It’s a good problem to have when an artist has so many songs on a record that sound like singles. But sometimes, an artist moves on to the next project, while there are still plenty of songs that sound like hits.
Videos by American Songwriter
These four songs are all cuts from country albums that came out in 2024. But they are so good, they should have been singles.
“How Do You Sleep At Night” by Cody Johnson
Cody Johnson’s “How Do You Sleep At Night” sounds perfect for the radio. From his Leather: Deluxe Edition album, the song is written by Ryan Hurd, Zach Abend, Nick Donley, and Hardy.
“How Do You Sleep At Night” is about wondering how someone can live with the choices they made. The song begins with, “Do you toss, do you turn, are your sheets in a mess / Do you pass out on wine while you’re still in your dress / Do you light up some smoke, do you take you a pill / Just to take off the edge of regret that you feel / Since you might as well just be a ghost / Honey I just wanna know / How do you sleep at night?“
“Good Horses” by Lainey Wilson With Miranda Lambert
Lainey Wilson’s Whirwlind album includes “Good Horses“, a song she sings with Miranda Lambert. Fans no doubt expected the song to be released as a single. But after “Somewhere Over Laredo”, Wilson’s third single from Whirlwind, hit No. 1, Wilson seems like she is moving on to her next project.
Written by Wilson, Lambert, and Luke Dick, “Good Horses” says, “I don’t need a map / I don’t need a road / I don’t need a fence / I just need to roam / If you wanna love me / You don’t need a rope / You just need to know/ Good horses come home.”
“Writing with Miranda and Luke feels like home,” Wilson says (via iHeartCountry). “And I will forever cherish the day we wrote this song. ‘Good Horses’ is all about finding your way back home, no matter where you are.”
“Born” by Kenny Chesney
“Born” is the title track of Kenny Chesney’s 20th studio album. A Chesney classic, it remains a fan favorite, even though it was never an official single.
Greylan James and Heather Morgan are the two writers. “Born” says, “We all wanna know what we’re made for / Is this the right road, is that the right door? / Who we’re meant to be or meant to be more / Are we the sun or are we the storm? / For every unknown, one thing’s for sure / We’ve all been living since the day we were born.”
“Jesus ‘Bout My Kids” by Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan didn’t write “Jesus ‘Bout My Kids”, but it sounds like a song he could have written. On Bryan’s Mind Of A Country Boy album, Tucker Beathard, Jeff Hyde, Brad Rempel, and Ben Stennis are the three writers instead.
“Jesus ‘Bout My Kids” says, “I used to talk to my kids about Jesus / The same way that my mom and daddy did / I used to talk to my kids about Jesus / Now I talk to Jesus ’bout my kids.”
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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