THOMAS RHETT has reached the pinnacle as a performer. From appearing on Saturday Night Live to holding court as reigning ACM Awards Entertainer of the Year, with a bid to defend his title in April. All while his four studio albums have produced 16 MULTI-PLATINUM and GOLD-certified No. 1 singles, nearly 10 BILLION streams, back-to-back GRAMMY® nominations and Billboard 200 debuts. After keeping up with the velocity of a whirlwind career, Thomas Rhett’s journey continues with the release of part one of his fifth studio double album: COUNTRY AGAIN: SIDE A on April 30 (The Valory Music Co.). Fans can pre-order the album HERE beginning today and will instantly receive two new tracks, “Want It Again,” and “Growing Up.”
“Country Again: Side A is everything I wanted to say when I was 19 years old, but hadn’t lived enough to know how to say any of those things yet,” Thomas Rhett shared. “It’s about the crazy journey that took me out into the world over the last ten years and ultimately brought me back home, more centered and content than ever, with a deep understanding for what’s important in life. I’ve had a blast sharing some of these songs in their acoustic form during quarantine and am blown away by the reaction the fans have already shown.
With SIDE B planned for release later this year, COUNTRY AGAIN: SIDE A is entirely co-written by Thomas Rhett and is the result of a return to his initial inspirations as a young songwriter with a new perspective that comes from the challenges of 2020 and life in-between. It’s a musical and thematic return to his roots for Thomas Rhett, an embrace of the sounds, stories, and methods that drew the superstar singer-songwriter to Country music, yet required ten years of life experiences to have the perspective to write them. From the introspective title to track to personal moments like “To The Guys That Date My Girls,” a heart-stopping ode to his daughters and the rawness of grappling with the death of a close friend on “Heaven Right Now,” Thomas Rhett reaches new creative heights blending his penchant for authentic songwriting and current state of mind.
COUNTRY AGAIN: SIDE A TRACK LIST:
1. “Want It Again” | Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson
2. “Growing Up” | Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson
3. “What’s Your Country Song” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley, Parker Welling
4. “Where We Grew Up“* | Thomas Rhett, Luke Laird, Josh Miller
5. “Heaven Right Now” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson, Laura Veltz
6. “To The Guys That Date My Girls” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson
7. “More Time Fishin’” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson
8. “Country Again” | Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley
9. “Put It On Ice (featuring Hardy)“+ | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson
10. “Blame It On A Backroad” | Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley
11. “Ya Heard” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill
Produced by Dann Huff and Jesse Frasure
+Produced by Dann Huff and Matt Dragstrem
*Produced by Dann Huff
Teaming up with longtime producers Dann Huff and Jesse Frasure, Thomas Rhett had already been feeling a pull back to his roots and a shifting state of perspective with the music he was creating, when the pandemic struck and the world shut down. Suddenly the questions that were at the top of his mind became very real and unavoidable.
“How else do you slow down unless you’re forced to?,” he adds. “For the first time, I had to look at myself and say ‘Who am I? Who is Thomas Rhett without a microphone or a guitar or a stage?’ I had to really dig deep and figure it out. So in many ways, 2020 was a big ol’ reality check, a complete reset. And when I finally settled into myself and my family, and started to work again, it completely influenced all of my songwriting.”
