"Beautiful Drug" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulel ...

. It was released as the fourth single from the band's fourth studio album, ''

Jekyll + Hyde Jekyll may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll'', a 1960 horror film * '' Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo'', a 1972 Spanish horror film * ''Jekyll'', a 2007 horror film Television * ''Jekyll'' (TV series), a 2007 BBC televis ...

'', on September 21, 2015. The song was written by

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and co-founder and lead singer of the country–rock Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown released a pop su ...

and

Niko Moon Niko Moon (born Nicholas Cowan; September 20, 1982) is an American country pop singer and songwriter signed to RCA Nashville. He has written songs for Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, and Morgan Wallen. He was also a member of the ...

Critical reception

In his review of the album, Carl Wilson of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' gave the song a mixed review, saying that "The "beware who enter" sign is hung by the opener, "Beautiful Drug," which doesn't just flirt with top 40 EDM but checks it into a cheap motel for a quickie. The affair is brisk and forgettable, and soon gives way to more comfy MOR and gospel-rock cuts, but notice has been served." A review from ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' was favorable, saying that "it's the most left-of-center single Zac Brown Band have ever released, which translates to their biggest risk. One gets a sense that this band is pretty comfortable at the edges of the format. It's the secret all but the most casual fan was aware of already anyway" and "Not all will ove it as ZBB employ more effects than ever. But the song's relentless energy will convert most quickly."

Commercial performance

The song first entered the Hot Country Songs chart on the album release at No. 45 for chart dated May 16, 2015, selling 5,400 copies. It debuted on the Country Airplay chart at No. 54 for chart dated September 26, 2015, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 95 for chart dated November 21, 2015, and re-entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 48 on October 10, 2015. The band performed the song at the 2015

CMA Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

on November 4, 2015, which prompted 21,000 downloads for the week, and the song then debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 95. The song has sold 412,000 copies in the US as of May 2016.

Personnel

From ''Jekyll + Hyde'' liner notes. * Coy Bowles –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

– lead vocals,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, programming *

Clay Cook Douglas "Clay" Cook (born April 20, 1978) is an American songwriter, producer, and musician who is best known as a member of the Zac Brown Band. After dropping out of college, he and classmate John Mayer formed the band Lo-Fi Masters. Cook co-wrot ...

– background vocals, electric guitar * Jimmy DeMartini – background vocals,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

Chris Fryar Chris Fryar (born November 22, 1970) is an American drummer. He is a member of Zac Brown Band. He has also worked with Oteil and the Peacemakers, led by bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band, Charles Neville, Victor Wooten, Joh ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

John Driskell Hopkins John Driskell Hopkins (born May 3, 1971) is best known for his role as a founding member, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the Grammy Award winning group Zac Brown Band. Hopkins co-wrote, with Zac Brown, Wyatt Durette, and Shawn ...

– background vocals,

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

* Matt Mangano –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Niko Moon – background vocals *

Daniel de los Reyes Daniel de los Reyes (born July 18, 1962) is an American percussionist who is a former member of Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago. He is currently a member of the Zac Brown Band. Musical career De los Reyes was born in New York City and raised ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Ben Simonetti – programming

Charts

Weekly charts

Year end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Big Machine Records singles Republic Records singles Songs written by Zac Brown Songs written by Niko Moon Zac Brown Band songs