Since releasing his explosive debut single, "Whiskey On You," in May 2022, there's been no question that rock music is a core influence for Nate Smith. The sizzling breakup anthem, aided by his gravelly snarl, climbed to the top of the Billboard and Mediabase country charts for two consecutive weeks by January 2023. Not only did the feat indicate that there's an audience hungry for more of his country-rock concoctions, but it also hinted that Smith was one of country music's brightest new stars.
The California native's follow-up single, "World On Fire," solidified just that, leading Billboard's Country Airplay chart for 10 weeks at the top of 2024, which ties Morgan Wallen for the longest run in the chart's history. And just a few months after he was awarded New Male Artist of the Year at the Academy Of Country Music Awards, Smith notched a history-making third multi-week Mediabase No. 1 with "Bulletproof," the lead single from his sophomore album, California Gold — proving that he shows no signs of slowing down.
The rest of the 16-song collection expands on the raw storytelling and guitar-driven sounds of his self-titled 2023 debut, unapologetically leaning even further into the sounds and stories that made him. Whether it's intoxicating head-bangers, tender love songs, heart-crushing ballads or an EDM-inspired moment or two, California Gold shows that Smith is just as impactful with a poignant downtempo moment as he is with the high-octane energy of his hit singles.
Ahead of the album's arrival, GRAMMY.com caught up with Smith to hear about his nostalgic rock influences, how he's evolved as an artist, and the most meaningful moments of his career thus far.
California Gold has a ton of rock influence in it, which was a shift we first heard on your Through the Smoke EP earlier this year. Can you explain how you got pointed down this path of rock-infused country?
It just sort of naturally happened. I don't think it's a good idea whenever you're like, "I'm going to try to go for this type of sound." I think you should really lean into your influences and what you like to hear.
I grew up with a lot of rock in the early 2000s and late '90s. I just loved pop rock a lot, like Lifehouse, Hoobastank, Linkin Park, and bands like that. I've always liked the epicness of it. I love emo a lot, too, like The Used and Story of the Year. All those bands and all those rock sounds had really catchy choruses. I just like the way that rock moves me, I like the way it makes me feel.
My music has always been really diverse. I play with a variety of sounds because I'm such a fan of music, but I'm not shying away from my rock side. I feel like this record unapologetically leans into it more. I would get a mix back from Lindsay Rimes, my producer, and I'd be like, "There's not enough guitar. It needs to be heavier." We would add and add, or re-work verses so that things made sense and hit hard. I was really involved in the production side of this album.
You've recorded two duets with pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne, both the remixed version of "Bulletproof" and a song on this album, "Can You Die From A Broken Heart." What has it been like to work with her?
We've become really good friends, but "Can You Die From A Broken Heart" was the first song that I sent to her. She was like, "I kind of want something more uptempo, but I like it." Eventually she decided to cut both songs.
The moment I heard this song, I loved it right away. The person I thought of first was Sam [Harris] from X Ambassadors, because he's got this growly, hoarse voice that I thought would sound really good on it. It didn't make sense for him at the time, but the more I listened to it, I was like, Wait a second. I think there should be a female on this song, and I think it should be Avril Lavigne. It was before I knew her at all, so we AIed her voice onto it, just to see what it would sound like. It was just a dream at that point. We sort of manifested it, but then my team sent it to her and she said yes.
Artists like HARDY, Jelly Roll, Koe Wetzel, and countless others have been going down this same country-rock road. Do you think that says anything about the genre these days or the relationship between the country and rock formats?
I think there's a lot of different sounds in country music right now. There's Red Dirt, Texas neotraditional kind of stuff, which is its own lane. Then there's this rock and country thing, which is people like me, Bailey Zimmerman, Corey Kent, Jelly Roll, and all these different artists. We all have our own kind of thing within that, and there's extremes and more moderate sides of that. There's also the trap, Morgan Wallen stuff, which has Graham Barham and Tucker Wetmore. I think the main thing is to not really think about what "lane" you want to be a part of, but to just lean into your own influence.
I definitely think that there's a movement happening with the rock thing, unintentionally and all at the same time. It kind of makes me wonder if the universe is pushing it in that direction. I don't really know, but it seems like, collectively, we're all thinking the same thing.
