{{Infobox Single
| Name = Tough
| Cover = ToughKellie.jpg
| Artist = [[Kellie Pickler]]
| from Album = TBD
| B-side =
| Released = June 13, 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allaccess.com/country/future-releases|title=Future Releases: AllAccess|publisher=AllAccess|accessdate=2010-04-23}}</ref>
| Format = [[Airplay]]<br>[[Music download]]
| Recorded =
| Genre = [[Country music|Country]]
| Length = 2:48
| Label = [[BNA Records|BNA]]
| Writer =
| Producer = Frank Liddell<br />Mike Wrucke
| Certification =
| Last single = "[[Makin' Me Fall in Love Again]]" <br />(2010)
| This single = "'''Tough'''" <br /> (2011)
| Next single =
| Misc =
}}
"'''Tough'''" is the title of a song recorded by American [[country music|country]] artist [[Kellie Pickler]]. It will be released in June 2011 as the lead-off single to her upcoming third studio album.

==Content==
"Tough" is an up-tempo country song, featuring a neo-traditional production with fiddle, spoons, and steel guitar. The song's female narrator expresses that while she is just a regular girl ("I wanted lace / I wanted pearls / To be a princess like the other girls"), she was able to overcome challenges in her life by staying "tough" ("Tough / I ain’t never been nothing but tough / All my edges have always been rough").

In an interview with The Boot, Pickler raved about the song: "I've never been more excited about even just a single that we're releasing to radio. I think it's gonna be the best one that we've given radio. It's country. It's got a little bluegrass, it's got some fiddle, it's got some steel and it's got some spoons. It's got kind of a dirty hillbilly [sound], but it's still commercial enough, I think, for country radio."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theboot.com/2011/04/27/kellie-pickler-tough/|title=Kellie Pickler Is Ready for Fans to Get 'Tough'|author=Donna Hughes|date=April 27 2011|work=|publisher=The Boot|accessdate=May 24 2011}}</ref>

==Reception==
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song five stars, favorably referring to it as "a female anthem that over time even men won’t be able to resist cranking up on the radio." He also complimented the song's relatable lyrics and the new musical direction Pickler was going with.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tasteofcountry.com/kellie-pickler-tough/|title=Kellie Pickler, ‘Tough’ – Song Review|author=Billy Dukes|date=May 23 2011|work=|publisher=Taste of Country|accessdate=May 24 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Kellie Pickler}}

[[Category:2011 singles]]
[[Category:Kellie Pickler songs]]