Sam Hunt’s 2017 musical experiment is off to a sound start.
In January, Sam told Nash Country Daily that he was going to break the mold by releasing songs as he finishes them—sans an album.
“As I write these songs, I don’t want to sit on them for as long as it takes me to finish a record before I put them out, so I’m just going to try to put them out as I write them and finish them,” said Sam to NCD. “As quick as I can get them done, I’ll be shooting them out.”
Sam released his latest single, “Body Like a Back Road,” on February 2. After 11 weeks, the single has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
The tune is Sam’s fifth No. 1 on the Airplay chart, following four singles from his debut album, Montevallo, including “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House Party” and “Make You Miss Me.”
To put the success of Sam’s “Body Like a Back Road” into perspective, take a look at the sales figures of the previous two No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in relation to Sam’s “Body Like a Back Road,” according to Nielsen Music as of April 19.
- “Body Like a Back Road” (Sam Hunt): 730,723 units sold
- “Road Less Traveled” (Lauren Alaina): 203,524 units sold
- “Any Ol’ Barstool” (Jason Aldean): 147,892 units sold
“I’ve been writing songs over the past, I guess, year and a half, trying to conceptualize a new record and it kinda started taking a heavy direction, and I sat down at one point and was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna lighten this up a little bit, it needs a lighter flair,’” said Sam. “‘Body Like a Back Road’ sort of swings, and hopefully it’s easy to listen to and will put a smile on some folks’ faces. I wrote it with my producer Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally. [I wrote] it after I got engaged. I connect music to the emotions that come from relationships, so most of the songs that I write are inspired by those circumstances, emotions, feelings, all that kind of stuff.”
