The song received positive reviews from critics who praised the simplistic writing and catchy chorus. "I Don't Want This Night to End" peaked at number one on the US BillboardHot Country Songs chart, giving Bryan his third number-one country music hit in both charts and starting a streak of eighteen consecutive number one hits for him. This streak ended in 2019 when "What Makes You Country" peaked at number 7 on Hot Country Songs, and number 2 on Country Airplay. It also charted at number 22 on the Hot 100 chart, the same position as his previous single "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)". The song was certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 2,730,000 copies in the United States as of August 2015. The song achieved minor chart success in Canada, peaking at number 48 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. It also garnered a Platinum certification from Music Canada, selling over 80,000 copies in that country.
The accompanying music video was directed by Shaun Silva and features actress Cameron Richardson as Bryan's love interest.
Content
Bryan told The Boot that the song is about "a guy meeting a girl, and it's the first night that they're hanging out. It's a magical night and he doesn't want it to end. It's got a big fun chorus in it."[1] He co-wrote the song with Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, and Ben Hayslip, collectively known as The Peach Pickers. After Hayslip provided the title, Bryan began playing a melody on a guitar. Hayslip then said that his publisher, Randy Gaston, recommended that he write "a song that talks about putting your hands up in the chorus".[2]
The song is set in the key of A minor and has a moderate tempo of approximately 112 beats per minute. The verses use a chord pattern of Am-G-Fsus2 three times, with a C-G-F pattern twice on the chorus followed by the original pattern of Am-G-Fsus2 twice. It ends on the Fsus2 chord.[3]
Critical reception
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song four stars out of five, calling the chorus "pretty memorable" and saying that the writers "did a nice job of not over-thinking things."[4] Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song three and a half stars of five, writing that the chorus is "infectious and sing-a-long ready" and the song is "strong, well-written" and "sounds great on the radio, just like it will in concerts."[5]
Billboard and American Songwriter ranked "I Don't Want This Night to End" at number four and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Luke Bryan songs.[6][7]
Music video
The music video was directed by Shaun Silva and premiered on November 8, 2011. Bryan portrays a country music star who falls for a new girl (played by actress Cameron Richardson) while he is home from the road. The video is a prequel to the music video for "Drunk On You" which was later released as a single.[8]
Commercial performance
"I Don't Want This Night to End" debuted at number 44 on the U.S. BillboardHot Country Songs chart for the week of September 17, 2011.[9] It debuted at number 90 on the U.S. BillboardHot 100 chart for the week of October 15, 2011. The song was certified five times platinum by the RIAA on August 3, 2020. As of August 2015, the song has sold 2,730,000 copies in the US.[10]
It debuted at number 80 on Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of November 5, 2011.
