"Tough" is the title of a song recorded by American country

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...

 artist 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...

. It was released on June 13, 2011 as the lead-off single to her upcoming third studio album.

Content

"Tough" is an up-tempo country song, featuring a neo-traditional production with fiddle, spoons, and steel guitar. The song's female narrator expresses that while she is just a regular girl ("I wanted lace / I wanted pearls / To be a princess like the other girls"), she was able to overcome challenges in her life by staying "tough" ("Tough / I ain’t never been nothing but tough / All my edges have always been rough").

In an interview with The Boot, Pickler raved about the song: "I've never been more excited about even just a single that we're releasing to radio. I think it's gonna be the best one that we've given radio. It's country. It's got a little bluegrass, it's got some fiddle, it's got some steel and it's got some spoons. It's got kind of a dirty hillbilly [sound], but it's still commercial enough, I think, for country radio."

Reception

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song five stars, favorably referring to it as "a female anthem that over time even men won’t be able to resist cranking up on the radio." He also complimented the song's relatable lyrics and the new musical direction Pickler was going with. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song four-and-a-half stars out of five, favorably comparing it to the songs on the 'shakin' side of Laura Bell Bundy

Laura Bell Bundy

Laura Ashley Bell Bundy is an American actress and singer who has performed in a number of Broadway roles, both starring and supporting, as well as in television and film. Her best known Broadway roles are the original Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray and the original Elle Woods in the musical...

's Achin' and Shakin'

Achin' and Shakin'

-Chart performance:The album debuted at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart and #28 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling nearly 15,000 copies in its first week, becoming the highest debut album sales by a female country artist since Julianne Hough in 2008. As of June 26, 2010, the...

. He complimented the song's production and Pickler's "bluesy, soulful delivery." Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a C rating, comparing it to Gretchen Wilson's

Gretchen Wilson

Gretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party...

 "Redneck Woman

Redneck Woman

"Redneck Woman" is the debut single of American country music artist Gretchen Wilson. Released in 2004, the single served as the lead-off to her multi-platinum debut album Here for the Party. The song was also Wilson's only number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks...

."

Music video

The music video, directed by Roman White

Roman White

Roman White is a music video director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and more...

, premiered on CMT

Country Music Television

Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...

 on September 28, 2011. It shows a young Kellie Pickler playing with dolls on the living room floor when she witnesses her father being arrested. Later, the girl is shown in her teens visiting the prison where she has a conversation with her distraught father. Throughout the video, Pickler is shown performing the song while slinking down a hallway as well as walking down the street, and in the end Pickler herself embraces her father. The video is based on the real life relationship Pickler had with her father growing up.

Chart performance

"Tough" debuted at number 59 on the U.S. Billboard 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 for the week dated June 18, 2011, and later reached a peak of number 30 on the chart in August 2011.
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Chart (2011)	Peak position