Story Behind the Song: Martina McBride, ‘Wrong Baby Wrong’

"Wrong Baby Wrong" was written by Brad and Brett Warren (together known as the Warren Brothers), along with Robert Ellis Orrall and Love and Theft's Stephen Barker Liles — and it was originally meant to be sung by a male. However, once Martina McBride heard it, she had to have it.

With a bit of re-writing, "Wrong Baby Wrong" was released in February of 2010, as the third single from McBride's Shine album. The song peaked on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart just outside of the Top 10 (No. 11) in June of 2010. Below, Barker Liles and Brett Warren tell The Boot about the creative process behind the tune.

Stephen Barker Liles: Originally, the song idea was a guy singing it. It was about him trying to move in on a rebound of this girl going, "Oh, he left me, and I'm so sad." Then he goes, "No, everything's going to be alright ... I'm here!"

Brett Warren: It was written from a guy's standpoint ... putting his arm around a girl he likes, going, "It's okay, you're going to find somebody soon ... maybe in five or 10 minutes!" That's what the whole thing was -- one of those rebound songs about the guy being at the right place at the right time.

It was initially for Love and Theft. We loved it, Stephen loved it, and Love and Theft's producer loved it, but for some reason, it just slipped through the cracks. I stuck it on a demo CD with something else for Martina. She called me back and said, "I love this song! This is killer. Can we switch some pronouns and some things around to make it work for me?"

Barker Liles: In the verse, it used to be "It ain't wrong, baby, wrong, baby, wrong / 'Cause it feels so right when you put your hand in mine" ... but it probably would've been weird if she was talking about how right it feels holding some girl's hand! [Laughs] She changed it to a lot better of a line about "he's moving on, good and gone."

Warren: We didn't know how it would turn out, but she cut it like an old Linda Ronstadt-meets-modern country radio sound. It's killer! I love that song. It is commercially one of the coolest songs Brad and I have ever written.

I love Stephen and writing with him. He's an open book of wild, crazy melodies and ideas and things.

This story was originally written by Alanna Conaway, and revised by Angela Stefano.

See Martina McBride + More Country Stars Then and Now