Sam Williams Fires Back At Critics Who Say He Should Sound Just Like His Dad And Grandfather: “The Point Is To Be Yourself… Wake Up”

@samwillivms

Hank certainly didn’t do it this way… and that’s the point.

Today, Sam Williams, the son of Hank Williams Jr. and grandson of Hank Williams, released his new album Act II: COUNTRYSTAR. It’s the second installment of his trilogy project, and it certainly leans into the more pop and hip-hop-based country melodies he tends to incorporate into his music, though it’s definitely a far cry from the instrumental Act I: Scarlet Lonesome. 

That album included an incredible duet with Carter Faith on a cover of “Til I Can’t Make It On My Own,” and he’s done several really good covers of classic songs that his father and grandfather made famous like “Mr. Weatherman” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” so there’s no arguing that he does have that special Williams talent and knack for country music… he just does it very differently.

The release of his new album today definitely had some people fired up online (what’s new…) because they weren’t into just how different his music is on this project, which also includes a song called”Honky Tonkin,’” which heavily interpolates the Hank Williams classic from 1947. That song reached #14 on the Billboard country music chart in 1948, and later became a hit for Hank Williams Jr. in 1982, becoming a staple in the Williams family catalog.

Sam’s song is nothing like their one of those songs, and as you can imagine, many fans were upset by that…

One even left a comment on TikTok telling Sam that his grandfather is “rolling over in his grave”:

“Hank is rolling over in his grave.”

I have no doubt that there were plenty more comments just like that (it probably happens anytime he posts anything, I’m sure), and this version definitely isn’t my taste, but instead of commenting something nasty like that, I’ll just choose not to add it to a playlist and move on with my life…

But Sam took some time to respond to this person on TikTok, sharing a video addressing the many, many comments like this he gets on a daily basis criticizing his music one way or the other because he doesn’t sound exactly like his dad or grandfather. I have to imagine that gets exhausting and old pretty quick, and I thought his response was spot on and could go for any child or family member of an iconic musician, honestly:

“One thing that confuses me about some of my hate comments and stuff, it’s like the ‘are you sure Hank done it this way.’ Oh my God, bro… that’s like the whole point is that it’s different. Different artist, different time, different climate, environment, etc. And I think people get it twisted. They’re like, confused.

The point of being an artist and being, you know, an individual, is being yourself and taking inspiration from the things you encounter in the world, right. Not to do things that have been done, or only to want to give people the impression of something that they have already liked. The point is to be yourself. Wake up.”

Even if you hate his music, I don’t think you can really argue with Sam’s argument here… granted, even if he was just doing Hank covers full-time, he’d be raked over the coals for that too, and when it comes to random people on the internet, forget trying to win with them.

Here’s the video:

You can listen to the song below… but if you’re a die-hard Hank Sr. fan, consider this a fair warning.