"Downtown's Dead" 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 is Hunt's eighth single release, and the follow-up to his 2017 hit "

Body Like a Back Road "Body Like a Back Road" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Sam Hunt. It was released to country radio, by MCA Nashville on February 2, 2017, as the lead single from his second studio album '' Southside''. The song ...

" as well as the second single from his second studio album '' Southside''. The song, which he wrote with

Zach Crowell Zach Crowell is a songwriter and record producer who was born and raised in Nashville, TN. Crowell is involved in a joint admin agreement with Sony Music Publishing. He has written/produced over 30 number one songs and is a three-time Grammy A ...

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 ...

Josh Osborne Josh Osborne (born c. 1980) is an American songwriter with several number-one singles to his credit. Early life Josh Osborne was born in Pike County, Kentucky, and raised in Virgie, Kentucky. Osborne grew up on US 23, renamed Country Music High ...

, and

Charlie Handsome Ryan Vojtesak, better known by his stage name Charlie Handsome, is an American record producer and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. Vojtesak has been credited on albums for artists including Post Malone, Khalid, Drake, Kanye West, Travis Scott, ...

, is about the loneliness felt after a break-up. The song is Hunt's lowest charting single of his career, with a peak at number 15 on the

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.

Content and history

Co-writer

told ''

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 ...

'' that "It was an idea that Sam brought and we chipped away at over the course of a handful of different writes". The two then presented the idea of "Downtown's Dead" to

and

, who experimented with different sounds before deciding to make the lead instrument an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

. The lyrics take inspiration from a breakup that Hunt had with his wife, Hannah, and it expresses the loneliness that the narrator feels when by himself in a public setting. The song was described by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' as featuring a "woozy Latin guitar riff" and a "hungover narrative about a city that no longer holds the same charm it once did". Hunt announced the single's release via

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

in May 2018.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Country ballads 2010s ballads Sam Hunt songs Songs written by Zach Crowell Songs written by Charlie Handsome Songs written by Sam Hunt Songs written by Shane McAnally Songs written by Josh Osborne MCA Nashville Records singles Songs about loneliness Song recordings produced by Zach Crowell