Format Digital download Genre Country Label Capitol Nashville | Recorded 2015–16 Length 3:17 | |
Released January 19, 2016 (2016-01-19) | ||
"Somewhere on a Beach" is a song recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released for digital download on January 19, 2016, and to country radio on January 25, 2016, as the lead single from his eighth studio album, Black. The song is about an ex-girlfriend being talked to by her former boyfriend about his life and his new girlfriend that he's going to have fun with at a beach.
Contents
"Somewhere on a Beach" reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, giving Bentley his fourteenth number-one hit on that chart. It also gave him his first number-one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart since "5-1-5-0" in 2012, and his ninth top 40 hit on the Hot 100, peaking at number 35. The song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over one million units in that country. Its chart success in Canada was similarly received, peaking at number one on the Country chart and number 59 on the Canadian Hot 100. It also garnered a Platinum certification from Music Canada for selling over 80,000 units in that country.
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Wes Edwards.
Content
"Somewhere on a Beach" is a country song in which the narrator is talking to his ex-girlfriend about his life after they broke up. He tells her he has a new girlfriend, and adds that they are together having fun "somewhere on a beach".
The song has been compared to Bentley's previous hits "Drunk on a Plane" (2014) and "How Am I Doin'" (2004).
Critical
The website, Taste of Country, gave the song a positive review, saying it is "fair to call the soulful country-blues song a sequel to “Drunk On a Plane”: "Somewhere on a Beach" details what happens once that plane lands". It also compared the song's atmosphere favorably to Kenny Chesney's musical style.
Commercial
The song debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the Country Airplay chart at No. 29 on its first week, selling 19,000 copies in the United States. In the following week it rose to No. 20 on Hot Country Songs, and entered Billboard Hot 100 at No. 98, with a further 22,000 copies sold. The song reached No.1 on the Hot Country Songs chart in April 2016, Bentley's 11th No. 1 on the chart. It also peaked at No. 35 on Hot 100 the same week. The song has sold 640,000 copies in the US as of August 2016.
Live performances
Bentley debuted the song on January 19, 2016, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Performed at Luke Bryan's Crash My Playa VIP event on January 23rd at the Barcelo Maya resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Bentley performed the song as part of his hosting of the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards.
Music video
The music video was directed by Wes Edwards and premiered in February 2016.