21 by Hunter Hayes

Album: The 21 Project (2015)

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This upbeat tune finds Hayes urging someone to live in the moment and party like he just turned 21. "It's about the spirit of a feeling, of freedom," Hayes explained on The Bobby Bones Show. "It's all about that feeling of excitement and anticipation of whatever's next, and just happiness. It's a celebration, it's a celebration of life, and it's really fun to sing live, too!"
This was written by Dallas Davidson, Kelley Lovelace, and Ashley Gorley. It was Hayes' first single release not to feature a writing credit from the singer although he did make some changes to the arrangement with Davidson's approval.
The song is a stand-alone single. It was released to streaming services and made available to country radio on May 21, 2015 and released to digital retailers in Canada and the United States five days later.
So how did Hayes celebrate his own 21st birthday? "I was in New Orleans. I played my first headline show in a theater the night before," he recalled to USA Today. "At midnight, I went out with some friends, members of my team."

Hayes added that he was scheduled to sing the National Anthem at the Superdome the same day. He admitted, "I capped it off with one drink. I was proud of my behavior, I must say."
The song's music video was shot by Nashville-based photographer and director Kristin Barlowe, who has also worked with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Martina McBride, Little Big Town and Billy Currington. We see Hayes performing the song whilst a number of the singer's team members and friends make appearances, as well as his pup Cole.
Asked by Radio.com what was great about being 21 years old, Hayes replied: "For me personally, that was the year that I really began headlining tours and seriously touring with our own show and I got to build a ton of different style shows and write a ton about life and everything along with it. Got my first place I think that year as well!"

"It's funny how just a year and a number sort of feels like you're staring at the next big part of your life."

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