Hard to Forget
{{short description|2020 single by Sam Hunt}}
{{For|the Eddy Raven song|She's Playing Hard to Forget}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Hard to Forget
| cover = Hard to Forget Single.jpeg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sam Hunt
| album = Southside
| released = {{Start date|2020|3|20}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length =
- 3:24 (album version)
- 3:09 (radio edit)
| label = MCA Nashville
| writer =
- Sam Hunt
- Ashley Gorley
- Josh Osborne
- Luke Laird
- Shane McAnally
- Audrey Grisham
- Mary Jean Shurtz
- Russ Hull
| producer =
- Zach Crowell
- Luke Laird
| prev_title = Kinfolks
| prev_year = 2019
| next_title = Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90s
| next_year = 2020
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|Wxhv_HsEIl4|"Hard to Forget"}}}}
{{Extra album cover
| header = "Hard to Forget" (radio edit)
| type = single
| cover = Hard_to_Forget.jpg
| border =
| alt =
| caption = Radio edit cover
}}
}}
"Hard to Forget" is a song recorded by American country music singer Sam Hunt. It is the fourth single from his second studio album Southside. Hunt wrote the song with Ashley Gorley, Josh Osborne, Luke Laird, and Shane McAnally. The song contains a sample of Webb Pierce's 1953 hit "There Stands the Glass", whose writers Russ Hull, Audrey Grisham, and Mary Jean Shurtz are also credited.
Content
The song's concept began when Luke Laird presented Hunt with the idea of sampling older country music songs, something which Laird had done in his spare time but had never publicly released. Laird then heard "There Stands the Glass" and presented the idea to Hunt. The two had attempted to fit the sample to a song they were working on titled "One Whiskey Away", but had no success. The two then presented the idea to Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, who were working with Hunt on a song titled "Hard to Forget". All of the writers then took the partially-formed ideas from "One Whiskey Away" and "Hard to Forget", and worked to incorporate new lyrics around the sample. Laird then assembled a demo which was given to Hunt's producer Zach Crowell. Crowell adjusted the tempo of the song and added instrumentation from session musicians such as Ilya Toshinsky and Jenee Fleenor. The final recording also features vocal ad-libs from Hunt's road band, as well as Gorley's daughter and her friends.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/9353073/makin-tracks-sam-hunt-hard-to-forget | title=Makin' Tracks: Sam Hunt's 'Hard to Forget,' A Combination of Something Old & Something New | magazine=Billboard | date=April 7, 2020 | accessdate=May 5, 2020 | author=Tom Roland}}
Wendy Hermanson and Billy Dukes of Taste of Country wrote of the song that "the overall result isn't 100 percent a traditional country song. Rather, it's a brilliant meld of old-school country with a distinctly modern, multi-groove tone". She also noted a "rollicking pop, almost reggae vibe".{{cite web | url=https://tasteofcountry.com/sam-hunt-hard-to-forget/ | title=Sam Hunt's 'Hard to Forget' Nods to (Really) Old School County | publisher=Taste of Country | date=March 2, 2020 | accessdate=May 5, 2020 | author=Wendy Hermanson, Billy Dukes}} Webb Pierce's son, Webb Pierce Jr., praised the song for bringing his father's music to a younger audience.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/sam-hunt-hard-to-forget-sample-957850/ | title=How a 67-Year-Old Honky-Tonk Sample Ended Up on Sam Hunt's New Banger 'Hard to Forget' | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=February 25, 2020 | accessdate=May 5, 2020 | author=Jonathan Bernstein}}
Chart performance
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Hard to Forget" ! scope="col"| Chart (2020) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"| Australia Country Hot 50 (TMN){{cite web|url=https://themusicnetwork.com/charts/issues/1284/chart/?list=Country-HOT-50|title=Country Hot 50: Issue 1284|work=The Music Network|accessdate=2 December 2020}}
| 10 |
|---|
| {{single chart|Canada|32|artist=Sam Hunt|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 7, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardcanadacountry|2|artist=Sam Hunt|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|26|artist=Sam Hunt|rowheader=true|accessdate=June 30, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountryairplay|1|artist=Sam Hunt|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|3|artist=Sam Hunt|rowheader=true}} |
| scope="row"| US Rolling Stone Top 100{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/charts/songs/2020-07-22|title=Top 100 Songs, June 26, 2020 - July 2, 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone|accessdate=July 7, 2020|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707094748/https://www.rollingstone.com/charts/songs/2020-07-22/|url-status=dead}}
| 20 |
=Year-end charts=
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Hard to Forget"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Canada|artist=Sam Hunt|title=Hard to Forget|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=2020|certyear=2023|access-date=March 14, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Sam Hunt|title=Hard to Forget|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2020|certyear=2022|access-date=August 10, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Sam Hunt}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Sam Hunt
Category:Songs written by Luke Laird
Category:Songs written by Shane McAnally
Category:Songs written by Josh Osborne