Make It Sweet

"Make It Sweet" is a song recorded by American country music band Old Dominion. It was released in November 2018 as the lead single from the band's self-titled third studio album for RCA Records Nashville. All five members of the band wrote the song with Shane McAnally, who also produced it.

"Make It Sweet"
Single by Old Dominion
from the album Old Dominion
Released	November 5, 2018 (2018-11-05)
Genre	Country
Length	3:10
Label	RCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Matthew Ramsey Trevor Rosen Whit Sellers Geoff Sprung Brad Tursi Shane McAnally
Producer(s)	Shane McAnally Old Dominion
Old Dominion singles chronology
"Hotel Key" (2018) "Make It Sweet" (2018) "One Man Band" (2019)

History

Taste of Country described the song as having "hand-clapped rhythms, memorable guitar riffs and an optimistic outlook as Old Dominion sing the money line, 'Life is short, make it sweet.'" After releasing the song, the band posted on Instagram that "The plan was to write a song and record it on that same day. What happened was something we could never have planned. The words fell out and the next thing we knew, we had recorded 'Make It Sweet.' It's raw and natural and 100% us."^[1][2]

In October 2018, the band released a video for the song, and announced a headlining tour of the same name set to start January 2019.^[3] The band performed the song at the ACM Awards in April 2019.^[4]

Music video

The music video was directed by Shaun Silva in September 2018.^[5]

Commercial performance

The song has sold 101,000 copies in the United States as of April 2019. ^[6]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2018–2019) Peak position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[7] 70 Canada Country (Billboard)^[8] 1 US Billboard Hot 100^[9] 56 US Country Airplay (Billboard)^[10] 1 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[11] 8

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position US Country Airplay (Billboard)^[12] 18 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[13] 36

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[14]	Platinum	80,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[15]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Old Dominion's 'Make It Sweet' Will Remind You to Make the Most of Life [Listen]". Taste of Country. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
2. "Old Dominion Say 'Make It Sweet' Is 'Perfect Snapshot' of Forthcoming Album". The Boot. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
3. Gage, Jeff (October 8, 2018). "Old Dominion Share Breezy New Song 'Make It Sweet,' Plot Headlining Tour". Rolling Stone Country. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
4. Unterberger, Andrew (April 7, 2019). "Old Dominion 'Make It Sweet' at the 2019 ACM Awards With Fun Singalong Performance". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
5. "Old Dominion on Filming Above the Fog How "Make It Sweet" Just Missed the Cali Wildfires". CMT. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
6. Bjorke, Matt (April 15, 2019). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Chart: April 15, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
7. "Old Dominion Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
8. "Old Dominion Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
9. "Old Dominion Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
10. "Old Dominion Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
11. "Old Dominion Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
12. "Country Airplay – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
13. "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
14. "Canadian single certifications – Old Dominion – Make It Sweet". Music Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
15. "American single certifications – Old Dominion – Make It Sweet". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 26, 2024.