Critical Reception
The song received generally positive reviews from critics. Shelly Fabian of About.com said, "There's a special quality to this single that might be able to help people get past 'that one song' from Billy Ray Cyrus's past and realize there's so much more to the man than something from two decades ago." While reviewing the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, Heather Phares of Allmusic said the song "fits in smoothly with an acoustic version of Rascal Flatts' witty 'Backwards'". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said, "His hard-won insight is the next best thing to a good swaddle." Allison Stewart of The Washington Post described "Back to Tennessee" as a "fusillade of strident twang rock track". She added that the song was "eager" and that it explained "Country as Country Can Be". Yahoo! Music thought the song was followed Back to Tennessee's message "too literally". The song was included on the short list for Best Original Song at the 82nd Academy Awards, but failed to achieve a nomination.
Read more about this topic: Back To Tennessee (song)
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