Nate Smith Shares Why He 'Broke Down Crying' In This Emotional Moment

Nate Smith remembers he “broke down crying” the moment he heard “Dads Don’t Die.”

Smith recently released the emotional ballad (plus a duet version with songwriter Emily Weisband, who wrote the song with Marc Beeson and Allen Shamblin). He said in an interview with iHeartCountry that it “absolutely wrecked me” when Weisband shared the song with him for the first time. Smith noticed when others listened, too, “they immediately start sobbing because it touches a piece of your heart that, I guess, you don’t really interact with a lot.”

The California-born country star said “Dads Don't Die” deeply resonates with a range of listeners, whether they’ve lost their fathers, they’ve had rocky relationships, or they’ve experienced significant growth together. Smith said his dad is “my best friend in the world,” and he has a hard time thinking about “ever losing him. …There’s a line in there that says ‘man, one day you’ll understand he was just a man, and you turned out alright.’ And I think realizing the humanity of a father kind of gives you grace for his mistakes, if he made any.” Smith encouraged Instagram followers to “call them while you can,” as he posted throwback photos — including one with “baby Nate” — on Sunday (June 1).

The 2024 Academy of Country Music New Male Artist of the Year said he notices a “shift” in the room when he performs “Dads Don’t Die.” He recently took the stage in Cleveland, Ohio, the first of two “Busch Country: One Night Only” shows (the next show is set for September 17 in Omaha, Nebraska). The California Gold hitmaker and his band and crew honor their fathers in a “really emotional” way on stage, displaying photos and home videos behind him in an experience that’s “beyond a song.”

However, Smith has a way of switching gears from those heartfelt moments and reigniting the crowd's energy with live renditions of his irresistible No. 1 singles.

He's dropped multi-week hits throughout his career so far, including “Whiskey on You,” “World on Fire,” “Bulletproof” and “Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend,” the collaboration he released with HARDY featuring actor and comedian Kevin James in the “absolutely feral” music video. Smith said he’d recently met James in Nashville when planning for the “Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend” music video was underway. He “decided on a whim” to ask James if he would appear in the visual, and James “literally got on a plane and flew the next day. Now we’re just hanging out a ton and FaceTiming. …He’s such a good human being.”

The “Fix What You Didn't Break” singer-songwriter is gearing up for a year packed with performances at festivals and opening for reigning Academy of Country Music Artist of the Decade Jason Aldean, ranging from massive arena crowds to intimate connections at “honky tonk” venues.

“They might get spit in the face on accident because they’re right by my nose,” Smith told iHeartCountry with a laugh before taking the stage at his “One Night Only” show in Cleveland. “I like the intimacy of seeing everybody. I like the honky tonk feel. It just feels great. And I just love seeing a place…all kind of experiencing something together. It’s not about watching me perform, right? It’s about singing these songs that we all care about, including me and them, together, and having a night and having fun and being energetic and kind of being kids, sort of. That’s kind of the vibe we bring to the table.”

Smith’s “Busch Country: One Night Only” show will be available to stream as an episode of CMT Live on Paramount+ beginning on Wednesday, July 30.