Kenny Rogers & Whitney Duncan – My World Is Over

“My World Is Over” is a duet recorded by Kenny Rogers with Whitney Duncan and issued in 2004 as one of two new tracks on Rogers’s compilation album *42 Ultimate Hits*. The song was released by Capitol Nashville as a single tied to that compilation, which collected Rogers’s long career highlights and included the newly recorded duet to provide fresh material for the package. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

The track was co-written by Whitney Duncan along with Brian Nash and Mike Post, and it was produced for the release in a contemporary country-pop style that suited Rogers’s late-period catalog. The recording paired Rogers’s familiar narrative vocal delivery with Duncan’s younger country voice; production credits for the new material on the compilation include producer Keith Stegall for this song. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Whitney Duncan, who contributed to the songwriting, was an emerging country artist at the time; the duet grew out of material she had written and the opportunity to record the song with a high-profile veteran. The collaboration gave Duncan broader exposure while providing Rogers with a recently written song that complemented the retrospective nature of the album. Duncan’s biography and discography note that the duet appeared on the Rogers compilation and was released as a single in 2004. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Lyrically, “My World Is Over” is a straightforward heartbreak ballad framed as a personal lament following a sudden or unexpected breakup. The chorus emphasizes the central image — that the narrator’s world is over without the partner — while the verses use clear, conversational lines to describe surprise and regret. The song’s direct language and simple, repeated hook align it with late-period country ballad conventions where vocal delivery and melody carry emotional weight more than elaborate narrative detail.

Musically, the arrangement supports the vocal interplay with a mid-tempo, radio-friendly backing that balances acoustic and electric instrumentation. The production leaves space for both voices: Rogers’s seasoned baritone anchors the tune, while Duncan’s parts provide contrast and a younger perspective. The recording was also supported by a music video directed by Shaun Silva, which circulated to country outlets around the single’s release and accompanied promotional activity for the compilation. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Commercially, “My World Is Over” was a modest single: it was issued to country radio and registered briefly on the Billboard country listings as a minor-charting item in 2004. The song did not reach a high position on mainstream pop charts, but its appearance as a new track on a best-of compilation and its limited chart run provided measurable, if modest, visibility for both Rogers and Duncan during that release cycle. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

In retrospective terms, the duet is usually treated as a late-career, collaborative entry in Kenny Rogers’s catalog and as an early professional highlight for Whitney Duncan. It illustrates the practice of including one or two new recordings on compilation albums to encourage purchases and to platform a new artist via an established star. For listeners tracing Rogers’s later output, “My World Is Over” remains a documented example of his willingness to record with newer country voices and to add fresh material to retrospective releases.