CCMA co-host Thomas Rhett on his new album: ‘It’s a mission of fun’

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If you ask him, country music star Thomas Rhett will tell you that he’s been writing songs about his wife Lauren Akins from the very beginning of his career.

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“I feel like I’ve become a professional at writing about this one human being,” Rhett, 34, says breaking into a smile over Zoom. So when he started thinking about the songs that would feature on About A Woman, his recently released seventh studio album, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter didn’t need to look far for lyrical influence.

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“There’s no shortage of inspiration when I’m hanging out with my wife. In so many aspects of life, she makes me better,” he says. “She has made me a more patient human being and a more loving human being. Getting to watch her be a mom to our four girls, and a friend to our friends, and a sister to her siblings; I can just watch her and come up with a way to write about her. It’s always come really naturally to me. Especially since the beginning of my career.”

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One of Akins’ favourite songs on the new record is called What Could Go Right. It tells the story of the night Rhett told his wife — whom he met when they were classmates in the first grade — that he was in love with her.

“It’s almost the complete verbatim story of the night I told my wife I was in love with her,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘I just signed a record deal and I have no idea if I’m going to make it, but I might be gone for the next two years.’ I think there was a point early on where she said, ‘It’s a one in a million shot, for anyone to make it.’ It’s genuinely a miracle for anyone to make it. There are so many people who are doing it at such a high level. But when Die a Happy Man came out, she said to me, ‘I think this is going to be the next 20 years of your life.’”

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Since their marriage back in 2012, the Nashville-based couple have welcomed four children — Willa Gray, 8, Ada James, 6, Lennon Love, 4, and Lillie Carolina, 2. Rhett has also become one of the biggest faces in country music, scoring 22 No. 1 singles and winning eight ACM Awards and two CMA Awards.

On the new album, which is produced by Julian Bunetta (who has worked with Sabrina Carpenter and Teddy Swims), he just wanted the songs to “exude joy and fun.”

“It was Nashville-meets-California in a way,” Rhett says. “I tried to focus on melody on this project and really just tried to pursue the mission of fun. You’ve been to our shows, man. They’re very high energy, so I wanted to make a record that represented what we do live.”

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Rhythm-driven songs like Fool, After the Bars Are Closed, Gone Country, Back to Blue and the fast-paced Boots, were all crafted to get his fans moving. 

On Don’t Wanna Dance, Rhett puts his own spin on Whitney Houston’s 1987 classic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).

“A lot of people have asked if that was a nervous feeling trying to do that, and the answer is obviously yes. It’s arguably the most iconic pop song of all time,” Rhett says. “I was driving down Music Row and when I heard that chorus come on, my hands went straight to the roof just vibing. That subtle Whitney chorus made me think that it needed to be playing in an arena somewhere.”

This weekend, fans will get a live taste of the record when Rhett performs and co-hosts at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards in Edmonton alongside Alberta-born country artist MacKenzie Porter.

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“To be co-hosting with Canadian royalty is a huge honour for me,” Rhett said. “I spoke to her the other day and I told her I’m just going to follow her lead.”

To prep for the gig, Rhett has been watching old videos of Reba McEntire, who has hosted both the CMAs and ACM Award broadcasts.

“Reba is always my top tier person I look at. Reba’s great,” he says. “MacKenzie and I are just trying to figure out our humour. Not only with each other; we’ll hit on some artists a little bit and make it all fun and love. But Reba brings a lot of energy to a room, so I’m studying some game tape from her.”

As he gets ready for a mini-residency coming up at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas later this year, Rhett says he’s just trying to enjoy the ride.

“There’s a cliche quote that this is supposed to be fun,” he says. “This record — and the last one (Where We Started) — is so different because I feel like I’m actually in the moment. I’m able to enjoy it, rather than feeling stress about wondering if it’s going to perform well and worrying about the pressure of other things. I just think: ‘Man, I’ve made a record that I feel joyful about and confident in.’”

Thomas Rhett’s About A Woman is out now.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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