Sam Hunt brings his pop-country style to the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas

If Sam Hunt had followed his initial dreams, he might have been playing quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. He started for the University of Alabama at Birmingham and landed an invite to the Chiefs’ training camp. Instead, he headed to Nashville to turn his hobby of playing guitar and writing songs into a career.

The gamble paid off. The country music singer performs at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Dec. 4.

Hunt’s music career started on the writing side of the business. He penned Kenny Chesney’s hit song “Come Over,” which landed at No. 1 on the music charts, followed by Keith Urban’s “Cop Car” and “We Are Tonight” from Billy Currington.

That success spurred Hunt to concentrate on a career as a solo artist. He hooked up with Antioch rap crew producer Zach Crowell to produce “Between The Pines,” a mixtape of acoustic songs that averaged more than 300,000 streams per day on Spotify.

His first album, “Montevallo,” debuted at No. 1 on the country charts when it came out in 2014. Filled with a mix of sounds and styles, including aggressive dance beats on “Take Your Time,” the album also includes more melodic songs such as “Make You Miss Me.”

Tickets go on sale on Friday starting at $30.

Tickets: Ticketmaster, (800) 745-3000.