"Hello Summer" 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, ...

singer

Danielle Bradbery Danielle Simone Bradbery (born July 23, 1996) is an American country pop singer. She won season 4 of NBC's ''The Voice'' in 2013, becoming the youngest artist to win the competition at age 16. Bradbery's record has since been eclipsed by Sawyer F ...

for her second studio album, ''

I Don't Believe We've Met ''I Don't Believe We've Met'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Danielle Bradbery. It was released on December 1, 2017. The album title, cover, and track listing were revealed on August 4, 2017. According to Bradbery, th ...

'' (2017). The song was written by

Thomas Rhett Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Rhett Akins Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. (born October 13, 1969) is an American singer and songwriter. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for that label (1995's '' A Thousand Memories'' and 1996's '' Somebody New''), followed by ...

, and

Jaren Johnston Jaren Ray Johnston (born October 4, 1980) is an American country music and rock singer and songwriter. He is a member of the group The Cadillac Three. Career Jaren is a multiple time Grammy nominated songwriter and producer. Johnston was former ...

as well as the track's producer, Julian Bunetta. A solo version by Bradbery was released digitally through

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...

as the album's second

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

on September 22, 2017. In 2018, "Hello Summer" was re-recorded as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

with one of its co-writers, Thomas Rhett, and released under the title " Goodbye Summer" as the album's third official radio single.

Background and recording

"Hello Summer" was written by American country singer Thomas Rhett with his father, Rhett Akins, Jaren Johnston of

The Cadillac Three The Cadillac Three, originally known as The Cadillac Black, is an American rock band consisting of Jaren Johnston (lead vocals, guitar), Kelby Ray (lap steel guitar, bass guitar, vocals), and Neil Mason (drums, vocals). All three members were or ...

, and Rhett's frequent co-writer, Julian Bunetta, in a session intended for his third studio album, '' Life Changes'' (2017). The song did not make the final track listing and was instead offered to Bradbery, with whom Rhett had previously collaborated on a re-recording of the track "Playing with Fire" from the deluxe edition of his second album, '' Tangled Up'' (2015). Parts of the song were re-written by Rhett and Akins to better suit a female perspective. Bradbery told ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'' that while it was one of three songs on ''I Don't Believe We've Met'' that she didn't co-write, the song "really speaks to the same emotional theme of the record." In 2018, the song came full circle and was re-recorded as a duet between Rhett and Bradbery, with a few lyrical tweaks incorporating the updated title ("Goodbye Summer") and re-introducing the male perspective.

Content

"Hello Summer" is a

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

song with

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

influences. Lyrically, the song explores the ups and downs of a short-lived seasonal relationship that leaves the narrator heartbroken. While the solo version provides a one-sided look at the relationship, the dual perspectives in "Goodbye Summer" provide a shared sense of less between two people emotionally "heading in different directions."

Music video

An "instant grat" video for the song was directed by

Chris Hicky Chris Hicky is a writer/director from Forrest City, Arkansas, United States, best known for directing many of Keith Urban's videos. Hicky has also directed videos for many other artists in the country music genre, including Dierks Bentley, Madd ...

and premiered September 22, 2017. The video eschews a plot-driven storyline in favor of focusing on Bradbery as she sings in front of various scenic backdrops including a forest, fog, and an array of colourful flags.

Goodbye Summer

A re-recorded duet version featuring both

and

, titled "Goodbye Summer", was released digitally August 3, 2018 and officially impacted country radio on August 27, 2018. Since its release, the song has reached 39 on both the ''

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

charts, respectively, marking Bradbery's second-highest peaking effort on either chart. "Goodbye Summer" has also become Bradbery's first single to enter 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 ...

chart since 2013, peaking at number 49.

Critical reception

Sterling Whitaker of ''

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 ...

'' praised the song's pop-influenced production and wrote that "the give-and-take of Bradbery and Rhett's voices... gives the record added depth and appeal." Tiana Timmerberg of

Radio.com Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform owned by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national umbr ...

likewise described the duet partners as "the perfect team" on the song, which serves as "an homage to summer romances".

Commercial performance

"Goodbye Summer" debuted at number 49 on the ''

chart dated August 11, 2018, ranking as the week's highest debut. The song has since reached a peak position of 39, making it Bradbery's second-highest-charting single. "Goodbye Summer" debuted at number 39 on the

chart dated August 18, 2018. This likewise earned Bradbery her second-highest-peaking single on this chart. "Goodbye Summer" debuted at number 49 on the

chart dated September 22, 2018, becoming Bradbery's first single to chart in Canada since "The Heart of Dixie". The song has sold 8,000 copies in the United States as of August 2018.

Charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{authority control 2017 songs 2018 singles Big Machine Records singles Danielle Bradbery songs Thomas Rhett songs Songs written by Thomas Rhett Songs written by Rhett Akins Songs written by Julian Bunetta Songs written by Jaren Johnston Song recordings produced by Julian Bunetta Male–female vocal duets