KICKIN’ IT SPOTLIGHT: Sam Hunt

Although my blog has only been around for a short time, readers may have recognized a clear favorite artist of mine right now. Sam Hunt, who other country music fans may know for the songs he has written that other artists have made popular, isn’t exactly mainstream country…yet. However, I have a feeling this is about to change.

 

Music
Hunt writes a majority of his own music which pushes the limits of the country genre. A majority of it isn’t banjo or guitar. Some of it has catchy and edgy beats backing it up. Even though it’s not traditional, Hunt’s songwriting speaks for itself. Hunt wrote Kenny Chesney’s 2012 No. 1 hit “Come Over” with songwriters Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne

Hunt currently has two songs recorded by other artists playing on the radio. “Cop Car,” recorded by Keith Urban and written by Hunt, Zach Crowell and Matt Jenkins, is steadily making its way up the country charts at No. 14. In addition, he also wrote Billy Currington’s current single, “We Are Tonight.” Hunt wrote it with Marc Beeson and Josh Osborne, and it’s currently No. 24 on the country music charts.

 

Hunt hasn’t always been a country singer-songwriter.

Hunt was born in Georgia and has stayed in the south his whole life. Before he took up songwriting, he was a college football player for Middle Tennessee State University and University of Alabama at Birmingham. After being unable to stake out a career as a professional football player, Hunt turned to songwriting.

Hunt is currently signed with MCA Nashville and is on tour with labelmate David Nail. Unfortunately, I missed my opportunity to see their show last week in Medina. I did get a chance to see Hunt live, though, in November 2013 when he opened up for Cole Swindell at the Dusty Armadillo.

I thought both acts were great and, let’s be honest, I enjoy every country concert I go to. Hunt made an impression on me that urged me download his music immediately when I got home, though.

 

Why I’m a fan

Hunt’s music is fresh. The country music genre, and music in general, has evolved over time and will continue to evolve as time goes on. A lot of traditional country music fans would argue with me that Sam Hunt isn’t country. However, as a music fan, I don’t like limiting genres to one specific sound.

 

My favorites

“Leave The Night On”
In addition to being musically catchy, I like this song the most because it’s lyrically creative. There are a lot of analogies throughout the song that make you go, “Wow, how was a songwriter able to think of that one?”

“Vandalizer”
Again, the lyrics in this song are impressive to me as a listener. I also like the message this song portrays.

“Make You Miss Me”
I think that a lot of guys can relate to this song well because we all feel like we’ve been in this spot in life before.

Hunt has an 15 track acoustic EP, “Between The Pines,” available for FREE to download. He is expected to release more music later this year.

*Photos courtesy of MCA Nashville and CMA

Analysis of Kenny Chesney’s “Anything But Mine”

Kenny Chesney is a name that every country music fan knows. He has a different type of country music than most classic country music artists, though. Chesney is known for his island sounding, tiki howling songs that certainly could be heard sitting around a bonfire on the beach.

Since releasing his first studio album (In My Wildest Dreams) in 1994, Chesney has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. He has also received dozens of awards, including awards from the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Association (CMA).

In January 2005, Chesney released a single called, “Anything But Mine.” It was the fifth single from his ninth studio album, When The Sun Goes Down, and was written by songwriter Scooter Carusoe. “Anything But Mine” hit No. 1 in just six months and has become a classic song of Chesney’s.

The song follows a young teenage boy and girl as they spend their last night together before he leaves for his hometown of Cleveland, TN. Presumably on a summer vacation in a beach town, the lyrics describe the night in detail.

“Walking alone beneath the lights of that miracle mile,
Me and Mary making our way into the night.
You can hear the cries from the carnival rides,
The pinball bills, skee ball slides,
Watching the summer sun fall out of sight.”

The rest of the first verse describes the atmosphere during this exact moment. When you reach the chorus, you’re hit with a loud belting of the line:

“And in the morning I’m leaving, making my way back to Cleveland,
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine.”

A picture I took during “Anything But Mine” at The Brothers of the Sun Tour in 2012 at FirstEnergy Stadium

Up until researching the lyrics of this song, I had always thought this line in the chorus was referring to Cleveland, OH. Although about the city in Tennessee, Chesney still embraces it when he comes to Ohio.

I’ve seen Chesney live twice and both times he ended his show with this song. The most epic ending to a set I’ve ever seen occurred during The Brothers of the Sun Tour in the summer of 2012. The tour consisted of Chesney and Tim McGraw headlining. The tour rolled into FirstEnergy Stadium (formerly Cleveland Browns Stadium) in the middle of downtown Cleveland.

Chesney performed this song while the buildings of Cleveland towered over him and his stage and when he sang the chorus, the stadium echoed his words. It was an unreal and chill-worthy moment that I will never forget.

The last line of the chorus reads: “And I don’t see how you could ever be anything but mine.” This line adds the cherry on top to a perfect sounding stanza of lyrics. (I’m a big fan of this song, can’t you tell?)

The song continues with events that they experience throughout the night and comes to a close with an acoustic and haunting chorus.

“Anything But Mine” has been certified gold and you can watch the music video below.