"21 Summer" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

duo

Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne is an American country music duo from Deale, Maryland. The duo consists of brothers TJ Osborne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and John Osborne (lead guitar, background vocals). They signed a recording contract with EMI Records ...

. The song was released in February 2016 as the duo's fourth single overall and the third from the album ''

Pawn Shop A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typically accept jewelry, ...

''. Duo members John and T.J. Osborne co-wrote the song with

Craig Wiseman Craig Michael Wiseman is an American country music songwriter and producer, and the owner/founder of the Big Loud enterprise. He has been writing since the late 1980s, and his songs have been recorded by Lorrie Morgan, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesn ...

Content

The song is a nostalgic song recalling a former love that the narrator had in the summertime. John Osborne said, "It’s about looking back on a time in your life, regardless of how a previous relationship went. Whatever went wrong seemed to drift away and you only remember the glow of it, and the beauty of it and the importance of it." The brothers originally cut a demo of the song featuring a vocal hook. When recording the full version of the song with producer

Jay Joyce John Joseph "Jay" Joyce is an American record producer, songwriter and session musician. In the 1990s, Joyce, with Chris Feinstein and Brad Pemberton, recorded and toured as Iodine. He also fronted the band Bedlam, featured on the soundtrack to ...

, the hook was played on John's guitar and echoed by the brothers' sister, Natalie, along with bassist Pete Sternberg and

Lucie Silvas Lucie Joanne Silverman (born 4 September 1977) performing as Lucie Silvas, is a British singer-songwriter best known for her 2004 debut single " What You're Made Of", drawn from her first album ''Breathe In''—itself a hit in the Netherlands, ...

, who is John Osborne's wife. Drummer

Adam Box Adam Box is an American drummer, best known for his work with the country duo Brothers Osborne. Box started playing drums at church in his hometown of Zero, Mississippi, in a church band that covered contemporary rock songs with Christian lyrics ...

plays a muted

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

with a mallet. The brothers said that they wanted the song to have a vibe similar to a

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

song. After coming out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in February 2021, T.J. Osborne revealed that "21 Summer" was written about his first heartbreak when his relationship ended with a man he was dating in secret and he was unable to talk about it with anyone. Speaking to

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

, he explained “I was mad that no one knew why I was hurting. There are so many times I’ve sung that song and wanted to cry. People love that song, but the emotion of it is deeper than they even realize.”

Commercial performance

The song peaked at No. 25 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 24 on Country Airplay. It has sold 138,000 copies in the United States as of November 2016.

Music video

The music video was directed by Justin Clough and premiered in August 2016, starring Stirling Everly, the grandson of

Don Everly Isaac Donald Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) was an American musician. Everly was one-half of the singing duo The Everly Brothers alongside his younger brother Phil Everly, Phil. Early life Don was born in Brownie, Kentucky on Febru ...

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2016 songs 2016 singles Brothers Osborne songs EMI Records singles Gay-related songs Songs written by Craig Wiseman Song recordings produced by Jay Joyce