Sam Hunt Celebrates Two No. 1 Hits With Cocktails, Food Trucks in Nashville

It's good to be Sam Hunt. Following the success of "Take Your Time" and "House Party," the singer can now tout three No. 1 hits, so last week, he threw a food truck soiree in Music City to celebrate.

When this not-so-newcomer released his first single, "Leave the Night On," to country radio it was admittedly a little risky. The song, and Hunt's sound in general, is influenced by a wide range of music, so the song isn't like anything else country radio.

“It was hard to predict the way this has played out, and fortunately I was able to get around some really talented people who were willing to think outside the box like me and follow our own instincts," Hunt explains. "We all just hit it off musically and personally, and never really thought about the fact that it was potentially going to be as unique as it has maybe been. So it really goes back to those relationships I made when we first started writing.”

Surrounded by food trucks serving ice cream and bratwursts on a hot Nashville day, Hunt told the story of each single to a crowd of reporters. "Take Your Time" was written with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, and the phrasing was something Hunt had in his head for a while. In a second songwriting session, the three men started experimenting with it.

“The talking thing just kind of happened," Hunt admits. "That was the song that when we finished it I realized, ‘Okay, this is the direction I need to go as an artist,' ‘cause I had a lot of passions in terms of style of which ways to go — country to more urban. That was the one song that I felt captured the best version of what I potentially could offer as an artist.”

"House Party" was written with McAnally and Shane Crowell, and both new No. 1s were likely helpful in Hunt getting his New Artist nomination.

“It’s really cool — being accepted by country radio and being accepted by the CMAs or the ACMs — those are like the gatekeepers for if you get to join the club or not," he says. "The fact that they’ve acknowledged me in those ways … it just makes me feel like I’m a part of the family and that’s really important to me, so it’s pretty cool.”

Next up for Hunt is a music video for "Break Up in a Small Town," which is his latest single and likely his next No. 1. He says shooting the video was "cool," because he got to burn down a house. The clip is expected in a few weeks. He's also looking forward to getting home and writing more music.

“The biggest and most important thing that I’m really excited about is getting back to town to do some writing to kind of rejoin forces to with these guys and see if I can’t do it again," Hunt shares. "Fortunately, the songs have done well. It’s sort of bittersweet because they’ve done well quickly and now it’s time to put out new music and I haven’t been home to write. I’m sweating that a little bit."

As for that beard fans keep asking about? It's here to stay, Hunt says. "I was only going to keep it for the music video and then I kind of got attached to it, because we’ve been through so much the last month and a half or so.

Is Sam Hunt the Sexiest Man in Country Music?

Learn a Few Things About Sam Hunt