June 2026

100 MILLION VIEWS FOR A SONG LEE ANN WOMACK WASN’T EVEN SURE SHE WANTED TO RECORD. Tia Sillers was going through a brutal divorce when she drove to a Florida beach, alone. She sat on the sand feeling small and broken. But as she left, one line came to her — and it would change everything Lee Ann Womack ever knew about her own career. Sillers and co-writer Mark D. Sanders turned that beach moment into “I Hope You Dance.” Producer Mark Wright heard the demo and told Womack she had to record it. She wasn’t sure at first. But when she sang it, all she could think about was Aubrie and Anna Lise — her two little girls. She put them both in the music video, singing to them in a quiet blue room while they played around her. The song hit #1 on two Billboard charts, won the Grammy for Best Country Song, CMA and ACM Song of the Year. Maya Angelou heard it, called Oprah, and said — listen to this woman. Years later, Womack sang it at Angelou’s memorial. Today, the video has passed 100 million views. And Aubrie grew up to become a country artist herself.

Watch the video at the end of this article. Introduction Some songs become hits because...