"Cheap Wine and Cigarettes" is a song written by

Cary Barlowe Cary Barlowe (born 1982) is a multi No.1 hit American music songwriter, guitarist and a family member of the rock band Luna Halo. He is also a three-time Grammy Award-nominee. Born in Virginia on a Saturday, July 31, 1982, and raised in Nort ...

and

Hillary Lindsey Hillary Lee Lindsey (born August 11, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including Michelle Branch, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shakira, Lady A, Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Carrie Unde ...

and recorded by Canadian

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

singer

Jess Moskaluke Jessica Moskaluke (born June 4, 1990) is a Canadian country singer and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, '' Light Up the Night'' in April 2014, which includes the platinum-certified single " Cheap Wine and Cigarettes". She has one n ...

for her debut studio album, ''Light Up the Night'' (2014). It was released via MDM Recordings on March 18, 2014 as the second single off the album. Met with positive critical and commercial success, the song became Moskaluke's first to chart on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

(and then to reach the top 50), as well as her first to be certified by

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

Content

"Cheap Wine and Cigarettes" is a midtempo

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, ...

song with influences of

that describes an unhealthy relationship which the lyrics compare to an addiction. The titular drugs are used as a metaphor for the narrator's self-destructive habits, allowing her lover to get her "high" and then "leave era mess."

Music video

The official music video for "Cheap Wine and Cigarettes" was filmed live at

CMT Canada CMT is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which owns a controlling 90% interest) and Paramount Networks Americas (which owns the remaining 10%), owners of the flagshi ...

; it was directed by Joel Stewart and premiered April 1, 2014.

Commercial performance

In its first week of release, "Cheap Wine and Cigarettes" was the most-added song on Canadian country radio. Aided by this warm reception, the song debuted at number 39 on the ''Billboard''

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

airplay chart, where it eventually reached a peak of 11. Its local success led to the song being picked up by

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

radio station " The Highway", which broadcasts in both Canada and the United States. "Cheap Wine and Cigarettes" debuted at number 82 on the ''Billboard''

for the chart issued May 3, 2014. It reached a peak position of 48 for one week on the chart issued May 31, 2014. In August 2014, the song was certified Gold by

, indicating sales of 40,000 units or more. In doing so, "Cheap Wine and Cigarettes" became the first certified single for her label MDM Recordings and Moskaluke became the first female Canadian artist to attain a Gold record since

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

, who last achieved the feat in 2004 with "

Party for Two "Party for Two" is a song by Canadian country singer-songwriter Shania Twain, recorded for her 2004 ''Greatest Hits'' compilation album. Written by Twain and then-husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange and produced by Lange, it was originally conceiv ...

". The song was later certified Platinum in November 2016 with sales of over 80,000.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles MDM Recordings singles Songs written by Hillary Lindsey Songs written by Cary Barlowe Jess Moskaluke songs