"Southern Comfort Zone" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

. It was released on September 27, 2012, as the lead single from his 2013 album '' Wheelhouse''. Paisley wrote this song with Kelley Lovelace and

Chris DuBois Charles Christopher DuBois is a songwriter and music publisher based out of Nashville, Tennessee. DuBois began his music career as ASCAP Nashville Director of Membership in 1993. He left ASCAP in 1999 to form Sea Gayle Music with business partn ...

. The song received positive reviews from critics who commended Paisley's delivery of powerful lyrics over a grand melody. "Southern Comfort Zone" peaked at numbers 2 and 10 on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts respectively. It also charted at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It received similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number 2 on the

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

chart and number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jim Shea.

Content

The song is a celebration of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

lifestyle while giving recognition to other parts of the world. Paisley said of its lyrical content, "I'm encouraging people to take a look around. There's some great places around the world that will expand your mind and also make you love this Southern comfort zone." Included on the song are snippets of Jeff Foxworthy, ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'',

Eddie Stubbs Eddie Stubbs (born November 25, 1961) is an American radio disc jockey. Stubbs is best known for his work and promotion of country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern ...

, a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

race, and bars of the traditional song "

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

" sung by the Brentwood Baptist Church choir, which lends the song an anthem quality.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' gave the song 4 stars out of 5, saying that "Paisley’s understated delivery (combined with a lovable personality) allows him to pack the punch he’s been working toward." Giving it a full 5 stars, Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' said that "The melody is epic and grand" while also praising the lyrics. Ben Foster of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a D− grade, calling it "tasteless" and "a misguided, watery mess."

Music video

The music video was directed by Jim Shea and premiered on

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...

on December 10, 2012.

Chart performance

"Southern Comfort Zone" debuted at number 25 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated October 6, 2012. It also debuted at number 73 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week of October 20, 2012. It also debuted at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of October 20, 2012. It reached number 2 on the Country Airplay chart dated February 23, 2013 and fell off the chart the following week, making it the first song to fall off the chart from the number 2 position since

Rodney Atkins Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's '' ...

' " These Are My People" in September 2007.

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs Brad Paisley songs Arista Nashville singles Songs written by Brad Paisley Songs written by Kelley Lovelace Songs written by Chris DuBois Songs about the American South