"Somebody's Chelsea" is the title of a single co-written and recorded by American country music

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...

 singer Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire

Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...

. It is the fourth single from her 2010 album All the Women I Am

All the Women I Am

Upon its release, All the Women I Am received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable...

.

Content

McEntire told Taste of Country that the inspiration for the song came from a line of dialogue in the film P.S. I Love You

P.S. I Love You (film)

P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama film directed by Richard LaGravenese. The screenplay by LaGravenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. The film is dedicated to the memory of producer Molly Smith's sister Windland Smith Rice.-Plot:Holly and Gerry...

, in which Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank

Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...

's character describes a loving ex-husband named Gerry to Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr.

Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...

's character, and Connick's character says that he "wants to be somebody's Gerry". McEntire then e-mailed the idea to songwriter Liz Hengber

Liz Hengber

Liz Hengber is an American songwriter and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. Hengber was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from New Milford High School in New Milford, New Jersey in 1977. She graduated from the Theatre Department of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in 1981...

. The song is the first time since "Only in My Mind

Only in My Mind

"Only in My Mind" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist, Reba McEntire. The song was produced by Jimmy Bowen and McEntire for her 1985 entitled, Have I Got a Deal for You. It was the second single released from the album, peaking within the Top 5 on the Billboard Magazine...

" in 1985 that McEntire co-wrote one of her own singles.

The song focuses on the narrator, who converses with an elderly man on an airplane. The man then tells her of how much he loved his wife, Chelsea, who has died. In the chorus, the narrator sings that she "wants to be somebody's Chelsea." McEntire chose the name Chelsea because it is her granddaughter's name.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of Allmusic thought that the song was "more natural-sounding balladry" in comparison to the rest of the album, which he called "contrived". It received a five-star rating from Bobby Peacock of Roughstock, who said, "Underneath a radio-friendly, slick exterior, the song reveals a powerful, moving story." Andrew Greenhalgh of Country Standard Time

Country Standard Time

Country Standard Time is a website dedicated to country music and related genres such as Bluegrass and Rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1992 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a print magazine, which was first published only in New England but went...

wrote that the song "is out for tears".

Chart performance

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Chart (2011)	Peak position