Sixteen years later, Miranda Lambert’s “Kerosene” is still as feisty as it used to be!
The song was released in 2005 as the title track to her major-label debut album of the same name, and it fired up the charts – landing at No. 15 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs. It’s also the first among Miranda Lambert’s songs to receive a Gold certification – signifying sales of 500,000 units. It also helped the country star earn her first Grammy nomination, where she was up for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Miranda Lambert wrote the song by herself but eventually shared the writing credit to Steve Earle, as the song got the same melody and structure as Earle’s 1996 song “I Feel Alright.” Lambert admitted in an interview that it wasn’t her intention to plagiarize Earle’s work – she, however, unconsciously borrowed parts of the melody after playing Earle’s song so often.
Nonetheless, “Kerosene” has given Lambert’s fans an early taste of her fiery side. The song tells the tale of a woman who is not taking rejection passively. Cheated on by her boyfriend, she did not let him off easily but instead took revenge by soaking his home with kerosene and set it ablaze.
The best part was that Lambert’s vocal is so impressive, you would be convinced she’s able to do such a vengeful and merciless act.
The song is also accompanied by a music video that includes plenty of flames and fire – snagging nominations for Music Video of the Year at both the Country Music Association Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards.
Surely, “Kerosene” catapulted Lambert to instant stardom. She proves that winning isn’t always the most important thing when she only placed third in the second season of American Idol in 2003.
You can listen to Miranda Lambert’s “Kerosene” in the video below.
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Miranda Lambert