4 Songs Shane McAnally Wrote That Changed an Artist’s Career

Shane McAnally is the writer behind some of country music’s biggest hits. McAnally originally wanted to be an artist before finding his true love as a songwriter and producer. Since then, it’s McAnally who is the writer behind some of country music’s biggest hits, including these four songs, which completely changed an artist’s career, for the better.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” by Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” is written by McAnally, along with Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde, who recorded the song as a duet. The song is on Pearce’s third studio album, 29: Written in Stone.

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” is told from the perspective of a wife and a girlfriend, both involved with the same man.

“Nobody ever thinks it will happen to them,” Pearce says. “You never see it coming, but there’s always an explanation. You know, who’d ever want to think that way about someone they love? Why would you? And so, that’s where this song started: the things you don’t see, because you’d never look.”

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” earned Pearce and McBryde a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

“Stay A Little Longer” by Brothers Osborne

“Stay A Little Longer” is Brother Osborne’s third single, and first No. 1 hit. Written by duo members, and real-life siblings John Osborne and T.J. Osborne, along with McAnally, “Stay A Little Longer” is, perhaps surprisingly, the first song the three men wrote together.

“We didn’t have a hook yet,” John Osborne tells Songwriter Universe. “And when we were working on the chorus, the last thing we said was, ‘Stay a little longer.’ We wrote the verses in a matter of minutes, but we worked really hard on the chorus because we wanted to make sure the rhythms and the words worked well together.”

“Half Of My Hometown” by Kelsea Ballerini with Kenny Chesney

Kelsea Ballerini and McAnally wrote “Half Of My Hometown” together, along with Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon, and Jimmy Robbins. The song was inspired by Ballerini reflecting on her own hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.

“Half Of My Hometown” was already written when Ballerini and McAnally had the idea to include Kenny Chesney on the song, since they are both from East Tennessee.

“That night, when we wrote ‘Half Of My Hometown’, Kelsea texted Kenny Chesney, because the song would relate so much to him, too,” McAnally recalls to CMT. “He’s from Knoxville. And also, he’s a hero of hers, as he is of all of us. She texted him the song, and within like five minutes, he texted back and said, ‘I would love to be a part of it.’”

“Nobody But You” by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani

By now, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani have released several duets. But none are as significant as “Nobody But You”, their first official single to country radio. McAnally wrote the song with Copperman, Josh Osborne, and Tommy Lee James.

In an ironic twist of fate, McAnally gave the song to Stefani to play for Shelton, not imagining that it would become a hit duet.

“The song came through Shane McAnally, who [was] working on this NBC show called Songland,” Shelton recalls (via After Midnite). “Shane has also written with Gwen before, and he was at our show, on The Voice, to promote his show Songland. … Shane comes up and goes, ‘Hey Gwen, I need to get this song to Blake.’ And she goes, ‘Well, send it to me, and I’ll give it to him.’ So that’s how I ended up with the song.”

“Nobody But You” became Shelton and Stefani’s first No. 1 hit as a couple.

Photo by Catherine Powell/Getty Images for CMT