"Never Again, Again" is the title of a song written by Monty Holmes

Monty Holmes

Monty Holmes is an American country music singer-songwriter. Holmes signed to Bang II Records and released his debut album, All I Ever Wanted, in 1998. His highest charting single, "Why'd You Start Lookin' So Good," peaked at number 43 in 1998...

 and Barbie Isham and recorded by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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 Lee Ann Womack

Lee Ann Womack

Lee Ann Womack is an American country music singer and songwriter, who is best known for her old fashioned-styled country music songs that often discuss subjects such as cheating and lost love....

. It was released as the first single off of her self titled debut album

Lee Ann Womack (album)

Lee Ann Womack is the self-titled, 1997 debut album from country singer Lee Ann Womack. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on January 16, 1998 and platinum on September 24, 1999. Hits that appeared on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart were "Never Again, Again" which peaked at #23, "The...

. The song peaked at #23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart.

Background

Womack told Billboard she was disappointed when the song peaked and said, "I cannot even begin to explain how bummed I was; I was devastated. That song was like my baby. It's a work of art, so incredibly simple. Anyone could have sung it, and I would have loved it." Frank Dawson of KAYD said, "It made such an immediate connection with the fans here that we consider it a big hit." Linda O'Brien, music director for KSCS said, "When Never Again, Again' was released, what a career chance she took, because that could have pegged her as this hick girl-singer. A lot of people probably didn't play it because it was too country, but I think she has helped tremendously. It's almost like a nouveau country, a nouveau traditional thing. She's paved the road for more artists to get back to the format."

Reception

Editors at Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

gave the song a positive review and wrote, "This is wonderful, tear-in-the-throat, honest-to-God country music in the grand tradition of Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and the genre's other legendary female vocalists. "Never Again" boasts a great country lyric, tinged with heartbreak and regret. The production by Mark Wright is laced with a weeping steel guitar, and Womack's vocals are the icing on an already scrumptious cake. Her voice echoes vulnerability and rings with emotional integrity. This is what country music in the '90s should be."

Music video

A music video was released for the song, directed by Gerry Wenner.

Decca senior Vice President Shelia Shipley Biddy said, "We're also getting an unprecedented amount of E-mail from consumers hungry for her kind of music. The CMT video spurred an intense amount of interest. We started getting E-mail 15 minutes after the first airing of the video. We've had listeners say, 'This is what my country radio station should sound like.

Chart performance

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Country Singles	36
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	23
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100	24