Nate Smith Nabs First No. 1 With ‘Whiskey on You': ‘My Dad Is Just Glad I Have a Job’
A glass of whiskey is in order to celebrate Nate Smith's first No. 1 hit, "Whiskey on You." The Gold-certified track reached the top of both the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase/Country Aircheck charts this week.
“When I released ‘Whiskey on You’ I wasn’t sure what would happen. I just knew I loved it!” Nate tells Billboard. “First my fans were super encouraging on social media and then country radio welcomed the song with open arms, and for that I couldn’t be more grateful!"
"This is such a proud moment for me and I feel so blessed to get to say I have the No. 1 song on country radio! Meanwhile, my dad is just glad I have a job! A huge thank you to country radio, my fans, my team, and everyone who has lifted this song up," he adds.
Smith wrote the song — released on June 27, 2022 — with Russell Sutton and Lindsay Rimes, with Rimes producing the track. It serves as the lead single off of his upcoming self-titled album, arriving Feb. 17.
The success of "Whiskey on You" is sweet vindication for California native, who tried the whole Nashville thing 15 years ago without success. So, he packed up his things and went home, but he never gave up on his dream. He tells Taste of Country Nights' host Evan Paul that things were different back then.
"I was 23. I was — everything's different," he explains. "I was young and just probably made everything about myself. That kind of thing."
He credits much of his recent success to TikTok, saying it's an "amazing tool." Smith used the platform to promote "Whiskey on You" before officially releasing it. Other artists, like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, are known to use a similar method.
Later this year, Smith will join Cole Swindell as an opener on Thomas Rhett's Home Team Tour 23. The trek will keep him busy from May 4 through Sept. 29.