Lipstick Graffiti on the Bathroom Mirror

Sam Hunt was in the Nash Country Daily offices on Jan. 24 for a sit-down interview on NASH radio show Ty, Kelly and Chuck.

Sam dished with the hosts about the many new developments in his life, including the details surrounding his recent “spiritual” engagement to Hannah Lee Fowler, as well as announcing a new song, “Body Like a Backroad,” and a new summer tour.

Here’s the scoop, in Sam’s own words.

Proposing to Hannah Lee “I’m excited about it. It’s something that in life, you know, we all think about [when] growing up, and you think ‘One day,’ and one day finally came and I couldn’t be happier.

“[The engagement] was exciting, I thought it was going to be a cinch when I got the ring, put it in my pocket the day I planned on asking her to marry me. Once you have the ring in your pocket and the clock is ticking, you know, you could do it at any moment, it becomes a bigger deal than you think. It worked out perfectly. We took a trip over to Israel, and we were traveling and visiting all these really cool places and learning about that part of the world. There were a lot of places we were visiting that were, I don’t know, really spiritual and it really connected us in a deeper spiritual way.

“It was either her or push on as a bachelor. I realized she was meant to be a part of my life and when I realized that, as fast as I could, I went to try to convince her that was the way it needed to be.

“Most of the things I do in life, you just kind of wait for the right moment, you just kind of feel it. I had the ring ready and we actually got into this little disagreement, just before I planned on asking her to marry me, the night before I planned to ask her. I think because I felt like this disagreement spoiled my big plan to ask her to marry me, it irritated me a little more, which contributed to making the little fight worse and it escalated to the point where it actually worked out. We got real for a minute, after this little riff that we had. In that moment, it just felt perfect. Everything—after I asked her to marry me—just fizzled away and we celebrated and got excited together.

“I was pretty sure she was going to say yes, but I wanted her to say yes without any reservation. I’m not 100 percent sure she didn’t have any reservation. It was a big moment for her. She’s all in. She’s 100 percent committed and I am too.”

New Song “It’s called ‘Body Like a Backroad,’ a lighthearted song that was a lot of fun to write. I’ve been writing songs over the past, I guess, year and a half, trying to conceptualize a new record and it kinda started taking a heavy direction, and I sat down at one point and was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna lighten this up a little bit, it needs a lighter flair.’ [“Body Like a Backroad”] sort of swings, and hopefully it’s easy to listen to and will put a smile on some folks’ faces.

“I wrote it with my producer Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally. [I wrote] it after I got engaged. I connect music to the emotions that come from relationships, so most of the songs that I write are inspired by those circumstances, emotions, feelings, all that kind of stuff.”

New Tour “We’ve got a tour starting in late May, [early] June. We’re going out with Maren Morris, Chris Janson and Ryan Follese. We are pumped. I’m a big fan of all those guys and Maren. It’s called the 15 in a 30 Tour. It’s a little line from [“Body Like a Backroad”]. Most of our camp, and from what I know about the other camps, everybody is kind of laid back and I think the title of the tour, 15 in a 30, will reflect that. It will still be high energy and a good time.”

New Music “I put out a song a couple of weeks ago [“Drinkin’ Too Much”] and I’ve got ‘Body Like a Backroad’ coming out. As I write these songs, I don’t want to sit on them for as long as it takes me to finish a record before I put them out, so I’m just going to try to put them out as I write them and finish them. As quick as I can get them done, I’ll be shooting them out.”

Surprising Fact “Traditionally speaking, I’m not a technical musician or a technical singer or educated in any [musical] way other than just googling guitar chords and learning them on my guitar—simple country songs from the ’90s and just kind of learning it the best I could. I guess fake it until you make it. I’m just a football player trying to figure it out, really.”