sitting on top of two black trunks
Trunks
Trunks may refer to:In male clothing:*Trunks , short swimsuitsIn popular culture:*Trunks , a character in Dragon Ball media*Trunks , by The Brothers CreegganPeople:...
in a dark, vacant room, wearing a lavender-colored shirt with a gray tee underneath, jeans, and cowboy boots. As Cyrus continues playing the guitar, images of Miley appear on the background. The images range from Miley's infant to teenage years. As Cyrus sings, nodding his head and flipping his hair intensely, a variety of home videos are played. This continues for the rest of the video. The scene ends with a video of Miley leaving in a yellow taxi cab is shown in the background. The final scene has Cyrus with Miley as she takes her first steps and he says, "alright".
The video received a nomination for "Tearjerker Video of the Year", but lost to Kellie Pickler
Kellie Pickler
Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing...
's video for "I Wonder" at the 2008 CMT Music Awards.
Live performances
Cyrus premiered "Ready, Set, Don't Go" on June 9, 2007 at the CMA Music FestivalCMA Music Festival
The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered around country music hosted each June by the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee...
. Cyrus introduced the song as a duet on October 9 on Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
. Cyrus joined Miley on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
on December 20 to perform the song. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" was most notably performed on the Best of Both Worlds Tour
Best of Both Worlds Tour
The Best of Both Worlds Tour was the first concert tour by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. The tour was held to promote the double-disc album Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus , which consisted of the soundtrack to Hannah Montanas second season and her debut studio album...
. On selected dates, Cyrus and another one his daughters, Brandi, joined Miley to perform the song as an encore. On April 14, 2008, "Ready, Set, Don't Go" was performed as duet at the CMT Music Awards
CMT Music Awards
The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on CMT. Voting takes place on CMT's website, CMT.com.-History:...
. The performance begun with Cyrus, wearing an open white shirt with a brown tee underneath and jeans, playing an acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
that was strapped to him. By the line, "wherever they are", Miley, wearing a multicolored cocktail dress
Cocktail dress
A cocktail dress or cocktail gown is a woman's dress worn at cocktail parties, and semi-formal, or "black tie" occasions.The length of cocktail dresses varies depending on fashion and local custom. The length ranges from just above the knee to touching the ankle...
, joined him from the back of the stage.
On January 19, 2009, the song was performed at the Kids' Inaugural: "We Are the Future" event in celebration of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's inauguration. Dressed in a graphic tee and jeans, Miley finished performing "Fly on the Wall" and asked for Cyrus to join her onstage to perform the song. Cyrus was dressed in a black tee shirt, jeans, and a black leather jacket.
Solo version
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
85 |
| US 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... |
47 |
| US Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
58 |
Duet version
| Chart (2007-08) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
47 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 37 |
| US Hot Country Songs | 4 |
| US Pop 100 | 44 |
Year-end charts
| Charts (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs | 37 |
External links
- "Ready, Set, Don't Go" music video on MTV