Canaan Smith, ‘We Got Us’ – Song Review

Country newcomer Canaan Smith is as easy to enjoy as a walk through the park on a warm October morning. The singer -- and one-time reality TV star -- will release his debut single 'We Got Us' to radio in January. He brings a folky, singer-songwriter style that is begging to be heard on country radio.

Smith seems like that guy you knew in high school or college that everyone loved. He wears red pants and Converse tennis shoes. He's got a nice smile, but is soulful and reflective. He's competitive, but he's also an artist. It's not surprising that Smith already has over 3500 friends on Facebook. Half of those probably even call him a close friend.

All of this wouldn't matter if the song -- a midtempo acoustic strummer about a couple who own nothing but their love for one another -- was no good, but it is good. Really good. The lyrics are imaginative and sharp and Smith's laid-back style feels like a country version of Jack Johnson.

"We know we're ready / It may sound crazy / Cause we got no money / Nothing on our own honey / We got your daddy all worried / Because times are tough / We got love baby / Don't sound like much maybe / There ain't no way that's not enough / Cause we got us," Smith sings during the chorus. During the 15th season of 'Amazing Race' he was listed as only a songwriter (Love and Theft's 'Runaway' came from his pen) but he has the voice to carry his own career as well.

"They say life's not a love song / I think everybody's all wrong / So far forever sounds good to me / We got, California moon light / Enough gas to make it to sunrise / Two hearts believin' that's all we'll need," he adds during the second verse.

Smith competed on 'Amazing Race' with then-girlfriend Mika Combs in 2009, and was part of one of the series' more memorable moments. Remember the couple that got eliminated because she wouldn't go down the water slide? Yep, that was him.

It's seems doubtful the two are still together but the story of two lovers having nothing but each other would be appropriate for two people who watched $1 million go down a waterslide without them.

Listen to Canaan Smith's 'We Got Us'