"Kids with Cars" is a song recorded by Canadian

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

singer

Dallas Smith Dallas Hendry Smith (born December 4, 1977) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, who performs both as a solo country music artist and as lead singer for the hard rock band Default. He is currently signed to Big Loud Records. Smith is the curre ...

. It was released to digital retailers on September 11, 2015 through

604 Records 604 Records (stylized as VIOIV Records) is a music production company. It is named after area code 604 of the Lower Mainland, where the company's offices are located. History The company was co-founded by Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger and ...

and Blaster Records as the lead single for his third studio album, ''

Side Effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is secondary to the one intended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequence ...

'' (2016), and is also included on his American EP of the same name (2015). The song was written by

Jesse Frasure Jesse Vernon Frasure (born September 18, 1981), also known as DJ Telemitry, is an American music publisher, record producer, songwriter, and DJ. Biography A Detroit native, Frasure (DJ Telemitry), now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wif ...

Ryan Hurd Ryan James Hurd (born November 2, 1986) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In addition to writing No. 1 singles for Blake Shelton, Lady A, and Luke Bryan, Hurd has recorded for RCA Records Nashville. Career Hurd was born in Ch ...

, and

Brad Tursi Old Dominion is an American country music band formed in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Matthew Ramsey (lead vocals), Trevor Rosen (guitar, keyboards), Whit Sellers (drums), Geoff Sprung (bass guitar), and Brad Tursi (guitar). Thei ...

and was produced by

Joey Moi Joey Moi is a Canadian record producer, audio engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his work with the rock groups Nickelback and My Darkest Days, and country music acts Chris Lane, Dallas Smith, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Ow ...

. "Kids with Cars" is Smith's first single to be serviced to mainstream country radio in the US.

Background and release

After achieving success in Canada with his debut solo album, ''

Jumped Right In ''Jumped Right In'' is the first studio album by Canadian country music artist Dallas Smith. It was released on May 22, 2012 via 604 Records under the production of Joey Moi. Its first single, " Somebody Somewhere," peaked at number 79 on the Cana ...

'' (2012), Smith signed with independent American label Big Loud Mountain Records, distributed through

Republic Nashville BMLG Records, formerly Republic Nashville, is a record label established in 2009 by Republic Records in New York and Big Machine Records in Nashville. It is headquartered on Music Row and utilizes the combined resources of Big Machine Records and ...

, to expand into the US market and released the song "

Tippin' Point "Tippin' Point" is a song recorded by Canadian country and rock artist Dallas Smith for his debut extended play of the same name (2014). It was released October 8, 2013, as the lead single for his then-forthcoming second studio album, as well as ...

" to both countries. He released two

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s to the US through Big Loud Mountain in 2014 -- ''

'' and '' Lifted'' (an abbreviated version of his Canadian studio album of the same name) -- as well as the latter's lead single, "

Wastin' Gas "Wastin' Gas" is a song recorded by Canadian country rock artist Dallas Smith for his second studio album, '' Lifted'' (2014). It was released October 28, 2014 through 604 Records (in Canada) and Big Loud Mountain Records (in the US) as the lead ...

". In the summer of 2015, Smith signed a record deal with Blaster Records with plans to release a full-length album in the US. Smith released the ''Kids with Cars'' EP on September 11, 2015, and serviced the title track to country radio on September 14, 2015. It is Smith's first single to impact American mainstream country radio, as previous US releases "Tippin' Point" and "Wastin' Gas" were only played on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

channel, ''

The Highway A highway is a long road giving a relatively fast connection between two places. Highway may also refer to: Roads in England * The Highway (London) (previously Ratcliff Highway), a road in the East End of London * The Highway, a road in Br ...

'', which broadcasts in both Canada and the US. "Kids with Cars" was released simultaneously in Canada.

Composition

"Kids with Cars" is a

song written by

, Ryan Hurd, and Brad Tursi with a duration of two minutes and fifty-seven seconds.

produced the song. Its lyrics speak to the freedom of youth and in particular driving around with your friends, and have been described as "anthemic" and "nostalgic."

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke at ''Roughstock'' described the song as "likeable" and Smith's "best chance at a hit single yet."

Commercial reception

"Kids with Cars" was the seventh most-added song on American country radio for the week of September 14, 2015 with 11 new stations. In Canada, the song entered the

Hot Canadian Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

component chart at number 42, on the chart dated October 3, 2015. It debuted at number 87 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 dated January 16, 2016. "Kids with Cars" became Smith's 12th consecutive top-10 hit on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

airplay chart in January 2016.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

and premiered in November 2015.

Track listings

Digital download - single # "Kids with Cars" – 2:57 US Digital EP # "Kids with Cars" – 2:57 # "

" – 3:04 # " Cheap Seats" – 3:14 # " Lifted" – 3:22 # "Thinkin' Bout You" – 2:23

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Dallas Smith songs Dallas Smith EPs 604 Records singles Song recordings produced by Joey Moi Songs written by Jesse Frasure Music videos directed by Nigel Dick Songs written by Brad Tursi Songs written by Ryan Hurd