Canaan Smith has taken radio charts by storm of late with his single “Love You Like That,” a veritable earworm that currently sits at #20 on country airplay. The Virginia native recently released a self-titled EP, a five-song project that leads with the single and settles into a mix of festival-ready pop vibes, cunning lyrical conceits, and even a rap verse. It’s a sound that Smith has polished over the course of his ten years in Nashville, and while it places him squarely in a striking spot for radio, there’s a distinct quality that simultaneously sets him sonically apart. Nor does Smith share in the ‘bro’ bravado – there’s a humility that permeates the way he speaks. We had a chance to catch up with Smith, who is currently on the road with Dan + Shay.
First of all, congratulations on the success of “Love You Like That.” Did you expect it catch on so quickly?
Well thanks, and I appreciate the support. You never know – you just gotta do your best possible work, make the best possible song. It doesn’t always happen for people, where sometimes the song doesn’t pan out, so I think it’s that much sweeter when it does, and which is why I’m so grateful for it, I really am.
You just released your debut EP, which has such a diverse offering of styles, and fits well with what’s at radio while still retaining a distinct sound. How did you develop that sound?
I think it’s just a result of me being so involved with music for so many years. I picked up a guitar at 12 years old, and was influenced by everything from George Jones to Rage Against the Machine. I dissected these albums, I’d sit in front of the speakers as a kid and just dissect the parts I was hearing… Beatles songs that I’d fallen in love with as a 12, 13 year old that I just loved the production value of and appreciated they were taking swings and chances on things that other people weren’t doing. I think that’s all kind of come together and made me who I am and challenged me to always swing for the fence, creativity wise.
I’ve been in Nashville for 10 years, and that’s a long time to find out who you are, what you wanna say, and how you want to say it, and the EP is just a culmination of all that time spent figuring that out and finding out how to make my own mark.
As you continue to write and record, what’s guiding the direction of your debut album?
I’m hell-bent on quality songs. I just recorded my favorite track yesterday, actually, called “Bronco.” It’s a song about the loss of my brother, and the Ford Bronco truck that he drove. Songs like that are the ones that are important to me to put out, ‘cuz you know, fads come and go, and we don’t know where the sound of country music is going, but we do know that stories last forever. So I just want quality songs, and that’s what I’m focused on writing and finding to record.
Songs like “Two Lane Road,” for instance, have a lot of different sounds and influences. As country music changes, where do you see the genre evolving to?
It’s anybody’s guess where it’s headed next, but what I think what will always be true about country music is that it will be stories, songs about real things that we’ve been through and as long as it’s about that, you can tear it up with almost anything musically. I think the honesty of country music is what will stand the test of time and will always be true. So as long as I’m telling my stories and trying to be real and not shy away from stuff that makes me who I am, I think that honesty will always work in country music.
Aside from your own releases, you’ve had several songs recorded by other artists. Are those older songs that are just getting cut now, or are you still writing with or for other artists?
Some of the songs, like “Black Tears” that got cut by Jason Aldean a couple years ago, that was a back catalog song that I’d written, like five years ago. Sometimes they resurface at the craziest times, and that was one of this songs that just kind of came out of nowhere. I’m still writing all the time; right now I’m kind focused on my album, and so when I go, even tonight we’re getting on a bus and hitting the road and I’m bringing three writers with me this time to go out and write a handful of songs that we’ll finish my album with. So the focus right now is mainly on me, but we may come back with songs that we love that just don’t fit perfectly with the rest of the album, and those kind of songs I’ll definitely consider sending out to see if other people want to do them. No sense in sitting on all your eggs.
You’ve toured with a variety of artists, including Kip Moore, Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Dan + Shay, and Florida Georgia Line. Is there a particular type of venue you enjoy playing most?
I love the club scene, what we’re doing right now. To be honest, what makes or breaks a great show are the fans. I play some shows in a place that you’d feel like would end up being the worst possible venue and then the fans show up and they’re over the moon about your music and that changes everything. So it really doesn’t matter to me where we’re playing, it’s all about the fans.
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