Sam Hunt’s New Song Reflects ‘Run-Ins With The Law’
Sam Hunt’s new song “Locked Up” has been making waves on radio since its release on Friday (3/23).
Run-Ins With The Law
Sam told us how the song came about. He revealed, “Well, ‘Locked Up’ is a song that started with a title. I had that title in my phone. I wanted to write a song called ‘Locked Up.’ I had no idea about what it may be about, although I have had a few run-ins with the law in my lifetime.”
In One Take
He continued, “My producer was playing me some music; he had built some tracks and was playing through a few songs, and I was looking at my phone, and I saw the title in the songs. The music sounded like the title, which is always a good start, and I just started singing that chorus. I think I filled in, 30-40 percent of the lyric in one take.”
Photo- UMG/Nashville
The Music Video
Hunt also explained how the music video came about. He said, “We found a really cool old prison in East Tennessee, and we had this idea originally to recreate the Johnny Cash Folsom Prison concert that he did back in the day and dressed up in all black, a suit. I got a bunch of local guys to come out and dress up as inmates and had a really good time with it, sort of a period piece idea.”
The official music video for the song was shot at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee, and reimagined the infamous 1968 Johnny Cash performance at Folsom State Prison. Taking on the feel of newly discovered footage from the archives, the video features Hunt with his longtime band and with the centerpiece of the song, his wife, Hannah.
RELATED: Sam Hunt Is Back On Tour ‘Connecting’ With Fans
Doing Johnny Cash Justice
He admitted, “I don’t know if I did Johnny Cash justice. I doubt I did, but I enjoyed making the video and had my family out there with me and met a lot of cool folks who came out to help us with this video, so that was one of the more fun video experiences I’ve had.”
Writing The Song
Sam co-wrote the song with Zach Crowell, Jerry Flowers, Shane McAnally, and Josh Osborne. “‘Locked Up’ describes the decisions that landed him that short jail sentence and thanks his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, for supporting and staying with him through all that.
Sam will perform the song at the 2024 CMT Music Awards on April 7, airing Live on CBS from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Sam Hunt: Five Of His Best Videos
