Dallas Hendry Smith (born December 4, 1977) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, who performs both as a solo country music artist and as lead singer for the hard rock band Default. He is currently signed to Big Loud Records. Smith is the current record holder of most number one hits among all male Canadian artists on Billboard's Canada Country chart, at eleven. With Side Effects, Smith also became the first Canadian country artist in the Nielsen BDS era to chart four consecutive number one singles from one album (Shania Twain charted three consecutive number one hits from her 1997 release Come On Over), a feat he would then top with his next album, Timeless.
At the end of 2012, Mediabase named Smith the most played Canadian country act and number eight overall at the format.[1]
Music career
Early career
Dallas Smith always had a passion for music growing up. Some of his main influences were The Beatles and female country singers Reba McEntire and The Judds. Due to his shyness, Smith was reluctant to express his musical talent until he made the decision to face his fear and play cover songs with a band consisting of some of his friends. He signed his first record deal when he was 21.[2]
In November 2012, Smith performed on his first solo tour, co-headlining with Chad Brownlee. The tour was billed as the Boys of Fall Tour and traveled across Canada, hitting 22 cities. The tour sold out on 20 of its dates, including the Commodore Theatre in Vancouver. Smith performed at many Canadian country festivals through 2012 and 2013. In March 2013, Smith went on a sold-out Canadian tour with Bob Seger.
Stemming from the success of the Boys of Fall Tour, Smith and Brownlee teamed up to create the annual Boys of Fall Charity Golf Tournament and Concert. The tournament took place at the Redwoods Golf Course in Langley, British Columbia on August 27, 2013, and was sponsored by the radio station JRfm. Proceeds from the event were donated to Basics for Babies, an organization that assists families coping with the challenges of raising a young infant by providing them with needed food, formula, and diapers. The tourney's fifth year took place on August 22, 2017.
Smith released an extended play, Tippin' Point, on March 4, 2014, in the US and Canada. Three singles have been released from the EP so far. The title track was a top 5 single on the Canadian country radio chart and was pronounced the fastest country single to be Gold certified by Music Canada.[9] Since then, the single has been certified Platinum in Canada and the "Tippin' Point" video was ranked number 1 on CMT Canada. In the US, the song "Tippin' Point" was ranked number 1 on Sirius XM's The Highway Hot 45 Countdown and has sold over 120,000 singles. Smith followed up the success of the first single by releasing "Slow Rollin'" in March 2014.[10] The track was a top 5 single at Canadian country radio. A third single, "A Girl Like You", was released in June 2014.[11]
Smith's single "Slow Rollin'" is performed by Lady Antebellum on the deluxe edition of their album 747.
2014–2017: Lifted and Side Effects
In 2014, Smith entered a recording studio in Nashville to record his second full-length studio album with producer Joey Moi.[12] The album, Lifted, was released on November 25, 2014. Smith released the first single off the album, "Wastin' Gas",[13] on October 28, 2014, followed by album's lead track "Lifted"[14] and finally "Cheap Seats".[15] "Wastin' Gas" became Smith's first #1 Canada Country hit,[16] as well as his first charting entry on the Billboard Country Digital Songs and Country Indicator airplay charts in the United States.[17][18]
Smith's fourth studio album, Timeless was released on August 28, 2020, and contains all previously released material from The Fall, as well as the singles, "Like a Man"[33] and "Some Things Never Change".[34][35] In November 2020, Smith released his first Christmas single "Classic".[36]
2021–present: Self-titled album and Some Things Never Change Tour
In August 2021, Smith signed a global recording deal with Big Loud Records.[37] Along with Big Loud, and producer Scott Cooke, Smith launched the joint venture Local Hay Records which signed Shawn Austin as their flagship artist.[38] In September 2021, Smith hosted and headlined the "Lifted Hotel Festival" in Vancouver, British Columbia, with all proceeds from the event going towards his organization, the Lifted Dallas Smith Charitable Foundation which supports mental health. Other featured performers included Austin, Jojo Mason, Andrew Hyatt, and Kelly Prescott.[39] In November 2021, Smith announced his headlining Some Things Never Change Tour, which ran in early 2022 and included James Barker Band, Meghan Patrick, Jojo Mason, and Shawn Austin among the opening acts.[40]
Smith released "Hide from a Broken Heart" as his first global single on Big Loud on November 29, 2021.[41] Smith debuted the song at the 2021 Canadian Country Music Awards that day, where he won Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year for "Like a Man", and best selling Canadian album for Timeless.[42] He then featured on the Josh Ramsay single "Best of Me" in February 2022.[43] In June 2022, Smith released the single "One Too" with fellow Canadian country singer MacKenzie Porter.[44][45] He was subsequently named Male Artist of the Year and won the Fans' Choice at the 2022 Canadian Country Music Awards.[46] In January 2023, Smith released the single "Singing in a Beer".[47] The song was included on his self-titled fifth studio album Dallas Smith, which was released on October 27, 2023.[48] Smith released two instant gratification tracks "Fixer Upper" and "CRZY" alongside the opening of pre-orders for his self-titled album.[49][50] The album's first track, "Use Me", became its fifth single to Canadian country radio, and was released to radio formats in Australia and the United Kingdom as well.[51]
In October 2023, it was announced that Smith will take his first acting role, appearing alongside Allan Hawco and Charlie Gillespie in Soul's Road, the forthcoming debut film of music video director Joel Stewart.[52]
Personal life
Smith married his longtime girlfriend Kristen in 2012 and the couple has two daughters together.[53] He also has a son from a previous marriage.[54]
