NATE SMITH

                                                                "World on Fire" 

                                                                RCA Records Nashville

When “Whiskey On You” rocketed up the country airplay charts to the #1 position for back-to-back weeks, Nate Smith became country music’s next big thing that had just arrived. However, the groundwork for that breakout success began with him first building a tremendously strong grassroot following through strategically released songs, “Raised Up,” “I Don’t Wanna Go To Heaven,” “Wreckage,” and “I Found You,” all which offered a firm look at who he is as a songwriter and vocalist.

His following continuously expanded so much so that when his highly anticipated, self-titled debut album arrived on April 28, 2023, he also gifted his fans with six additional songs on a deluxe version of it, which included the in-demand track, “World on Fire.”

The song, written by Smith with Ashley Gorley, Taylor Phillips, and Lindsay Rimes, has now answered the fans outcry by becoming Nate’s next official radio single, impacting June 5, 2023.

The pounding intro slaps into the punch of guitar before expertly pulling back the moment the first verse drops, allowing Nate to then drip his rich vocal into the gritty scorn of the lyric as he stands toe to toe with the realities of a bad breakup that’s now left him living with memories of what used to be while trying to escape them but feeling trapped in a town that carries reminders everywhere he turns.

Lamenting in the opening verse that she could have done it right when she called it quits, as the melody pulses the build toward the chorus, Smith’s urgency within his tangled emotions comes to the forefront as he frustratingly sings, “You ruined everything I love.”

The rock kissed country edge of the chorus strikes the crescendo moment of his emotions finally boiling over as he craftily sings through imagery of the town surrounding him changing so much in the aftermath of their split that it’s like a fire ripped it away from him:

“You set my world on fire

Yeah, it’s all long gone

I’m watching flames get higher

And I can’t move on

I just gotta let it burn, burn, burn on down

Girl without you it don’t turn, turn, turn around

You set my world on fire

You set my world on fire”

Piggybacking off the idea from the opening verse that she ruined everything, he masterfully uses the second half of the song to then spell out the specifics that she’s ruined for him when he tells of not being able to hit the corner bar, ride them roads, etc.

Nate Smith has done everything right with his career trajectory, and the official release of “World on Fire” is the next right thing he’s doing. As with every song from him, there’s depth to the lyrics and a relatable, every man tilt to his voice that gives them the connection factor with the listener; Combine that with the simple fact that his fans wanted this song, and it’s a no brainer that this could very well be his next #1.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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