Lee Brice raised a glass with Nate Smith and Hailey Whitters to kick off the weekend on Friday (April 26).
The trio of country hitmakers joined forces on âDrinkinâ Buddies,â a collaboration that serves as a tribute to the good friends that can âmake a bad day better.â Zach Kale, Chris Destefano and Justin Wilson wrote âDrinkinâ Buddies,â and Ben Glover and Jerrod Nieman produced it. Brice has been teasing the song for weeks on his social media pages, including prompting his Instagram followers to guess which artist joined him on the track. The âOne Of Them Girlsâ artist confirmed Smith and Whitters were his âDrinkinâ Buddiesâ earlier this month.
âIâm lucky to have the right drinking buddies. Truthfully, some of my best friends. My brother, Lewis, Jerrod Niemann, weâve kinda been hitting it together for about 20 years. But now I got a couple of new drinking buddies, Nate and Hailey. Weâre about to add them to the group,â Brice said in a video shared on Instagram on April 13. He added in a statement on Friday: âWe all got 'em, we all need 'em, so letâs raise a glass to 'em! Cheers to all our Drinkin' Buddies out there. Huge thanks to Nate and Hailey for bringing this thing all the way home! Canât wait for yâall to hear this one!â
âI got a probably too many stories about my drinking buddies, but I could tell you this: My new drinking buddies, Nate Smith and Hailey Whitters, I got surprised and Hailey busted a beer bottle over my head in our video. And then I decided since that happened I had to pour some whiskey over Nate's head in the video. And it was definitely a surprise. So, if you see that video and you see surprise on his face and/or mine, you can see why it was actually a surprise and it was fun,â Brice shared with iHeartCountry. He said the camaraderie between himself, Smith and Whitters was ânaturalâ and instant.
âWhen Lee asked me if I wanted to be a part of this song with him and Hailey, it was an immediate yes for me!â Smith said in a statement. âI was honored. I am a huge fan of the both of them and this song just brings such a fun energy. I have had a blast collaborating with them on this!â
The anthem with Smith and Whitters marks Briceâs latest collaboration following the emotional ballad, âChecking In.â Brice released it with Christian pop duo for KING & COUNTRY. They debuted earlier this year ahead of the duoâs newly-premiered biopic, Unsung Hero. The collaborations join Briceâs career-spanning hits, including âOne Of Them Girls,â âRumor,â âHard To Love,â âLove Like Crazy,â âI Drive Your Truck,â âMemory I Donât Mess With,â âI Donât Dance,â âParking Lot Partyâ and many others. Listen to his latest single here: