"Damn Strait" is a song 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

Scotty McCreery Scott Cooke McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is an American country singer. He rose to fame after winning the tenth season of ''American Idol'' in May 2011. His debut studio album, '' Clear as Day'', was released in October 2011 and was certifi ...

. It was released on October 18, 2021, as the second single from his fifth studio album ''

Same Truck ''Same Truck'' is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Scotty McCreery. Its lead single, "You Time", is McCreery's fourth consecutive single to reach number one on the US Country Airplay chart. Content The album is the second ...

''. The song was written by Jim Collins and

Trent Tomlinson Trent Tomlinson (born July 3, 1975) is an American country music artist. After several failed attempts at finding a record deal, Tomlinson was signed to Lyric Street Records in 2005, with his debut album '' Country Is My Rock'', released in ear ...

, and produced by Frank Rogers,

Aaron Eshuis Aaron James Eshuis is an American songwriter and record producer, originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Eshuis moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and later signed a worldwide publishing deal with SMACKSongs in 2017. Eshuis has worked o ...

, and Derek Wells.

Background

"Damn Strait" is a tribute to country music singer

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

. McCreery told ''Everything Nash'' the story behind the song: "I was writing songs left and right, we had the songs put on there, but for me, when I heard a song 'Damn Strait', I immediately raised my hand and said, 'Me, me, me.' It's such a cool song. It's so cleverly written. And obviously I'm a massive George Strait fan. It just sounded so much like me." When talking about Strait, McCreery said in a press release: "I grew up as a huge George Strait fan, and when I heard this song, I raised my hand to say, 'I want this one.' Every country fan has a George Strait story, and everyone has a memory attached to their favorite songs."

Content

Aaron Ryan of ''Whiskey Riff'' described the song as "a heartbreaker that tells the story of a relationship gone bad – a relationship that, like many in the '80s and '90s, was filled with George Strait tunes as its soundtrack." Lauren Boisvert of ''Outsider'' wrote that it is "a picture of a relationship ended and the scars that music can leave on you when you associate it with a certain time or person in your life" that quotes the George Strait songs " Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her" (1986), "

Marina del Rey Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...

" (1982), " Blue Clear Sky" (1996), " Give It Away" (2006), " I Hate Everything" (2004), and "

Baby Blue Baby blue, also known as light blue, is a tint of azure, which is one of the pastel colors. The first recorded use of ''baby blue'' as a color name in English was in 1892. Variations of baby blue Beau blue Beau blue is a light tone of ba ...

" (1988).

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 ...

'' called the title "clever" and McCreery's delivery "warm and personal", writing that the "twist on the phrase 'Damn Strait' ..takes this song to a new level."

Music video

The music video premiered on February 8, 2022. It was directed by Jeff Ray and filmed at the historic

Gruene Hall Gruene Hall, built in 1878 by Henry (Heinrich) D. Gruene and located in the historical town of Gruene, Texas (now a part of New Braunfels), bills itself as "the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas". By design, not much has physically cha ...

New Braunfels, Texas New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal County, Texas, Comal and Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 United Sta ...

, a venue frequently played by Strait in his early career before he signed his record deal.

Live performance

On October 19, 2021, McCreery performed the song on ''

The Kelly Clarkson Show ''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and segments about "ev ...

''.

Chart performance

"Damn Strait" peaked at number one on the ''

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 ...

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart dated July 23, 2022, holding that position for three weeks and becoming McCreery's fifth consecutive number one single on that chart. In addition, it peaked at number 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming his first Top 40 single on that chart since his debut single " I Love You This Big" peaked at number 11 in 2011.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Scotty McCreery 2021 singles 2021 songs Scotty McCreery songs Songs written by Jim Collins (singer) Songs written by Trent Tomlinson Thirty Tigers singles Songs about musicians Songs about country music