"Drinks After Work" is a song written by

Luke Laird Luke Robert Laird (born May 4, 1978 in Hartstown, Pennsylvania) is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one ''Billboard'' singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Und ...

, Barry Dean and

Natalie Hemby Natalie Nicole Hemby Wrucke (born March 24, 1977) is an American country music songwriter and singer. She has written songs for Lee Ann Womack, Eli Young Band, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Sunny Sweeney, Little Big Town, Jon Pardi, Kacey Musgrav ...

and 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, ...

artist

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

. It was released in June 2013 as the first single from his album '' of the same name''. It is Keith’s final Top 20 hit before his death in 2024.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' gave the song two stars out of five, writing that "‘Drinks After Work’ is so far removed from what fans expect from Keith that it’s jarring." Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' gave the song a favorable review, saying "Drinks After Work" is the most relevant Toby Keith's sounded at Country Radio in quite some time. He might've scored hits here or there but he understands the 'game' that an artist must be able to play at Country radio from time to time and this one truly feels like his own " Pontoon" of sorts (as well it should since it was written by the same writing team) and there's no way "Drinks After Work" isn't a massive hit this summer for Toby Keith. It's a can't-miss single." Giving it a "B", Tammy Ragusa of ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overvie ...

'' thought that the "arrangement is unexpected and seems a bit electronic for what we expect from Toby", and said that its lyrics fit his style even though he did not write it.

Chart performance

"Drinks After Work" debuted at number 26 on the U.S. ''

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 ...

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart for the week of June 29, 2013. It also debuted at number 36 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart for the week of July 13, 2013. It also debuted at number 19 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart for the week of July 13, 2013. It also debuted at number 98 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart for the week of August 10, 2013.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2013 singles Toby Keith songs Songs written by Luke Laird Songs written by Natalie Hemby Songs about alcohol Show Dog-Universal Music singles 2013 songs Songs written by Barry Dean (songwriter)