"Two of Us" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian

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 ...

artist

Brett Kissel Brett Kissel (born May 27, 1990) is a Canadian country music, country singer. He has achieved four number-one hits on the Canadian country chart with "Airwaves (Brett Kissel song), Airwaves", "Drink About Me", "A Few Good Stories", and "Make a L ...

and American country artist Cooper Alan. The two artists wrote the song with Matt McKinney and

Seth Mosley Seth David Mosley (born October 17, 1987) is an American Christian musician and record producer, who plays Christian pop and Christian rock. He was the frontman for the Christian alternative rock band Me in Motion. Mosley was awarded the Song ...

, while Mosley produced the track with Michael "X" O'Connor.

Background

Cooper Alan stated that he wanted to record a song with a Canadian country artist after appreciating the support he had received from fans in Canada while performing live shows there for the first time in 2023. He elected to post on social media platform

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, asking for suggestions of Canadian country artists to duet with.

publicly responded to the post, suggesting himself, and the two later got together to write "Two of Us" with Matt McKinney and

. Alan remarked that he had been a fan of Kissel prior to his original call for suggestions, and that he had hoped Kissel would reach out to him in response. Kissel described the song as being about "making a new best friend and drinking buddy at a bar". He also stated that working with Alan was "so much fun". Alan framed the song as a modern take on

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studi ...

and

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

's 2003 hit "

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" is a song performed by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett, and written by Jim "Moose" Brown and Don Rollins. It was released in June 2003 as the lead single from Jackson's 2003 compilation album '' Greatest Hits Volume ...

Critical reception

James Daykin of ''Entertainment Focus'' stated that "Two of Us" is an example of the "magic that can happen when two remarkable talents join forces". Jenna Melanson of ''Canadian Beats Media'' referred to the song as an "electrifying duet".

Live performance

Kissel and Alan performed "Two of Us" live at the

2023 Canadian Country Music Awards The 2023 Canadian Country Music Awards, honouring achievements in Canadian country music, were presented on September 16, 2023, at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario. For the first time in 25 years they were broadcas ...

at the

FirstOntario Centre Hamilton Arena (originally Copps Coliseum, later renamed FirstOntario Centre) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street (Hamilton, Ontario), Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Cana ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

on September 16, 2023, one day after the song's official release. The award show was broadcast live on CTV in Canada, and their performance was later uploaded to YouTube.

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. * Cooper Alan – composition, vocals * Jonny Fung –

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, guitar,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

– composition, vocals * Matt McKinney – composition * Miles McPherson – drums *

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, composition, guitar,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

* Crystal O'Connor – editing * Michael "X" O'Connor – mixing, production * Mark Troyer –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Charts

References

{{authority control 2023 songs 2023 singles Brett Kissel songs Male vocal duets Songs about alcohol Songs written by Brett Kissel Songs written by Seth Mosley