Nate Smith Reflects On The Powerful Story Behind “World On Fire”

If you don't already have Nate Smith on your radar, then stop what you're doing and take a listen. Behind this talented country star is one powerful story and it's just the beginning for this Nashville singer-songwriter.

The 38-year-old released his self-titled debut album in April of 2023 which features his most recent single and No. 1 country radio hit, "World On Fire." Smith co-wrote the track alongside Ashley Gorley, Taylor Phillips, and Lindsay Rimes.

While guest hosting Shawn Parr's Backstage Country this week, Smith opened up on his very personal backstory of writing "World On Fire" and the challenge that came with it. Most may think it's solely about heartbreak, however, it stemmed from a wildfire in Paradise, California.

"Taylor had the idea he had this 'World on Fire' concept and had the top of the chorus kind of sort of mapped out a little bit. And then when we were talking about the story of the song, it was like, 'Why don't we just pull from my story?' You know, that would make sense, right? So we talked about the Paradise Fire and figured out how to make it blend, with a story of a breakup as well. So kind of merging those two worlds together was kind of an interesting challenge," Smith revealed to Shawn Parr.

Smith continued, "The songs are so important. They're so, so, so important. I mean, they're what people create memories with and all this kind of thing. But the story, the songs reinforce the story, you know? And I think the story is the thing that people can kind of go, 'Man, if he can get out of a town, if he can go through something that's hard like this, if he can have his whole town burn down and then move to Nashville and meet the right people and go after this thing heartedly, maybe I can do it too.' I think there's something really powerful about that. And the more I'm getting into this, this world and stuff, I'm realizing I need to reinforce that because that's what brings people hope."

At the end of the day, Smith's songs are very powerful in one way or another. When writing his songs, he now intentionally wants to add a "thread of empowerment" so that his fans know they can do more day to day.

Watch the music video for Nate Smith's "World On Fire" below.

Some big country albums came out in 2023, including new projects from Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, HARDY, Chris Stapleton, Tim McGraw, Cody Johnson, and many more.

At the CMA Awards and the ACM Awards, Lainey Wilson's Bell Bottom Country, which came out in the fall of 2022, was named Album of the Year. After winning Album of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and more at the November show, she told us, "I will say that we are at a very pivotal time now in country music. I am very proud to be a part of this generation of country music. You got Jelly Roll, you've got Morgan, you've got HARDY, you've got Luke Combs."

She continued, "You've got folks like Ashley McBryde and Kelsea, and they all look different, they all sound different. They all have different stories. They all come from different places, and I think It's really important for that to be a thing. There's a lot of different kinds of people in the world to hear all the different sides of the stories."

That same album for Wilson was nominated for Best Country Album at the upcoming GRAMMY Awards.

Kelsea Ballerini said of her GRAMMY Nominated album, Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, "Making this record was simply my way of making sense of a really emotionally complicated place in my life. I went to one of my best friends and collaborators, Alysa Vanderheym, and she quietly and diligently helped me write my truth. I really don't have the words for the pride I feel for this music and the way that it's connected with people."

She added, "It's like nothing I've ever experienced. I'm deeply grateful to the Recording Academy for this honor. I am truly beaming."

We know that a lot of country artists sit down with their camps in January of the new year to plan their projects, including albums, meaning more will be coming out in 2024. However, we thought we would get a jump start and look at what albums are already on the books to be released in early 2024.

A little about Brittney: Her website bio notes that she has shared stages with Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, Willie Nelson, Reba, and Maren Morris, to name a few. She's also performed the National Anthem at The 148th Kentucky Derby, the Preakness in 2022 alongside Megan Thee Stallion and Lauryn Hill, and the 2023 NFL Draft.

Brittney told Music Row of her debut album, "These songs serve as my introduction to country music, and I wanted to give them all the time and care that they (and my fans) deserve." She added that she wrote many songs from the "back corners" of her mind.

Gabby [inlink id="gabby-barrett-opens-up-about-sophomore-album-chapter-verse" text="told us"] of the new project, "We've got some awesome collabs on it with Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs, Phil Wickham, and [some] Christian artists, and I'm co-producing it, so really leaning into it, making sure that it's the best it can be," Barrett has already released "Glory Days" from the project and it is currently moving up the country charts.

Blackberry Smoke is a southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 2000 by lead singer and guitarist Charlie Starr. The current lineup includes Charlie Starr, Richard Turner (bass), Brit Turner (drums), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), and Brandon Still (keyboards).

This new HARDY album will be centered around and as a tribute to the GRAMMY and CMA Award-winning catalog of country legend Joe Diffie. HARDY told us [inlink id="morgan-wallen-cma-post-malone-hardy-eric-church" text="backstage at the CMA"] Awards after performing some of Diffie's songs with Morgan Wallen and Post Malone on the show, "We have gotten a hold of all of Joe Diffie's tapes from the '90s, the actual session themselves. We have basically done what we have done with Hixtape, and we've taken some of Joe's vocals out and all that, and we've added some of the biggest singers in country music to help him sing some of his biggest hits, and you saw two of those tonight."

Crow, a 2023 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, announced that she would release Evolution, her 11th full-length studio album debuting the album's lead single, "Alarm Clock" during a November 2 appearance on NBC's Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She told Fallon she said she would never do another full album a couple of years ago but changed her mind when she ended up with several songs she wrote recently and wanted to share them. She quipped of changing her mind, "You can't believe anything that comes from my mouth."