Sam Hunt Sings ‘Hard to Forget’ on ‘Colbert’

Sam Hunt was the musical guest on Monday’s episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, turning in an at-home performance of his current single, “Hard to Forget.” Hunt released his new album, Southside, on April 3rd.

Where many televised and livestreamed performances during the COVID-19 pandemic have been fully acoustic out of necessity, Hunt is able to approximate a portion of his live sound with the help of technology. Seated in front of a giant studio monitor and racks of synthesizers, he dials up the Webb Pierce-sampling bed of “Hard to Forget” and turns to the camera.

“My band couldn’t join me here this evening, so I’m gonna try to make do in the studio,” he explains, strumming an acoustic guitar as he begins to sing. It doesn’t quite capture the dense mixture that his band can bring in a live setting, and it’s missing the layered harmonies of the recording, but it’s a great showcase for Hunt as a singer.

Southside, the long-awaited follow-up to Hunt’s 2014 breakthrough, Montevallo, also features the previously released songs “Body Like a Back Road,” “Downtown’s Dead,” and “Sinning With You.” After its release, it scored the highest first-week sales numbers of any country album so far in 2020. At present, Hunt plans to launch his Southside Summer Tour on July 10th.