Nate Smith and Tyler Hubbard Land at #25 on Billboard Country Airplay Chart With ‘After Midnight’

After Tyler Hubbard co-wrote "After Midnight," he had Nate Smith in mind for the track. What followed was an unplanned delay that ultimately turned a solo cut into one of country music's buzzed-about collaborations.

Smith received the song and immediately connected with it, but held off on recording it. That hesitation became the turning point. Rather than cutting Hubbard out, Smith made a call asking him to stay on the record.

"Tyler sent me the song, and I freaked out," Nate recalls. "I loved it so much. And I thought about cutting it, and then I never cut it. And eventually I was like, 'Okay, I do want to do this song.' And then I was like, 'Okay, what are the chances that you put it out with me?'"

For Hubbard, that phone call was a career highlight. "That was one of the best calls of certainly this year," Tyler says. "That got me super pumped. I love this song, I love Nate, I love this song for Nate, but the fact that he asked me to stay on it, I was like 'Man, this is a dream come true.'"

The collaboration is gaining traction on the radio. "After Midnight" currently sits at No. 25 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.