“When I Think About Angels”
Jamie O’Neal
Written by Roxie Dean, Jamie O’Neal, and Sonny Tillis
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
August 4, 2001
Jamie O’Neal really did kick off her career with two great singles, didn’t she?
“When I Think About Angels” was the one that I thought might not hold up. It is so deliberately constructed that I thought it might feel contrived in retrospect.
But it doesn’t, and that’s because of a winning performance from O’Neal that sells the lyric perfectly. The key moment comes at the end of the second verse: “Beautiful distraction. You make every thought a chain reaction.”
The way she phrases the first half of that emphasizes the intensity of the feeling, and the way her voice begins to lightly float in the second half sets up that chain reaction in the chorus so it’s believable.
And it’s such a great sounding record too, just like its predecessor. Fresh and contemporary, with enough country and pop elements to place it comfortably on the fence between.
O’Neal won’t have another No. 1 hit, but she enjoyed two more big hits from her second released album, Brave: “Trying to Find Atlantis” and “Somebody’s Hero,” the latter of which topped our year end list back in 2005. O’Neal is still actively recording and touring, and hasn’t lost an ounce of her vocal power since she briefly dominated radio at the turn of the century.
“When I Think About Angels” gets an A.
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A nice sweet love song, but nothing particularly unique. A solid “B”.
I’d reached my saturation point with songs about “angels” in the late 90s. I remember laughing out loud at David Lee Murphy’s “We Can’t All Be Angels” album title as it was such a perfect counterpoint to the tidal wave of angel-themed songs by everybody from John Michael Montgomery to Deana Carter to Martina McBride to The Wilkinsons. By no means was I averse to the angel motif in country music but by 2001 it was overused to the point that it would really take something profound to break through with me. This song wasn’t it.
I’m fully prepared to be the wet blanket here but I was disappointed that the vocalist behind the unique “There is No Arizona” had a follow-up as generic-sounding as this. As far as gooey expressions of smitten love go, this one has a few more interesting things to say than “I Love You” or “The Way You Love Me”, but surrenders that advantage by beating the drum of the tiring angel theme yet again. And there’s simply no discernible rhythm to the rambling chorus. I can get just about any song stuck in my head, but it simply can’t be done with “When I Think About Angels”.
Jamie O’Neal would win me back with “Somebody’s Hero” a few years later but by 2005 it seemed pretty doubtful she’d become a superstar as was teased in her 2001 rollout. That was unfortunate, but I’d probably feel more badly about it if I liked her sophomore smash as much as I liked her debut.
Grade: C
We’re on the same page here–There is No Arizona was singular, When I Think About Angels is by-the-numbers and generic. She’s vocally on point, per usual, but this is the least interesting single she put out over those first two albums cycles.
This is the other great single from the SHIVER album – song itself is a bit generic but Jamie sings it perfectly – so I would give the song a B+
As someone whose brain often goes off on weird tangents, I love the lyrical approach here. I’ve had runaway trains of thought just like this.
2001-me thought the backing vocals sounded like Alvin and the chipmunks, but I somehow managed to un-hear that and like the song. It’s not a total stunner like “Arizona” was, but it’s still extremely strong on its own.
This is a good sweet piece of ear candy.
…that photo and that song title: a match made in heaven, springs to mind.
This song is so Summer of 2001, and I absolutely love it!
Again, this is a kind of pop country that I can definitely go to bat for and really miss. It’s just a fun, joyful feel good tune from beginning to end and Jamie sings it with so much charisma. I also like some of the imagery in the lyrics, and similar to the narrator and Bobby above, my mind also tends to have “chain reaction” thoughts when one thought will remind me of something else, and so on, so it’s also relatable in a way. And I especially always thought the opening line “Why does the color of my coffee match your eyes?” was unique for a country song, and it still stands out today. I always picture Jamie sitting at that pretty looking cafe in the music video every time I hear that line. I always liked the mentioning of “a field of butterflies” in the second verse, as well. Keith Stegall’s production brought a fitting “tropical” vibe that matched the the upbeat nature of the song, while also making it a perfect song to jam to in the warmer months. While it may not be as unique or as strong as “There Is No Arizona,” I think “When I Think About Angels” was a worthy follow up hit, for sure, especially for the Summer of 2001. The last summer of innocence…
Love Bobby’s comment about him originally thinking the backup vocals sounded like the chipmunks, lol! I actually think they sound similar to Faith Hill’s backup singers during her Breathe era, and they really added more soulfulness to the record, imo. This song itself reminds me of something that Faith could’ve done around this time period, as well.