You've said that this album is like an evolution, not just of your craft but of you, too. Can you elaborate on that?
When you're making your first album, you're trying to make it as good as you can. You've had some of these songs for a long time and you're just doing your best, but you may compromise in certain ways. Like maybe I didn't really like that guitar part, but I was too afraid to speak up at that time. Or maybe I didn't like my vocal comp on a certain line, or maybe the song wasn't even right for me, but I did it because the team was excited.
With this project, it's an evolution of me as a person, because I've completely listened to everything that I felt convicted about while making this album. Whether it was my vocal parts, the way that the harmonies sounded, or when the delay hits on the vocal, I was so particular about everything with this record. It was really hard to pick the songs, too, because I wanted to make sure they were the right songs. We got a couple little Hail Marys at the end, because we wrote "Perfect," "Want Me Back" and "California Gold" the day before we did our final cut of everything.
It is an evolution, though, and it's really just more. I always say this on stage, but my rockier stuff — the songs like "Bulletproof," "World On Fire" and "Whiskey On You" — you're getting more of that with this album. With the ballads, they're way more heartbreaking, lyrically and melodically.
We're also stretching the sound. On songs like "Hurtless," you can almost picture yourself in a dusty Desperado looking for an oasis in the desert. There's just an evolution of the sound in here, and there's going to be more of that in the future within the next album. Like I said, I'm a fan of music and just love to explore it.
What does California Gold mean to you? Why was that the name that stuck out for this project?
I was talking to my friend Dana, who makes all my guitar straps, as well as straps for Mitchell Tenpenny, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and a bunch of people. She lives in California and I was just checking in on her. She said, "We finally got some rain, which is California gold, you know?" I just thought that was such a good name for an album and it just felt right.
I love that California's in there, which is where I'm from. Gold, obviously, can mean gold rush, but also people don't know the part of California that I'm from. They know the beach and LA. I'm from a small town called Paradise in Northern California, which is a rural community. There's farming all over and rednecks everywhere. It's a hard-working, blue collar, country community.
The song "California Gold" has a lot of easter eggs, like Honey Run River, which is where we would hang out and smoke Prime Times. It just makes me think of growing up. It's so nostalgic, and it's also an evolution of the sound of "Sleeve" and "Oil Spot" from the last record. Both of those songs have that open road, driving down the highway, nostalgia. I think every album is going to have to have one of those songs for me.
With everything you've accomplished in just a few short years, what comes to your mind when you look back at everything from your career thus far?
I don't really think about it that much. What I think about the most is living in the moment.
I'm thankful for all those things, like when I got New Male Artist of the Year [at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards], that was a very surreal moment. Knowing that the songs are connecting and getting No. 1s, I celebrate those moments. They're really awesome, but I don't dwell on them because my identity isn't in that.
My identity is in how I treat my neighbor and my team. For me, when we have those wins, I get to become a better resource for the people around me. I get to be a river and make sure that everyone's taken care and able to pay their bills. That's the true success for me, is that my team is taken care of.
My birthday was the first show of the Through the Smoke Tour in Portland. My whole family flew out and I was able to buy dinner for like 20 people at the table to celebrate. That, to me, is "making it." That's what I dwell on and that's what makes me feel successful.
My next question was going to be what are a few of those milestone moments that really stick out to you and enforce that feeling of "making it."
Those are the milestones. Having my family come out and being able to see everybody. My band is on salary now, which is a milestone for me. People heavily connecting to the songs in an emotional way is a milestone for me. They show up to shows, which is a milestone. I'm losing weight and taking care of my body. That's a milestone.
I know we still have a few months, but what are you looking forward to in 2025 — that you can tell us about, at least?
I will say we got a very, very big tour next year as direct support for a very big artist. It's someone that I love and look up to, and I just can't wait till we can announce that. Getting a direct support slot is a huge deal.
We will be going to the UK, which we're putting together right now, and we'll be going to Norway. I'm Norwegian, and I believe I have relatives there, so I've asked for three days to hang out there. We're gonna go see the world a little bit!
I've got some time off from December to the beginning of January. I've got a couple of shows in January and February, but I'm gonna write and record my next album. It's gonna be crazy, but I'm also gonna get some rest. I'm looking forward to the rest.