Southside (Sam Hunt album) explained

Southside
Cover:Sam Hunt - Southside.png
Type:studio
Artist:Sam Hunt
Studio:Nashville, Tennessee
Genre:
Length:39:01
Label:MCA Nashville
Producer:
Prev Title:Montevallo
Prev Year:2014

Southside 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 have featured guests Kip Moore, Travis Denning, Brandi Cyrus, and Ernest, and was set to begin in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 28, 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] [6]

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", "Downtown's Dead",[12] as well as the track "Drinkin' Too Much".[13] Hunt gave little details on when his second album would be released until the release of "Kinfolks" in October 2019,[14] 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.[15] 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,[16] and was later announced to be the next single.[17]

Critical reception

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.[18]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Jon Freeman highlighted the "thread of sensitivity" in Southside and opined that the album made Hunt "a crossover star." Chris DeVille of Stereogum positively compared the album to Montevallo, praising how the former contains "ever more adventurous packaging and a more seasoned perspective".[19] In concurrence, Pitchforks 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". In a mixed review, Seth Wilson of Slant Magazine took note of the album's "ingratiating charm" but criticized its lyrical content. Robert Christgau awarded the album an A− grade in his online subscription letter praising in particular Hunt's "way with words" prevailing throughout the record, citing the chorus of 'Body Like a Back Road' as an example of his words cherishing "the American vernacular that imbues great pop songwriting from Irving Berlin to Jay-Z in a Nashville dialect that recalls John Prine".[20]

Rankings

Critics' rankings for Southside
PublicationAccoladeRank
BillboardBillboards 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
BillboardBillboards 50 Best Albums of 2020
The New York TimesBest Albums of 2020 (Jon Caramanica)
StereogumStereogums 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
Substream MagazineBest Albums of 2020 (Logan White)

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.[21]

Personnel

Adapted from Southside liner notes.[22]

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2020)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Top Country Albums (ARIA)[24] 28
US Billboard 200[25] 100
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[26] 10
Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)[27] 27
US Billboard 200[28] 146
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[29] 12
Chart (2022)! scope="col"
Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[30] 35

Release history

Release formats for Southside! Country! Date! Format! Label!
VariousApril 3, 2020Compact discMCA Nashville
Digital download
Streaming
July 17, 2020Vinyl

Notes and References

  1. News: Southside - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine. AllMusic. April 6, 2020.
  2. Sam Hunt Announces New Album 'Southside,' Plots Summer Tour. Rolling Stone. Freeman. Jon. February 5, 2020. February 6, 2020.
  3. News: Country Hitmaker Sam Hunt Schedules First Album Since 2014 Debut. Variety. February 5, 2020.
  4. News: Everything We Know About Sam Hunt's Sophomore Album 'Southside'. February 5, 2020. The Boot.
  5. Web site: Sam Hunt Announces Long-Awaited Sophomore Album, 'Southside'. Taste of Country. Whitaker. Sterling. February 5, 2020. February 6, 2020.
  6. News: 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. News: Country star Sam Hunt debuts new song in Calgary. Toronto Sun. Volmers. Eric. September 20, 2019. October 12, 2019.
  9. With Second Album Not Yet in Sight, Sam Hunt Embraces Being a Singles Guy. April 14, 2017. Billboard.
  10. Sam Hunt Takes His Time With 'Montevallo' Followup: 'I'm Going to Put Music Out When I Feel Like it's Ready'. October 26, 2016. Billboard.
  11. News: Sam Hunt Sophomore Album: Expect a Few Singles Before Its Release. October 26, 2016. KXRB AM.
  12. Web site: Hunt finds "Downtown's Dead". May 16, 2018. Country Standard Time. June 23, 2018.
  13. References confirming release of "Drinkin' Too Much":
  14. Hear Sam Hunt's New Song 'Kinfolks' . Rolling Stone. Freeman. Jon. October 10, 2019. October 12, 2019.
  15. References confirming release of "Sinning with You":
  16. Web site: Hard to Forget – Single by Sam Hunt. Apple Music. February 6, 2020.
  17. News: Check Out Sam Hunt's Next Single, "Hard To Forget" [LISTEN]]. Country 106.5 WYRK. February 20, 2020.
  18. Web site: Southside by Sam Hunt Reviews and Tracks. Metacritic. April 10, 2020.
  19. Web site: Country Innovator Sam Hunt's New Southside Was Worth The 6-Year Wait. Stereogum. DeVille. Chris. April 6, 2020. April 9, 2020.
  20. Web site: Christgau. Robert. Consumer Guide: May, 2020. 2020-12-22. robertchristgau.substack.com.
  21. The Weeknd's 'After Hours' Scores Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. April 12, 2020. April 13, 2020.
  22. Southside . Southside . 2020 . CD booklet . MCA Records Nashville . B0031776-02.
  23. Web site: ARIA Report. ARIA. April 13, 2020. April 11, 2020.
  24. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2020. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 15, 2021.
  25. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 4, 2020.
  26. Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 17, 2020.
  27. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2021. Australian Recording Industry Association. 15 January 2022.
  28. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  29. Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  30. Top Country Albums – Year-End 2022. Billboard. March 5, 2023.

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