HARDY is using his strength in songwriting to address the haters of the world with his new song entitled “Y’all Need Jesus.” Serving as the No. 18 track on his latest album, COUNTRY! COUNTRY!, released on Friday, September 26, the tune finds the Philadelphia, Mississippi native clapping back at the criticism he’s received over the years throughout his journey as a singer/songwriter.
In the song, which features thumping drums, low bass, heavy electric guitars, and an anthemic country chorus, HARDY serves up a powerful response to all the people who have shared negative comments about him, judging his appearance, musical stylings, mental health, rise to stardom, and more.
The 35-year-old award-winning singer/songwriter, who is known for blending both country and rock elements into his music, also takes a moment to throw his buddy Morgan Wallen’s name into the mix as he recalls a moment when one naysayer said he rode the East Tennessee native’s coattails “all the way to the radio.”
“Listen outside’s the first place / But church is the second place you should go,” HARDY tells those who have doubted him before offering more of a light-hearted tone on the chorus. “‘Cause Y’all need Jesus and a Willie Nelson song / Ride that high horse somewhere you can leave my country a** alone / Y’all keep throwing stones, I’m gonna keep on dropping deer / Y’all need Jesus and I need a beer.”
In the second verse of the track, HARDY acknowledges that he does have “thick skin, but hate will take its toll on a decent man.” And while his country predecessors treated criticism as if it were no sweat off their backs, he points out that “they didn’t deal with some loser talking s**t from a basement on Instagram.”
This isn’t the first time HARDY has opened up about online trolls on social media and haters in public. In a previous interview with Music Mayhem, he revealed how he dealt with criticism from folks in the past. “Just tell them to shut the f**k up and just enjoy the music,” he said, adding. “I never clap back at people online because it’s not who I am. I let people have their opinions and get into their own fights, but, in my head, I’m just rolling my eyes.”
“Dude, you just can’t win with stuff like that, man,” he added. “But, let me say this. All of those people who comment, I know for a fact, are not like my diehard fans because my diehard fans are the people who love every record and every subgenre of anything that I do. And I know that for a fact. I’m very thankful for my fans, and I know that they’re just ride or die, man. And so the people giving me criticism can just get fu**ed or whatever.”
“Y’all Need Jesus” is one of 21 tracks on COUNTRY! COUNTRY! The album, as a whole, finds HARDY making his way back to his roots into the country music world following his Grand Ole Opry debut in the spring of 2025. In addition to that, COUNTRY! COUNTRY! Comes a year and a half after HARDY dropped Quit!, a full-length rock record, which included collaborations with artists like Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst and Chad Smith, the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
“I just missed it,” HARDY said of the album, which also follows his COUNTRY! EP. “I missed my community. My peers. Plus, I love country music. I moved to town to write country songs. Going 10 years of writing 100+ songs a year, it was a nice palate cleanser to take a step away from that. Now I’m back. I’m fresh and ready to get right back into it.”
HARDY’s new album, COUNTRY! COUNTRY!, is available now HERE, and everywhere you can buy music.
