Hard to Forget

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For the Eddy Raven song, see She's Playing Hard to Forget.
"Hard to Forget"
Single by Sam Hunt
from the album Southside
ReleasedMarch 20, 2020 (2020-03-20)
GenreCountry
Length
  • 3:24 (album version)
  • 3:09 (radio edit)
LabelMCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Sam Hunt singles chronology
"Kinfolks"
(2019) 		"Hard to Forget"
(2020) 		"Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90s"
(2020)
Music video
"Hard to Forget" on YouTube
"Hard to Forget" (radio edit)
Radio edit cover

"Hard to Forget" is a song recorded by American country music singer Sam Hunt. It is the fourth single from his second studio album Southside. Hunt wrote the song with Ashley Gorley, Josh Osborne, Luke Laird, and Shane McAnally. The song contains a sample of Webb Pierce's 1953 hit "There Stands the Glass", whose writers Russ Hull, Audrey Grisham, and Mary Jean Shurtz are also credited.

Content[edit]

The song's concept began when Luke Laird presented Hunt with the idea of sampling older country music songs, something which Laird had done in his spare time but had never publicly released. Laird then heard "There Stands the Glass" and presented the idea to Hunt. The two had attempted to fit the sample to a song they were working on titled "One Whiskey Away", but had no success. The two then presented the idea to Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, who were working with Hunt on a song titled "Hard to Forget". All of the writers then took the partially-formed ideas from "One Whiskey Away" and "Hard to Forget", and worked to incorporate new lyrics around the sample. Laird then assembled a demo which was given to Hunt's producer Zach Crowell. Crowell adjusted the tempo of the song and added instrumentation from session musicians such as Ilya Toshinsky and Jenee Fleenor. The final recording also features vocal ad-libs from Hunt's road band, as well as Gorley's daughter and her friends.[1]

Wendy Hermanson and Billy Dukes of Taste of Country wrote of the song that "the overall result isn't 100 percent a traditional country song. Rather, it's a brilliant meld of old-school country with a distinctly modern, multi-groove tone." She also noted a "rollicking pop, almost reggae vibe".[2] Webb Pierce's son, Webb Pierce Jr., praised the song for bringing his father's music to a younger audience.[3]

Chart performance[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "Hard to Forget"
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australia Country Hot 50 (TMN)[4] 10
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[5] 32
Canada Country (Billboard)[6] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 26
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[8] 1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 3
US Rolling Stone Top 100[10] 20

Year-end charts[edit]

2020 year-end chart performance for "Hard to Forget"
Chart (2020) Position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 89
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 69
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[13] 24
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[14] 12

Certifications[edit]

Certifications and sales for "Hard to Forget"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Platinum 80,000‡
United States (RIAA)[16] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tom Roland (April 7, 2020). "Makin' Tracks: Sam Hunt's 'Hard to Forget,' A Combination of Something Old & Something New". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Wendy Hermanson, Billy Dukes (March 2, 2020). "Sam Hunt's 'Hard to Forget' Nods to (Really) Old School County". Taste of Country. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  3. ^ Jonathan Bernstein (February 25, 2020). "How a 67-Year-Old Honky-Tonk Sample Ended Up on Sam Hunt's New Banger 'Hard to Forget'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  4. ^ "Country Hot 50: Issue 1284". The Music Network. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Sam Hunt Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "Sam Hunt Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Sam Hunt Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sam Hunt Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Sam Hunt Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. ^ "Top 100 Songs, June 26, 2020 - July 2, 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  11. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  13. ^ "Country Airplay Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  14. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  15. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Sam Hunt – Hard To Forget". Music Canada. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  16. ^ "American single certifications – Sam Hunt – Hard To Forget". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
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