I try to stay as naive as possible so I'm not as aware as much of the risks.
— Sam Hunt
My style, in terms of what I wear, is kind of representative of the music.
After graduating college, I was coming out of a routine I'd been in for several years, all the way back to high school. It was a year-round process of constantly having to work and be disciplined, and I was able to understand and connect the dots between all those characteristics - especially hard work and success.
I love all kinds of music, and I would write really traditional country songs and songs that were just really out there, that didn't sound country at all, and everything in between.
'Make You Miss Me' is an important song to me. Having it go No. 1 as the fifth single off of my first record is the cherry on top of a chapter in my life I'll never forget.
I thought that I could have a career in music. I really didn't know exactly what I wanted to do or how I would go about doing it.
There wasn't really a song or artist that made me want to be a singer, I think I was always a fan of country music.
I can't play guitar if I blow my arm out.
I'm not in control of my fate, and that's a good thing.
I've always craved winning. It's just easier in sports because there's a scoreboard.
I've always wanted to do my best to make sure it's clear that I want to keep the focus on my music.
I didn't really know you could make a living in songwriting. I was just very fortunate to have the opportunity to play a few songs for a guy there named Jimmy Ritchey. Through that meeting, I met another couple guys and ended up getting a publishing deal in Nashville.
There's a system in place in Nashville, and for a long time, I was trapped in this idea that the only way to do it was to come to town, get a record deal, and do it the way they say. And that system works. But it caters to a specific kind of artist, and I didn't necessarily fit that mold.
Shane McAnally is a really good friend of mine. He's one of the first guys that really embraced what I was doing with an open mind.
I have two or three guys that I'm really close to. We have a great friendship, and I think that helps our songwriting relationship. It's hard to start... with new people and cover the ground that I've covered with those guys.
Prior to getting into music, I interacted with, on a daily basis, about 5-10 percent of the people that I've interacted with since then. I've been meeting people from different backgrounds and different cultures. That did allow for a lot of change. I've changed as a product of that, but it's been positive.
Putting out music as it's made, versus holding it until an album's finished, allows me to be more timely and maintain balance.
Once it's out there in the universe, it's serving its purpose, and I'm proud to have other folks hear the music that I was a part of making.
With a song called 'House Party,' you'd expect it to be more about a big party, not as much about a relationship, so we tried to put a little bit of a unique twist on it.
I connect music to the emotions that come from relationships, so most of the songs that I write are inspired by those circumstances, emotions, feelings, all that kind of stuff.
I was really only around country music on the radio, and I think because I grew up so close to Atlanta, and R&B was such a big part of that culture, by proximity I think a lot of that music influenced me without knowing it.
I was able to really see that connection as a football player where success requires a lot of hard work and effort, physically and mentally.
I wrote a song several years ago while I was in college called 'Muscadine Wine.' I really didn't know if it had potential or not, if it was good or bad or what. I played it for my roommates - who I played ball with - one night, and I knew they would tell me the truth. They loved it, and that encouraged me.
People sniff out when you try to fake something or be something you are not.
I still get excited about it. I miss playing ball.
I've tried to work really hard on never phoning in the lyrics.
I worked at a hospital parking cars and getting folks in and out of the hospital as they would come in for their appointments.
People throw things at me sometimes, at big festivals.
To me, country songs are simple.
There's such a strong community element in country - it's like a family. So I don't want to do anything that can come off, even if I'm not intentionally doing it, as giving the perception that I'm trying to abandon that family.
From the pop side, people like Usher, and when they first came out, I listened to guys like K-Ci and JoJo; that '90s R&B thing really caught my ear.
Folks in Alabama seem like folks in Georgia to me. I feel like you can just about combine the two.
New experiences give you new perspectives on life.
I try to make music that's relevant to my life and relatable to the culture I live in.
It's liberating to wear clothes that are outside the boundaries of what I'm supposed to wear, ya know, based on the traditional model, whether that be a country music singer, or being from the country. It's not a rebellious thing.
I kind of have my little OCD wood shed at my house where everything is just right when I go write.
The key to me is being different not for the sake of being different, but being the most authentic version of what you do. And definitely it takes a willingness to be different, because there was resistance for me early on, and I feel like that's usually the case when there's a certain paradigm or trend happening, and you step outside of that.
I don't really know that I'm aware of a lot of the inspiration and influence that I'm under, because I didn't have an extensive musically educational upbringing.
I don't think I'm conscious of most of the things I've drawn from football, because they're so ingrained in me now... understanding that the discipline and the routine and the regimentation to be successful.
I never thought of myself as a performer or songwriter or singer.
I am kind of the front man for a team of people behind the scenes who are working just as hard as me and are putting in just as much time to make this all happen. I'm not trying to be humble. I just want everyone to get credit where credit is due.
It wasn't in the cards to work out in football.
I had a couple CDs. But I never had that first concert experience, that first record thing.
I could probably recite just about every song that was on country radio between 1990 and 2000.
I have a cat named Dandelion.
You think about the artists I look at as icons, and you assume they were instantly embraced. That's usually not the case. In reality, they had to overcome a lot of noes to get where they wanted to be.
I didn't know what to expect, having not been an artist before. From the outside, you only see romantic snapshots of what seems like a great lifestyle, and it is, but it's also grueling.
Obviously, I love country music, so I wanna be able to live in the country music genre and then play to country music fans.
I grew up really close to Alabama, about 10 minutes from the Alabama line. We'd make trips to Alabama, and I feel at home there.
I do feel pressure internally and externally to put out music, but that excites me because I love songwriting, and this brings me back to why I got in music in the first place, so I'm excited about that.
