"I Told You So" is a song written and recorded by American country singer Randy Travis for his 1987 album, Always & Forever. The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard and Canadian RPM country singles charts in June 1988. Travis first recorded the song in 1983 on his album Live at the Nashville Palace under the stage name "Randy Ray." In 2007, Carrie Underwood covered the song on her album Carnival Ride. Her version was released in February 2009 and later re-recorded and re-released in March 2009 as a duet with Travis. The duet version reached number two on the U.S. country charts in 2009.

Randy Travis version

Randy Travis wrote the song "I Told You So" in 1982 and recorded it that same year. He wanted to sign with Curb Records to release the song, but the label did not sign him. In 1983, he included the song on his album Randy Ray Live at the Nashville Palace and used the stage name Randy Ray. The song was also given to Lee Greenwood, who chose not to record it. Barbara Mandrell recorded the song but did not release it. Darrell Clanton also recorded it as the B-side of his 1985 single "I Forgot That I Don't Live Here Anymore."

Later, Travis re-recorded the song for his album Always & Forever and released it as a single. His version reached Number One on the Billboard country charts in June 1988 and stayed at the top for two weeks.

Carrie Underwood version

Carrie Underwood recorded a version of the song on her 2007 album, Carnival Ride. This version was the fifth and last single from the album. Her recording was also included on the album Now That's What I Call Country Volume 2. Underwood’s version received a Platinum certification from the RIAA.

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock said the song was a good addition to the charts. He noted that Underwood might sing the title too much in the chorus, but he believed the rest of the song was her strongest country single so far. Kevin J. Coyne of Country Universe gave the duet version an A. He said the voices were too strong to blend into the background, but Underwood’s gentle and clear voice worked well with Travis’s rough and twangy style.

Brady Vercher of Engine 145 gave Underwood’s version a "thumbs down." He said her performance in the chorus felt like a regular person singing, even though her singing was technically good, it did not move people emotionally.

A music video for the single was released on February 12, 2009, on CMT.com. It shows Underwood performing the song at the Grand Ole Opry in a short black dress. Before the performance, she said "I Told You So" was always one of her favorite songs growing up. After the performance, Randy Travis appeared on stage and praised Underwood. He said he had planned to sing the song that night but decided not to after hearing her version. He told her the song was better suited for her voice than his.

Duet version

A duet version of "I Told You So" by Underwood and Travis was released on March 17, 2009, to country radio stations. A digital version of the song was available for sale online at the same time as their performance on American Idol on March 18, 2009. Starting the chart week of March 28, 2009, the song was listed as the work of Underwood and Travis. This marked Travis' first Top 40 single on the country charts since "Three Wooden Crosses" in 2002. The duet version earned Underwood and Travis a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the 52nd Grammy Awards.

During Grand Ole Opry Week on the eighth season of American Idol, and as Travis' mentor, Underwood and Travis performed their duet for the first time live and on television. On April 5, 2009, Underwood performed the song again at the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards, where she received her first award as ACM Entertainer of the Year.

Charts

Travis' version of the song was released in 1988 and reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart in June of that year, staying at the top for two weeks. Underwood's version of the song first appeared on the Hot Country Songs chart at number 38 on January 19, 2009, two weeks before its official release. On April 4, 2009, the song moved up 48 spots from number 57 to number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Underwood's fourth Top 10 on that chart. This was also Travis' highest peak on the Hot 100 chart. The song reached number two on the country charts, becoming Underwood's second single to not reach number one, joining "Don't Forget to Remember Me" and "Mama's Song," which both peaked at number two in 2006 and 2011, respectively, ending a streak of six straight number one hits on the country charts. As of January 2013, the single was certified Platinum by RIAA, and it had sold 1,089,000 copies as of November 2015.