NASHVILLE – Coming off his most successful single to date, Noah Smith is ready to keep the ball rolling. His latest single, “Shoulda Seen Me Yesterday” released on Friday, May 15, and the Ohio native knows this song will only continue the progress he’s made since finding his place in Nashville and country music.
Country music has always held the championship gold for “leaving songs,” and this can claim its spot among many other great songs in that playlist. Though Smith notes it was written with divorce in mind, every time he plays it on a stage, people relate to it differently.
“I learned a while back that I can’t tell people what songs are about because what it meant to me in the beginning may not be what it means to someone else in the crowd,” Smith said. “After I played this song in a show, people would come up to me and tell me how they relate it to something totally different, and after a while the songs will even fill that for me too.”
Smith notes the bridge of the song is one he loves to sing. “Every day that goes by, I’m gettin’ by a little better than the last,” hits hard for so many of his listeners, and Smith is proud he can reach the audience with a line like that.
“There isn’t a better feeling in the world than having someone come up to you after a show and tell you that a line from a song you wrote meant something to them,” he said. “That’s why I do this job.”
Smith said this song, along with his last release “Cigarettes and Jesus,” really embodies who he wants to be as an artist, and his fans have shown him a world of support to back up that claim.
“After the success of our last single, which is the most streamed song I’ve ever had, there wasn’t any doubt this was the next song I wanted to release,” he said. “I feel like ever since I started coming to Nashville regularly that I’ve found my groove as an artist and a songwriter.”
Smith penned this song with Jacob Powell, and despite this being their first time writing together, the chemistry was undeniable.
“I’ve always been a big fan of Jacob, and when we are travelling around to shows I will have his record on,” Smith said. “Getting a chance to write something like this with him was a blessing.”
Smith is ready, like most others, to get back into touring and playing his music for fans across the country, but until then these singles are helping bridge the gaps.
“Obviously I miss the road and being out there with the band and the fans, so instead of waiting too long to release new music I decided this was the best time to reach those people without being there,” he said. “I’m really excited about playing it live again, but until then I have something I can give my fans in the meantime. Why wait?”
The single premiered on American Songwriter, and is available now on streaming platforms.