"Kinfolks" 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

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 ...

, released as a single on October 11, 2019. It is the third single from Hunt's second studio album '' Southside''. It is Hunt's ninth single release, and he co-wrote it 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 ...

, Jerry Flowers, and

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 ...

. It debuted at number 64 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ultimately peaked at number 34.

Critical reception

The track was described by Sterling Whitaker 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 ...

'' as a "traditional-themed love song about wanting a lover to meet the family and see the places and faces most important to you" as well as a "progressive musical track features the kind of spoken-work, not-quite-rapping verses Hunt is best known for". Writing for ''

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 ...

'', Jon Freeman described the song as featuring "acoustic guitar arpeggios that lead into big, bright choruses of banjo, vocal snippets, and wah-wah guitar", also calling it "not too far afield from the all-embracing sound that made his debut ''

Montevallo Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the cit ...

'' such a compelling listen".

Commercial performance

"Kinfolks" debuted at number 18 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 based on three and a half day of availability after its release to radio, which equals the debut of his previous single, " Downtown's Dead". It was the second best-selling country song the following week, with 13,000 copies sold, in addition to the 2,000 copies sold when it was released for sale late the previous week. It reached No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Country Airplay on chart dated February 29, 2020. It is also the first country song to top the Country Airplay chart on

Leap Day A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to kee ...

since

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

' " What She's Doing Now" stayed for the third week in 1992, as well as Hunt's first number one since "

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 ...

" in 2017. It has sold 72,000 copies in the United States as of March 2020.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Sam Hunt songs Songs written by Jerry Flowers Songs written by Josh Osborne Songs written by Sam Hunt Songs written by Zach Crowell MCA Nashville Records singles Song recordings produced by Zach Crowell