"I Hope" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Gabby Barrett. She released the single independently following her third-place finish on season 16 of American Idol. It led to her signing a deal with Warner Nashville, and it was released in July 2019 as her debut single and the first from her debut studio albumGoldmine. A remix featuring Charlie Puth was released on April 17, 2020.
Content
Gabby Barrett co-wrote "I Hope" with Zach Kale and Jon Nite, and the track was produced by Ross Copperman and Zachary Kale. They originally sat down to write a song about a woman suffering a breakup and still wishing for her ex to be happy, but Barrett decided to turn it toward a more revengeful nature: "The fact is that sometimes we hope for the worst when it comes to our exes. We would never voice that, but it wreaks inside. This song now says the things that maybe you or I never said."
Critical reception
In a review for Goldmine, Bob Paxton of Sounds Like Nashville called the song "the anthem for every heartbroken girl" and praised the songwriters for exploring a "new angle on the "woman scorned" theme." Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal wrote that Barrett "is able to convey a wide range of raw emotions" in the song and that "I Hope" proves she has "everything it takes to become the next big female star in the country genre." Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that "I Hope" is the "rowdiest, most biting country breakup anthem since Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats"."
Music video
The music video for "I Hope" was filmed in Nashville, Tennessee and premiered on February 7, 2019. In the video, Barrett sits alone in a warehouse, reflecting on experiences with her ex through a series of flashbacks.
Live performances
Barrett returned to the American Idol stage to give her first televised performance of "I Hope" on May 5, 2019.
Commercial performance
"I Hope" debuted at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart dated January 11, 2020, and peaked at number 16. It reached No. 1 on the Country Streaming Songs chart on April 11, 2019, with 9 million U.S. streams for the week, which made Barrett the first woman to score a No. 1 on that chart with her debut single. It also reached No. 1 on BillboardCountry Airplay for the chart dated April 25, 2020, and No. 1 on BillboardHot Country Songs for the chart dated July 25, 2020, making it the first female debut single to top the latter chart since 2006. Additionally, it replaced Maren Morris's "The Bones" at number one, making it the first time since 2011 that two back-to-back solo female artists topped the chart. "I Hope" was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA on June 29, 2020. The song has sold 167,000 copies in the United States as of March 2020.
