Sam Hunt on Backstage Country: Here’s What You Don’t Know About His Hits

Representing the great state of Georgia, Sam Hunt joins Backstage Country as Elaina Smith’s co-host from July 21–25! The country singer-songwriter, who nearly became a professional football player before turning into the country crooner we all know and love (thank God!), will be playing great country music all week and sharing the stories behind his biggest hits.

The second single from his EP, Locked Up, Hunt said he considers “Country House” a straightforward song: “But it is something. Some songs have reflected my life in two ways than others over the years, but this one is literally the life that I'm living now.”

Smith asked him about the song’s music video. The “Body Like a Back Road” singer admitted it was really his friends and family who were in the video. Hunt chuckled, “They're good sports. It gets harder with kids. Also, we live in different states, finding time just to get together... So, that was a great excuse for us all to meet up down in Georgia and spend a few days together.”

He added on making the video, “I think the director ended up giving me like 11 hours of what would probably be the best home video we've ever made. A lot of stuff that didn't make it in the video, obviously, we got to keep it. It looks really good, and of course, everybody dressed up and all that. So, it'll be fun to watch that for years.”

Smith, of course, didn’t miss the chance to ask Hunt about his No. 1 hit, “Leave the Night On.” The track, and the album it appears on, Montevallo, debuted at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, making Hunt only the second solo male country artist to simultaneously top both the Top Country Albums and Hot Country Songs charts, a feat last achieved by Billy Ray Cyrus more than 22 years earlier.

Hunt revealed that he had another track in mind to be the lead single: “I actually originally wanted to put out a different song, ‘Take Your Time,’ that was one of my favorites. It was the kind of song I wanted to hang my hat on early on. But the label was a little reluctant because it was stylistically different. I was a new artist, and I felt you need to get yourself established with a song before you take a little bit of a risk with something outside the box. So, we compromised. Luckily, they did a really great job with ‘Leave the Night On,’ just getting it out there, and that really helped. Get the ball rolling for me and get me a little leeway to come with something a little different.”