"Break Up in a Small Town" is a song co-written and 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 ...

singer

Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played American football, football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sport ...

. It was released to country radio, by

MCA Nashville Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 a ...

on September 21, 2015, as the fourth single from his debut studio album ''

Montevallo Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the cit ...

'' (2014). The song was written by Hunt, Zach Crowell and

Shane McAnally Shane Lamar McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He debuted as a singer in 1999 with his Shane McAnally (album), self-titled album on Curb Records. This project produced three sing ...

Background and composition

The song has

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and R&B influence, which Hunt expressed in an article with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''.

said of the influence: "It's a model that I think many people could learn from because you are still evolving as an artist along the way. Just because you put music out, it doesn't mean that is where you stop for the next year". Hunt then discussed the process of making the song, saying it was born when he was "singing that chorus melody late one night while riding around trying to come up with song ideas". He originally "didn't want to write anymore break up songs", but the melody of the song changed his mind, saying it "fit too perfectly not to go with it". The song was inspired by his breakup with his then-girlfriend Hannah Lee Fowler whom he has since married.

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 wit ...

'' gave the song a favorable review and observed the song as "likely the wordiest song of 2015" and Hunt's "most genre-bending release to country radio", adding "Any talk of which genre Hunt belongs in misses the point. His story hits hard. It's deep and emotional and sincere and all the things we expect from a great country song".

Music video

The music video was directed by Tim Mattia and premiered in October 2015. The video was shot in

Macon County, Tennessee Macon County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,216. Its county seat is Lafayette, Tennessee, Lafayette. Macon County is part of the ...

Commercial performance

The song debuted on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart at number 30 for the week of August 30, 2014, the week his EP ''

X2C ''X2C'' (pronounced "ex to see") is the debut extended play (EP) by American country music singer Sam Hunt, released on August 8, 2014, by Music Corporation of America#MCA Nashville, MCA Nashville. Featuring his debut single, "Leave the Night On" ...

'' was released, with 24,000 copies sold. All four songs from the EP debuted on the chart, with "Ex to See", "

House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...

", and "Break Up in a Small Town" doing so exclusively through digital sales. It also debuted at number 16 on the Country Digital Songs chart. Following its release as a single from ''

'', the song peaked at number two on the Hot Country Songs chart, but was kept out of the top spot by " Die a Happy Man" performed by

Thomas Rhett Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. (born March 30, 1990) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He is the oldest son of singer Rhett Akins. Rhett has released seven studio albums for Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint: ''It Goes ...

. The song became Hunt's fourth consecutive top-three hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. The song was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on September 3, 2015, and Platinum on December 17, 2015. As of March 2016, the song has sold nearly 1,230,000 downloads.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{authority control 2015 singles Country ballads 2010s ballads MCA Nashville Records singles Sam Hunt songs Songs written by Sam Hunt Songs written by Shane McAnally Songs written by Zach Crowell 2015 songs Song recordings produced by Shane McAnally Song recordings produced by Zach Crowell