Thomas Rhett confirmed that he is gearing up to release a brand-new album later this year!
Thomas Rhett Shared A New Album Update
During a recent discussion on Audacy’s Superstar Power Hour, the country superstar shared an exciting update on his forthcoming new album, which will serve as his seventh studio album and the follow-up to 2022’s Where We Started.
“We have a new project coming out this year,” Rhett revealed, before disclosing details about his progress on the album, which he has spent the last several months working on. He is currently in the process of narrowing down songs that will make his new album’s track list.
“We recorded almost 30 songs for this next project, and we played a game of, ‘Okay. We’re making an 11-song album. Go.’ And you gotta get real, real, real picky. Because you start to cut, even down into the number 15 region, where you’ve already tried to cut from 30. You go, ‘Yeah, but what about that song? But I think this group of people will like this song.’ At the end of the day, it’s really hard to make an 11-song album.”
Narrowing Down Songs To Make The Project
When it comes to making a decision on what songs will make the cut, Rhett confessed that it’s a difficult task to determine which ones will make the cut.
“I feel like at least every year, there’s another 100, 200 songs that are written,” Rhett continued. “When you make a record, today you get a lot of chances, because a lot of people are making records with 20 and 30 songs on them. But for the longest time in my career, it was like, ‘What are your favorite 15?’ And so you’re writing 200 songs to figure out what 15 things you want to say to the world. It’s pretty wild.”
When it comes time to make those decisions, he often asks a few of his friends, who are not in the music industry, for input and to share their thoughts on songs he has recorded.
“There are three individuals that are not in the music business, and they’re between the ages of 18 and 24 that are friends of mine that I sent everything to, in real time,” he added. “They’re not jaded, they’re not so in the 615 [Nashville]. We can over-analyze a song to death… at the end of the day, people like a song, or they don’t.”
Took Time Off The Road To Focus Solely On His New Album
The 33-year-old singer/songwriter went on to detail that he dedicated an extensive amount of time to work on this project, more than any of his previously released albums. He intentionally chose to take some time off the road after his tour in the fall of 2023 to focus on the upcoming record, which he has yet to unveil details of.
“I wrapped up my tour in October of last year,” Rhett explained. “I’m doing like 30 shows this year. So this is the most time on purpose that I’ve ever had to actually make an album. Every other record I’ve made has been, ‘Play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, get off the road, cram some vocals in on Monday and Tuesday, go back on the road. Write on the road. Come back, record. Sing vocals. Go back on the road. Write, record, put a record out. Put out a single. Make a video.’ It’s fun, but it’s like this never-ending wheel of making and writing and doing the thing. I’ve always been really jealous of people who actually had six months to go make an album, where it was the only thing that they thought about.”
Rhett Admitted He Was “Super Critical” While Recording The upcoming Album
After earning his 20th No. 1 hit with “Half Of Me,” a tune featuring country star Riley Green, Thomas Rhett ultimately decided that it was time to work on his seventh studio album. “There was something that happened in me after I had my 20th hit,” Rhett shared. “Maybe it was selfish, but I felt like I deserved a break from the hamster wheel. I got to write without having to think about a show or a tour. I got to go in and be super critical, and I got to change things over and over and over, and I got to re-sing songs and try new melodies.”
Rhett continued, “I basically got to do everything that I’ve never really had the time to do, which is a roundabout way of saying we recorded way too many songs, and now we’re in that phase of, ‘Okay, I think it’s done.’ But it’s been the coolest process ever, to be able to take a minute and put your blinders on, and be like, ‘What record do I want to go make?’”
The father of four is excited to release his new album in due time after being able to take his time to solidify what could be his best project yet.
Additionally, Thomas Rhett recently earned his 21st and 22nd chart-topping hits with “Angels” and “Mamaw’s House (feat. Morgan Wallen),” respectively.
