''X2C'' (pronounced "ex to see") is the debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) 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 on August 8, 2014, by

MCA Nashville Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 a ...

. Featuring his debut single, "

Leave the Night On "Leave the Night On" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Sam Hunt. It was released to country radio, by MCA Nashville on June 16, 2014 as the lead single from his debut studio album ''Montevallo'' (2014). The song was ...

", and three other songs recorded for the album, the EP served as a preview for Hunt's then-forthcoming debut studio album ''

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 ...

'' (2014). It debuted in the top five of the ''

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Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart and the top 40 of the all-genre US ''Billboard'' 200. The album's title is derived from the title of the track "Ex to See" and is a play on the

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

"ecstasy".

Track listing

Critical and commercial reception

Critical reception

Alanna Conaway of ''

Country Weekly ''Country Weekly'' (known as ''Nash Country Weekly'' from 2015–16) was an American magazine about country music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site Nash Country Daily. O ...

'' gave the EP a highly positive A+ review, praising Hunt as both songwriter and vocalist. "The layers of detail in each song on ''X2C'' shows the brilliance in the minds of Sam and his producers", writes Conaway, "putting him on the cutting edge of the next wave of what's to come". Jon Caramanica of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was somewhat more critical, highlighting the lack of

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influences while also comparing Hunt to

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. He described the record as "stylistically provocative" and a "fascinating, odd ..tug of war between muscle and heart".

Commercial reception

''X2C'' debuted at number five on the ''

chart, the highest debut of the week on that chart, for the week of August 17, 2014. It also debuted at number 36 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 that same week. The album sold 8,000 units in its first week of release. As of February 2015, the EP has sold 31,000 units. All four tracks charted in the top 40 of the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart due to substantial digital downloads.

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut EPs Albums produced by Shane McAnally MCA Records EPs Sam Hunt EPs Albums produced by Zach Crowell