Southside (Sam Hunt album)

Southside[lower-alpha 1] is the second studio album by American singer Sam Hunt. It was released through MCA Nashville on April 3, 2020.[2][3][4] It was slated to be supported by the Southside Summer Tour 2020, which would feature guests Kip Moore, Travis Denning, Brandi Cyrus, and Big Loud Records recording artist Ernest, and begin in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 28, 2020.[5][6]

Southside
Studio album by
Sam Hunt
ReleasedApril 3, 2020 (2020-04-03)
RecordedNashville, Tennessee
Genre
Length39:01
LabelMCA Nashville
Producer
Sam Hunt chronology
Montevallo
(2014)		 Southside
(2020)
Singles from Southside
  1. "Body Like a Back Road"
    Released: February 2, 2017
  2. "Downtown's Dead"
    Released: May 16, 2018
  3. "Kinfolks"
    Released: October 11, 2019
  4. "Hard to Forget"
    Released: March 9, 2020

Background

Following the success of Hunt's debut album Montevallo, released in 2014,[7] Hunt sporadically released several singles[8][9] while delaying his second studio album.[10][11] In the years between, he released the massive hit "Body Like a Back Road",[12] "Downtown's Dead",[13] as well as the track "Drinkin' Too Much".[14] Hunt gave little details on when his second album would be released until the release of "Kinfolks" in October 2019,[15] when he stated the full album would be released in 2020 and followed it up with the release of the track "Sinning with You" in January 2020.[16] In February 2020, Hunt finally revealed the album title Southside as well as an April 2020 release date.[4] The track "Hard to Forget" was soon released to coincide with the beginning of pre-orders,[17] and was later announced to be the next single.[18]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[21]
Pitchfork7.5/10[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Slant Magazine[24]
Tom HullB+ ()[25]

Southside was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an average score of 72 based on six reviews.[19]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Jon Freeman highlighted the "thread of sensitivity" in Southside and opined that the album made Hunt "a crossover star."[23] Chris DeVille of Stereogum positively compared the album to Montevallo, praising how the former contains "ever more adventurous packaging and a more seasoned perspective".[26] In concurrence, Pitchfork's Natalie Weiner stated that the album "shows a clarity of purpose that his debut lacked" while also praising Hunt's "enviably organic" way of threading "the country/hip-hop needle".[22] In a mixed review, Seth Wilson of Slant Magazine took note of the album's "ingratiating charm" but criticized its lyrical content.[24]

Rankings
Critics' rankings for Southside
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year N/A
[27]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
33
[28]

Commercial performance

Southside debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, opening with 46,000 album-equivalent units, including 18,000 pure album sales. It earned the third-largest streaming week for a country album, and is Hunt's second US top-10 album.[29]

Track listing
Southside track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."2016"
3:55
2."Hard to Forget"
3:24
3."Kinfolks"
3:01
4."Young Once"
3:05
5."Body Like a Back Road"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • McAnally
  • Osborne
2:42
6."That Ain't Beautiful"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • McAnally
2:44
7."Let It Down"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • Chris LaCorte
  • Osborne
  • Ernest K. Smith
2:50
8."Downtown's Dead"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • Osborne
  • McAnally
  • Charlie Handsome
3:33
9."Nothing Lasts Forever"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • Osborne
  • McAnally
3:04
10."Sinning with You"
  • Hunt
  • Osborne
  • Paul DiGiovanni
  • Emily Weisband
3:16
11."Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90s"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • LaCorte
  • Osborne
  • Smith
3:35
12."Drinkin' Too Much"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • McAnally
  • Stuart Hine
3:52
Total length:39:01

Charts
Chart performance for Southside
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 41
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)[31] 3
UK Country Albums (OCC)[32] 6
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[33] 4
US Billboard 200[34] 5
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[35] 1
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See also

Notes
  1. stylized in all caps
  2. Contains a sample of "There Stands the Glass" by Webb Pierce.

References
  1. "Southside - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  2. Freeman, Jon (February 5, 2020). "Sam Hunt Announces New Album 'Southside,' Plots Summer Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  3. "Country Hitmaker Sam Hunt Schedules First Album Since 2014 Debut". Variety. February 5, 2020.
  4. "Everything We Know About Sam Hunt's Sophomore Album 'Southside'". The Boot. February 5, 2020.
  5. Whitaker, Sterling (February 5, 2020). "Sam Hunt Announces Long-Awaited Sophomore Album, 'Southside'". Taste of Country. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  6. "Sam Hunt Announces 'Southside' Album and Summer Headline Tour". Sounds Like Nashville. February 5, 2020.
  7. "Sam Hunt Announces Sophomore Album 'Southside' After Six-Year Wait, Preps 2020 Tour". Billboard. February 5, 2020.
  8. Volmers, Eric (September 20, 2019). "Country star Sam Hunt debuts new song in Calgary". Toronto Sun. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  9. "With Second Album Not Yet in Sight, Sam Hunt Embraces Being a Singles Guy". Billboard. April 14, 2017.
  10. "Sam Hunt Takes His Time With 'Montevallo' Followup: 'I'm Going to Put Music Out When I Feel Like it's Ready'". Billboard. October 26, 2016.
  11. "Sam Hunt Sophomore Album: Expect a Few Singles Before Its Release". KXRB AM. October 26, 2016.
  12. "Sam Hunt Releases "Body Like a Back Road"". Vents Magazine. February 2, 2017.
  13. "Hunt finds "Downtown's Dead"". Country Standard Time. May 16, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  14. References confirming release of "Drinkin' Too Much":
  15. Freeman, Jon (October 10, 2019). "Hear Sam Hunt's New Song 'Kinfolks'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  16. References confirming release of "Sinning with You":
  17. "Hard to Forget – Single by Sam Hunt". Apple Music. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  18. "Check Out Sam Hunt's Next Single, "Hard To Forget" [LISTEN]". Country 106.5 WYRK. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  19. "Southside by Sam Hunt Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  20. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Southside – Sam Hunt". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  21. Johnston, Maura (April 3, 2020). "Sam Hunt showcases his affable charm on Southside: Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  22. Weiner, Natalie (April 9, 2020). "Sam Hunt: Southside Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  23. Freeman, Jon (April 8, 2020). "Sam Hunt Looks Backward While Continuing to Push Country's Boundaries on 'Southside'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  24. Wilson, Seth (April 3, 2020). "Review: Sam Hunt's Southside Is a Shallow Attempt at Genre Pastiche". Slant Magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  25. Hull, Tom (18 April 2020). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  26. DeVille, Chris (April 6, 2020). "Country Innovator Sam Hunt's New Southside Was Worth The 6-Year Wait". Stereogum. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  27. Billboard Staff (June 9, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  28. "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  29. Caulfield, Keith (April 12, 2020). "The Weeknd's 'After Hours' Scores Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  31. "ARIA Report". ARIA. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  32. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  33. "Sam Hunt Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  34. "Sam Hunt Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  35. "Sam Hunt Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
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