“Born to Fly”
Sara Evans
Written by Sara Evans, Marcus Hummon, and Darrell Scott
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
January 20, 2001
Sara Evans was born to be a traditional country singer, yet she still managed to successfully navigate the crossover era of the early twenty first century with nimbleness.
In 2001, that was because she was smart enough to split the difference between the candy coated pop of Faith Hill and Shania Twain, and the rootsy girl power sounds of the Chicks. “Born to Fly” borrows heavily from “Wide Open Spaces,” and sprinkles enough sparkly glitter on top to help it fit comfortably next to the latest AC-baiting hits from Martina McBride and Jo Dee Messina.
Evans gives one of her most charming vocal performances here, tapping into the wide eyed innocence of a small town girl dreaming of a brighter tomorrow. There has to be a world with confidants beyond the preacher and the scarecrow, right?
Evans would struggle when she tried to go full pop, as she does on the follow up single, “I Could Not Ask For More.” But this is her wheelhouse, and she knocks it out of the park quite effortlessly.
“Born to Fly” gets an A.
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This is a nice song done well. I agree she was born for traditional country, but I can’t blame her for the attempts to be a bit more pop. For this song I would give it a solid “B”.