| "Darlin'" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Chase Matthew | ||||
| from the EP We All Grow Up | ||||
| Released | February 16, 2024 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:45 | |||
| Label | Warner Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Chase Matthew singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Darlin'" on YouTube | ||||
"Darlin'" is a song by American country music singer Chase Matthew and the lead single from his third EP We All Grow Up (2024). It was written by Matthew himself, Alex Maxwell, Ciaran Wilkie and Hunter Huff and produced by Maxwell and Jake Angel.
Chase Matthew was touring in Montana at the time that he composed the song with his band and co-writers. They had three days to spend freely and did not want to drive the bus back to Nashville, Tennessee, only to return again, so they stayed at a casino hotel. Matthew set up a mobile recording studio in a suite and wrote the song with his guitar player Ciaran Wilkie and lighting technician Hunter Huff. [1] [2] [3] They wrote and recorded the track to an instrumental by Jake Angel from the United Kingdom. After returning to Nashville, they finished the track with Alex Maxwell, [3] who fine-tuned it and handled the production on vocals. [1]
The song consists of acoustic guitar and banjo, accompanied by a hip-hop beat. In the lyrics, Chase Matthew directs anger at his lover for cheating on him, as he discusses his suspicions [1] and questions his partner about her relationship with the other man: "Why's he call you darlin'? Why's he call you daily? / Why you tryna act like I'm just out here being crazy? / How's he know your mama? Does he drive your Mercedes? / You can say whatever, baby, what you wanna call it? / But why's he call you darlin'? Yeah / And if he's just a friend, then tell me why's he always calling?" [2]
The music video sees Chase Matthew realizing that his girlfriend is cheating on him with another man after seeing her post a picture of them together, supposedly as "friends with benefits". [1] Matthew performs the song with his band in a garage and records the performance as revenge. [2]
Matthew worked with his frequent collaborator Wes Webb on the video. They came up with the concept only 12 hours before the shoot, when they were hanging out in the studio of Matthew's house at midnight. Matthew then called his band, asking them to come to his house in the morning. They called an audio engineer, a lighting technician, some extra helpers and friends from Nashville, [2] and included the road crew in the filming process. The video also featured two young women that Matthew's videographer Kara Lewis had stumbled upon at a local gas station and invited to take part. [1] The whole video was filmed by the night, on a Tuesday. [2]
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country ( Billboard ) [4] | 34 |
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 ( Billboard ) [5] | 1 |
| US Country Airplay ( Billboard ) [6] | 9 |
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [7] | 29 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) [8] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA) [9] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||