Songfacts®:

• Chattanooga, Tennessee native Lauren Alaina was born on November 8, 1994, to Kristy and J.J. Suddeth. Lauren was inspired to sing by her cousin, Holly Witherow, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She performed at several Chattanooga-area venues and was the first winner of the WinniSTAR youth talent contest at Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park in 2009. Lauren successfully auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol, going all the way to the final before finishing as runner-up to Scotty McCreery. This is her debut single, which was released immediately after the show's finale on May 25, 2011.
• The uplifting ode to maternal love and strength was written by Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose, and Nicole Williams and was first recorded by season seven American Idol contestant Kristy Lee Cook for her 2008 album, Why Wait. It was later sung and released as a single by country music artist Jesse Lee in 2010. Alana's recording was the first version of the song to chart.
• Lauren said in a voice-over, during a package that showed her rehearsing the song with Idol mentor Jimmy Iovine. "My mom's been beside me through this whole thing. Every time I've gotten upset, she's always been there to pick me up. So I feel like it's really great for me to sing this song just for her, because she deserves it."
• Both Nathan Chapman and Liz Rose are best known for their work with Taylor Swift. Chapman produced the singer's albums Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now whilst Rose has co-written several of Swift's songs and singles, including "White Horse," "Teardrops On My Guitar" and "You Belong With Me."
• The music video is set in a country house with Alaina in different rooms singing the song, while different photos and home videos are shown of her growing up. The American Idol runner-up said in a behind the scenes film."The first shot we did of the day, I was laying on the bed looking through a photo album with pictures of my childhood in it. It was really emotional because I've been away from my family for so long. I saw pictures of me and my daddy and my mama and my brother from when I was little."
  
  Lauren's mother features in the visual. "It made her real nervous, but I wanted her to be in it because it's about her," said the singer.
• Said Lauren about this song in a cut by cut for Taste of Country: "My mama can handle me when no one else can and she knows how to make me feel better and lift me up. I'm lucky to have her, and to have a song about her makes me feel happy to be able to do that for her. When we argue now, I'll sing 'Like My Mother Does,' and she laughs. She doesn't want to laugh, but she does. So this song is my way of getting out of trouble now!"