"Happens Like That" is a song 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

Granger Smith Granger Kelly Smith (born September 4, 1979), also known by his stage name, Earl Dibbles Jr., is an American Southern Baptist minister, radio show host and former country music singer and songwriter. He has released eleven studio albums, two liv ...

. Released in May 2017 as the lead single to his second

Wheelhouse Records BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba. Craig Morgan had the fi ...

album '' When the Good Guys Win'', the song was co-written by Smith along with Justin Wilson,

Andy Albert Andrew Paul Albert is an American country music singer and songwriter from Roswell, Georgia, United States. His songwriting repertoire includes writing for artists such as Blake Shelton, Dustin Lynch, and Carrie Underwood. Albert grew up in Ros ...

, and

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line was an American country music duo founded in 2010 by vocalists and songwriters Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was downloaded over ...

Tyler Hubbard Tyler Reed Hubbard (born January 31, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as a member of the Nashville-based duo Florida Georgia Line. After that duo went on hiatus in 2021, Hubbard began recording as a solo artist on ...

. The song was inspired by Smith's wife, who also appears in the song's video, and its lyrics tell of the progression of a couple's relationship.

Content

Smith wrote "Happens Like That" with Justin Wilson,

, and

member

. In an article for ''The Boot'', Smith that the song was written while Smith was on tour with Florida Georgia Line, and the four of them wrote it "in just a couple hours". Thematically, the song is about the quick passage of time in a relationship. According to Smith, the song was inspired by his first encounter with his wife, Amber Bartlett, whom he met after she auditioned for a previous music video of his.

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 ...

'' wrote that "Smith is a master at finding soft spots with easily accessible, precise lyrics" while praising the "down-the-middle arrangement".

Music video

The song's music video, directed by

TK McKamy TK McKamy is an American film director, screenwriter, and editor known for directing music videos. Thomas Knox McKamy III was born in Stone Mountain, Georgia and raised in the small town of Nicholasville, Kentucky. The son of Knox and Lynn McK ...

, recalls a love story similar to the one portrayed in the song. In it, Smith is alone in a field when a woman (portrayed by Bartlett) joins him and proposes to him. Afterward, the two of them portray a growing relationship that culminates in the arrival of a child (portrayed by the Smiths' youngest son River).

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Granger Smith songs Songs written by Andy Albert Songs written by Tyler Hubbard Music videos directed by TK McKamy BBR Music Group singles Song recordings produced by Frank Rogers (record producer)