The first time I saw any of the “When I Think About Angels” video was actually when my step dad and I were watching the 2001 ACM awards together that night, and they were going through the three Top New Female Vocalist nominees, which were Jamie O’Neal, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, and Tammy Cochran, and playing small clips from their latest videos. My step dad picked Tammy Cochran to win because he liked her voice the best of the three clips they showed (hers was “Angels In Waiting” (another “angel” song for MarkMinnesota ;))). He didn’t mind seeing Jamie O’Neal win, though, and definitely neither did I. We both loved her humble acceptance speech with a long list of people she thanked. Speaking of the “…Think About Angels” video, I still love the opening shot of Jamie sitting at that nice looking cafe with her cup of coffee, and I always thought she looked very pretty in that shot.
And speaking of the 2001 ACM’s, that little high pitched guitar part at 2:06 after Jamie says “singing” always sounded to me like the main riff in Billy Gilman’s “My Girl,” which my step dad and I saw him perform on the show. Each time I’d hear that little part of O’Neal’s song on the radio (which was A LOT), I’d always think of Billy Gilman’s song, as well, lol.
I also remember hearing “When I Think About Angels” while my parents and I were in Spotsylvania Mall in Fredericksburg, VA, and it was coming from a stereo playing loudly inside one of the stores as we were passing by the front of the store. This was still very early into my sophomore year in high school, and I recognized my P.E. teacher, Mr. Brewer, inside the store with his wife looking around as the song was nearing the end with the chorus repeating over and over. Mr. Brewer didn’t see us, though, lol.
I also remember when Jamie O’Neal made a guest appearance during the third season of Nashville Star in 2005, and all the remaining contestants and Jamie performed “When I Think About Angels” together. Each contestant sang a different line in each verse, and I especially liked the way Jody Evans, my most favorite one that year, put a unique spin on the opening “Why does the color of my coffee match your eyes” line by singing it sort of like how Buddy Holly would’ve sang it (who he was heavily influenced by).
Overall, it’s too bad Jamie couldn’t have had more big radio hits, considering how strong she started during this time. I love her classy style of pop country, and I would’ve loved hearing her presence on country radio longer. I especially love the follow up single she released after this, “Shiver,” which I still wish was a bigger hit. I loved it when it first came out, and I remember falling in love with it all over again when I revisited it during the late 2000s. It’s such a cool (no pun intended) sounding ballad with some great, creative sounding steel guitar licks throughout and more winning vocals from O’Neal, imo.
I remember that 2001 ACM Awards you referenced with Jamie O’Neal, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, and Tammy Cochran as the nominees. My mom chuckled that they all looked alike. I don’t think I even knew who Tammy Cochran was yet which is ironic since I ended up being a huge fan of her second album. I miss the days when there were three females in the same year breaking out with their first big hit(s).
Same here concerning Tammy Cochran. It seems that “Angels In Waiting” didn’t really catch on with our stations until well after that show aired. I really enjoy her first two albums. I especially love the title track from her second album, Life Happened, which still gives me chills when I hear it. Another great early 2000s female artist that unfortunately couldn’t get as much traction as the decade went on.
Yes, the nineties were a watershed decade for the women of country, but there were some very strong newcomers at the beginning of the aughts; O’Neal, Cochran, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Cyndi Thomson and Rebecca Lynn Howard all should’ve experienced more sustained, long term commercial success than any of them ended up having.
Couldn’t agree more! I love Rebecca Lynn Howard, as well. I’d personally add Kellie Coffey, Jennifer Hanson, and Georgia Middleman to that list (though Middleman didn’t have much radio success to begin with, sadly). It’s sad how so much female talent was swept aside by the middle of the decade.
This is a goofy song, but Jamie sings it so well and it is quite the earworm. I often think of this song when I see rain, lol. I agree There Is No Arizona is more distinctive, though I think this song gets more recurrent airplay on radio.
I’m surprised no one has brought up that one of the writers is Pam Tillis’ brother.
I had absolutely no idea about that until just now! That’s pretty neat. You really do learn something new every day!
Like a treat from the ice cream truck, this hit single was perfect for the height of summer.
I love the confidence and colour of O’Neil’s vocals on this follow up so much that I am willing to forgive it being largely lyrical treacle, although there is a playful spirit and intelligence to its construction similiar to Kip Moore’s “Something About a Truck.”
I want to dislike this song more than I do.