The song is performed in the key of B major in common time with a tempo of 86 beats per minute. It follows a chord progression of E–B–F–Gm, and the duo's vocals span from F4 to B5.
Critical reception
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country wrote that the song is characterized by a "strong sense of melody and even stronger vocals", and complimented the songwriting as being "vivid and full of color". Stephen L. Betts of Rolling Stone noted that the duo successfully subvert expectations with the song's title and wrote that "Tequila" is a "nostalgic tale of heartbreak and regret."
Chart performance
"Tequila" debuted at number 35 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart dated January 20, 2018. The song debuted at number 15 on the Hot Country Songs chart the following week. On the Hot 100 chart dated January 27, 2018, "Tequila" entered at number 84, while debuting in the top 10 of the all-genre Digital Songs component chart at number nine. "Tequila" has since peaked at number 21, becoming the duo's first top 40 single. It was the duo's highest charting single on that chart until "10,000 Hours" reached number four in October 2019. "Tequila" reached number one on the Country Airplay chart dated July 1, 2018, the same week its parent album debuted as the number one country album. The song remained at the top position the following week, making "Tequila" their first multi-week number-one. In February 2019, "Tequila" reached number one on Hot Country Songs, replacing its follow-up single, "Speechless". "Tequila" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in November 2018, and quadruple platinum on October 10, 2019 for 4 million units in sales and streams. The song has sold 707,000 copies in the United States as of February 2020. The song entered the Canadian Hot 100 chart at number 100, the duo's first single to impact the chart since "From the Ground Up" reached number 77 in 2016. "Tequila" was certified double platinum by Music Canada in October 2018. In July 2018, "Tequila" reached number one on the Canada Country airplay chart, becoming their highest-charting radio hit and first chart-topper in Canada.
Music video
An accompanying music video was directed by Patrick Tracy and premiered March 1, 2018. The video explores the love story between a skier, played by Mica Von Turkovich, and a hiker, played by Nyle DiMarco, who meet in a mountain range in Breckenridge, Colorado. Like the actor himself, DiMarco's character is deaf, and throughout the video he can be seen teaching Turkovich's character various words and phrases in sign language. The sign for tequila is featured prominently. After a brief romance, the pair separate when DiMarco's character departs to finish his journey alone. However, the two are reunited four years later at the bar where they first grabbed drinks. Dan told Nash Country Daily that the duo were "so inspired by" Nyle's advocacy for the deaf community and hoped to use their video as another platform for this.
