Smoke (A Thousand Horses song)

"Smoke" is a song recorded by American country music group A Thousand Horses. It is their debut single and the first from their album Southernality. The track is a country ballad about comparing one's love to tobacco and trying to let it go. The band's lead vocalist Michael Hobby co-wrote the song, along with Ross Copperman and Jon Nite.

"Smoke"
Single by A Thousand Horses
from the album Southernality
ReleasedJanuary 19, 2015 (2015-01-19)
Recorded2015
GenreCountry
Length3:41
LabelRepublic Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dave Cobb
A Thousand Horses singles chronology
"Smoke"
(2015)		 "(This Ain't No) Drunk Dial"
(2015)

"Smoke" reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making A Thousand Horses the first country group to top that chart with their debut single since the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" in 2008. It also peaked at numbers 5 and 47 on both the Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts respectively. The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 474,000 copies in the United States as of July 2015. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, giving the band their first number-one hit on the Canada Country chart and number 53 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. It received a Gold certification from Music Canada, denoting sales of 40,000 units in that country.

A music video by Peter Zavadil was made to promote the single and features the band performing the song live, as they're watching an exotic dancer perform on stage.

Content

The song is a ballad in which the narrator compares his lover to the substance dependence of tobacco, referring to her as a "habit that I can't let go".[2]

Reception

Critical

Giving it a "B+", Jim Casey of Country Weekly praised the song's Southern rock and blues influences, adding that "The forlorn lyrics are despairing, but frontman Michael Hobby's gritty vocals…drive the song into an endorphin-releasing euphoria."[2]

Commercial

The song debuted at number 48 on the Country Airplay chart dated for the week ending January 24, 2015.[3] It debuted at number 48 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for the week ending January 24, 2015. It debuted at number 9 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart dated for the week ending February 14, 2015, and then entered the Hot 100 at number 90 on chart dated March 14, 2015. "Smoke" reached number one on the Country Airplay chart dated June 13, 2015, making A Thousand Horses the first country group to send a debut single to number one since the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" in December 2008.[4] As of July 2015, the song had sold 474,000 downloads in the US.[5]

The song debuted at number 42 on the Billboard Canada Country chart for the week of March 14, 2015. It also debuted at number 92 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of April 18, 2015.

Music video

The music video was directed by Peter Zavadil.[6] In the video, the band performs the song live about an erotic dancer they are watching on stage. Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone compared the video to that of "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Mötley Crüe.[7]

Chart performance
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[8] 53
Canada Country (Billboard)[9] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 47
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[11] 1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12] 5

Year-end charts
Chart (2015) Position
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[13] 23
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[14] 20

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 474,000[5]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. "Smoke". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  2. Casey, Jim (2 February 2015). "Reviews: 'Smoke'". Country Weekly. 22 (5): 67. ISSN 1074-3235.
  3. Morris, Edward (17 January 2015). "Garth Brooks Album Back on Top, Brad Paisley's Single No. 1 for Second Week". Country Music Television. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  4. Trust, Gary (2015-06-01). "Chart Highlights: Taylor Swift Ties Record as 'Bad Blood' Hits Pop Songs Top 10". Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  5. Matt Bjorke (July 13, 2015). "The Top 30 Digital Country Singles: July 13, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure given here
  6. "A Thousand Horses | Smoke | VEVO – Yahoo Screen". Yahoo! Screen. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  7. Hudak, Joseph (30 January 2015). "Watch a Thousand Horses Go 'Girls, Girls, Girls' in New Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  8. "A Thousand Horses Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. "A Thousand Horses Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  10. "A Thousand Horses Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  11. "A Thousand Horses Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
  12. "A Thousand Horses Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  13. "Best of 2015: Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  14. "Best of 2015: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  15. "Canadian single certifications – A Thousand Horses – Smoke". Music Canada. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  16. "American single certifications – A Thousand Horses – Smoke". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 13, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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