A new name in country music rose from the small town of Cedartown, Georgia. Sam Hunt, a rookie country singer and former college football player, decided to come out of the shadows of writing lyrics for country legends, like Billy Currington, Keith Urban, and Kenney Chesney and began singing his own songs. He released his EP “X2C”, holding four songs. One of those first released landed on the top five gold-selling track soon after public access. This quick success sealed Hunt’s ambition for a bigger career in the music industry and proved wrong those who doubted his sudden change from quarter back at University of Alabama at Birmingham to an aspiring artist.

Sam Hunt’s album, Montevallo, contains songs from anywhere between earth shattering heartbreaks to nights filled with parties and good times. Most iconic is Sam Hunt’s Leave the Night On  featuring an upbeat rhythm and allusions to other songs not in the country genre, like Drops of Jupiter by Train. Unlike most artists in this industry, Hunt incorporates spoken verses into his playlist and a strong chorus sung to perfection. For example, this element pops up in several songs – Take Your Time, a romantic song with a piano aspect, and Break Up in a Small Town, a heart wrencher containing a strong bass and emotional appeal. Cop Car, originally sang by Keith Urban, appears on the track and serenades to the audience about a couple running a tiny bump in with the law and falling deeper in love. Sam Hunt reclaims his written song from Urban by flawlessly executing the piece. Faster songs with an underlying party theme are Single for the Summer, written about the beach and “school’s out” feelings, and House Party, which explains the typical soirée at a best friend’s house.  Hunt shows his home pride through his patriotic song Raised on It, where he expresses his love and nostalgia for his childhood town. Ex to See, another one of his more popular songs, blasts the charts as fans rave over the playful melody about a couple making an ex-boyfriend jealous. Captivating the Sam Hunt fan base, Speakers  and Make You Miss Me lullaby listeners as the slow beat and rhythmic bass and drums hum to the romantic lyrics about keeping a girl and loving her right.

The country music industry underwent several changes in the recent releases as genres like country, R&B, pop, and rock are all blended together to make a new sound. The new era of the country music industry kicks banjos, fiddles, and acoustic style to the curb as the exciting bass, electric guitar, and modern techno beats take center stage. Many other artists approach this new method including Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan. Sam Hunt proves his dedication to his career by acquiring nominations for the American Music Awards show airing live on November 22, 2015 at 8 o’clock at night. Hunt holds nominations in Favorite Country Album award, New Artist of the Year award, and Favorite Male Artist award.

With the rest of his tour coming to an end, Sam Hunt has blown away the music industry and captured the hearts of music fanatics all over the nation.