When Dierks Bentley had to choose a location for his recent Vevo GO Show appearance, the country star landed on Annapolis, Md., because of the town's proud connection to the U.S. Navy.
Bentley's father, Rolling Stone Country points out, was also in the military, and the singer wrote "I Hold On" after his dad's passing in 2012. "This town is really special, so we wanted to do our GO Show here," Bentley says in the video (see below). "We popped in at a really old-school downtown spot. My dad was in the army and I always had a lot of respect for him and for folks in the military for putting their country before themselves, and that's exactly what this song is about."
"I Hold On" comes from Riser, Bentley's seventh and most-recent release that's up for all kinds of honors at next month's CMA Awards, including Song of the Year ("I Hold On"), Single of the Year ("Drunk on a Plane") and Album of the Year.
"When you think of Single [of the Year], you think of a song that impacts radio and an artist's career," Bentley recently told Rolling Stone Country. "With 'Drunk on a Plane,' that song has had an impact on our live show. And on radio, it's been a big hit. But when you think of the craft of songwriting, being nominated for Song of the Year is really special. Every 10 years something like that comes along, and it all works out. ['I Hold On'] wasn't a song that I was even trying to write. I was just talking about the death of my dad, and asked a lot of personal questions about myself."
According to Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, "I Hold On" and "Drunk on a Plane" both peaked at No. 3.
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