Art imitates life. Sam Hunt dropped his new single “Sinning With You,” the first song he’s released after his DUI arrest in November, on Thursday, January 2.
“My past was checkered, your spotless record was probably in jeopardy / Your place or my place, his grace and your grace, felt like the same thing to me,” the 35-year-old country crooner sings on the track. “I never felt like I was sinning with you, always felt like I could talk to God in the morning / I knew that I would end up with you, always felt like I could talk to God in the morning. If it’s so wrong, why did it feel so right? / If it’s so wrong, why’d it never feel like sinning with you? / Sinning with you.”
Us Weekly confirmed on November 21 that Hunt was arrested at 6:30 a.m. that day in Nashville after allegedly driving the wrong way and swerving in and out of the lane. The “Body Like a Back Road” singer was booked on charges of driving under the influence and having an open container in his car. According to the arrest document, Hunt had a blood alcohol content of .173, which is above the legal limit of .08. He was released on a $2,500 bond and his court date is set for January 17.
Hunt apologized for the incident one day later tweeting, “I decided to drive myself home after drinking at a friend’s show in downtown Nashville. It was a poor and selfish decision and I apologize to everyone who was unknowingly put at risk and let down by it. It won’t happen again.”
Weeks later, the “Drinkin’ Too Much” singer dived back into work and performed at New York’s Country 94.7’s Stars and Strings concert in Brooklyn on December 4. Hunt teased his upcoming sophomore album telling the crowd, “We’re finishing [up a new album] before January. We’re going to hit the road and tour next year. I didn’t do a lot of dates this year, but next year we’re hitting it hard!”
Hunt explained to ET Canada in September that recording music for his second album was a struggle for him. “About a year ago, I decided over the next 12 months, I’m going to write a record,” he recalled. “Whatever comes of it, I’m going to put out. That has come and gone. As of the first of this month, that’s when I would’ve said that.”
He added, “I got to a point where I really didn’t feel like I was smelling the roses because it happened so fast, so I stepped back and kind of digested it all. More than anything, I made a conscious effort to think about how I wanted the next few years ago and … how I wanted to experience my 30s and how I wanted to approach music going forward.”
