In case 'World on Fire' seemed like a fluke, Nate Smith serves up 'bulletproof': 'You gotta be able to sing along to my songs'

Nate Smith got off to an enviable start to his career when “Whiskey on You” hit No. 1 on Country Airplay in 2022.

So when his sophomore single arrived, he pretty much had to pay attention to the country universe. That song – reflecting its title, “World on Fire” – blew up, surpassing the previous release's appeal to tie the record for the longest run at the top of the Country Airplay chart since that list's inception in 1990.

“Talk about a shocker,” marvels Smith. “Ten weeks? I just can't even believe it.”

“World” had an intense sound, and its successor, “Bulletproof,” works a bit like a boxer after hitting the previous single with a ferocious left hook. The chorus of “Bulletproof” uses big growling guitars under a catchy melody and helps set expectations as Smith moves forward in his career.

“Obviously we'll evolve,” he allows, “but I think what can't be stopped is the anthems. They must be hymns. They must sing together. It has to be something that feels visceral, emotional and has to connect with people on an emotional level.”

“Bulletproof” was waiting for Smith to find it. He wrote most of the material on his self-titled debut album, but after his first two singles created a demand for his talents, he spent most of 2023 on the road, often visiting radio stations in the afternoons and then doing meet and greets before his gigs . He wasn't great at writing songs, so he put the word out that he was looking for songs. Music Row was happy to oblige.

“Bulletproof” is actually a three-year composition, due to an April 2021 appointment at the office of Track45 member Ben Johnson (“Truck Bed,” “Take My Name”). Johnson worked that day with Ashley Gorley (“Last Night,” “You Should Probably Leave”) and Hunter Phelps (“wait in the truck,” “Cold Beer Calling My Name”) on the “starts,” assembling short bases that they could use to compose songs at a later date.

“We've been doing this forever,” Johnson says. “I'm basically getting ready for a write-up, you know. You want to make sure you're armed with ideas and vibes and tunes.”

After making about five starts, they tore into another and found they couldn't stop. “We had to start over and end up writing the whole song,” says Johnson. “So it was a happy accident.”

Johnson took the title “Bulletproof” from a 2011 synth dance record by singer La Roux. He imagined it as a rustic play on words – “shoot me, but I'm bulletproof” – and put the new idea into his phone. When he mentioned it, Gourley and Phelps broke into what became the first line of the chorus.

“That was faster than most songs I'd say we've ever written,” says Phelps. “It was quick, because I remember immediately he said, 'I tried Jack, I tried Jim.' I was like, “Man, we're going to the games right now. This is.'”

They put some solid booze imagery into that chorus – particularly “cracked bottles on the shelf” – and Gourley threw in some repetition. “I remember Ashley singing 'shots, shots, shots,' and we're like, 'Oh yeah,'” Phelps says.

It's safe to say that by that time, it was no longer “a start” and they intended to take it to the finish line. They headed back to the front, where they used the first verse to set up a bar scene with the protagonist desperately trying to drink away the memory of an ex. And when they got to the second verse, they cut that part in the middle, on purpose. They had developed a post-chorus – an extra addition they planned to add at the end of the second chorus. Cutting the second verse in half helped them get there faster.

“If you have a big post-chorus,” Johnson says, “you don't really want a big second verse, because you want to leave a lot of real estate for that post-chorus to come in.”

Johnson created the demo, inspired by 2000s rock, thinking particularly of the percussion and guitar sounds of Green Day's “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, although he found guitar chords for the intro more akin to “Mary Jane's” by Tom Petty. LAST DANCE.” Gorley gave the demo a rough vocal and Phelps did it again later. then “Bulletproof” sat for a while until Smith said he needed material. Gorley put together about 10 songs and pitched them to Smith, who who was hooked from the moment he heard the chords of “Mary Jane.” The demo sounded like a club-level rock performance, but Smith believed he could bring a heavier performance suitable for arenas.

“He had the bones there, but I was like, 'Let's really rock it,' so he puts you in it later, in that Nickelback, country/rock kind of way,” Smith says.

Producer Lindsay Rimes (LOCASH, Tyler Rich) recruited drummer Evan Hutchings, bassist Tony Lucido, guitarists Sol Philcox-Littlefield and Tim Galloway, and keyboardist Alex Wright for a tracking session at Nashville's Blackbird Studios. They played the demo for the band and encouraged them to rock it harder. When they got to the instrumental break, Philcox-Littlefield went a little further than they had in mind, playing what Smith called a “super-rippin'” guitar solo. Smith asked him to call it back.

“One thing I learned from John Mayer, like listening to his music, you could sing any guitar solo he records,” says Smith. “I think there is something to it. It has to be catchy and it can't be an afterthought.”

Smith's vocal part was relatively easy. The biggest problem was picking the right spots to amplify it further, doubling his performance at key points to make his voice thicker, and adding vocal delays that made the words ring out in the gaps and fill out the track more. “Holy cow,” says Phelps. “They made it sound huge.”

The country hitmaker didn't waste much time getting the song into his set list. He played it in concert until November 2023, and RCA Nashville decided to send it to developers once “World on Fire” slowed down.

The label released “Bulletproof” to country radio via PlayMPE on February 8th. It has already reached No. 27 on Hot Country Songs in its four weeks on the chart. In the meantime, consider his heavy sound and catchy melody a template for Smith's future.

“Stylistically, things will evolve in different ways and stuff, but I feel like if you have that catchy chorus, that really connects with you on an emotional level, that's so important to me,” notes Smith. “You have to be able to sing along with my songs. Must.”