NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� is in his new home studio just outside Nashville, preparing to have the first sit-down conversation about his fourth studio album, 鈥淭he High Road.鈥� It's a fitting title, because pounding the pavement is something he's more than familiar with. A few short days ago, he was in Los Angeles, performing at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball alongside an eclectic mix of the biggest performers 鈥� Tate McRae, Madison Beer, T-Pain, Paris Hilton and K-pop group NCT Dream among them.
To the untrained ear, it might seem unusual pairing 鈥� one of the great modern country voices alongside pop acts. But genre-mixing? That's something
Country is at the heart of everything he does 鈥� the genre's narrative style, fiddles, slide guitar and Brown's signature twang carry throughout 鈥� but 鈥淭he High Road鈥� isn't afraid to play with different sounds. He says he's 鈥渁lways been kind of nervous to push boundaries and do certain things. But I鈥檝e been here for almost a decade now, so I needed to stop hiding and just do what I love to do. And country is always my number one.鈥�
鈥淭his is by far my favorite album, from the sequencing to the songwriting to the different sounds. There鈥檚 definitely a song for everybody,鈥� he continues. 鈥淢y other albums, I always kind of, you know, cared what people thought about. And this album, we don鈥檛... we gave our everything into the songs.鈥�
He's also no stranger to working with a variety of artists, from country superstar on 鈥淭he One (Pero No Como Yo),鈥� which released earlier this year, to 2019's 鈥淥ne Thing Right鈥� with EDM giant Marshmello. The helmet-wearing DJ is back on 鈥淭he High Road,鈥� with the radio smash 鈥淢iles On It.鈥�
This album, which will be released Jan. 24, includes more features than any other in Brown鈥檚 discography, including tracks with Jelly Roll, and the legendary Brad Paisley.
They came about naturally: Khalid expressed interest in wanting to go country, Brown helped him make it happen. For the Paisley track 鈥淭hings We Quit,鈥� Brown shared a video of him singing it on social media, and 鈥渁 lot of people said, 鈥楾his sounds like a song,'鈥� he says, smiling. 鈥淎nd it's kind of a comedy country song, a little bit, so he was perfect for that.鈥�
And as for Jelly Roll, on the song 鈥淗aunted鈥�? That one was written while Brown was staying in a hotel in Manchester, England.
鈥淚t was this big hotel, and I had the suite, which was a bank vault. So, the bank vault was actually in my room and there were these, like, old paintings on the wall. And we wrote three or four songs that day and we couldn鈥檛 think of a song title. And I was like, 鈥楾his is place is haunted,鈥�" he recalls. "Let's write a song called 鈥楬aunted,鈥� about depression and all that. So, I mean, it actually, it came out really quick and, you know, it鈥檚 meaningful to me. So hopefully it鈥檒l be meaningful to a lot of other people.鈥�
has never been one to veer away from topics of mental health, and he made the ideal collaborator. 鈥淭hat song is so him,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 think that I was going to release it, so he was trying to keep it for himself. So that told me that the song meant even more to him than what I thought it was going to mean.鈥�
Important to Brown, no doubt, are two new duets with his wife Katelyn, following the success of their 2023's single 鈥淭hank God.鈥�
鈥淥ur music is about telling our story,鈥� she told The Associated Press.
There's the R&B-pop of 鈥淏ody Talk,鈥� and a traditionalist's country tune in 鈥淒o Us Apart" 鈥� pulling from a long tradition of country music greats performing with their partners. The latter should come as no surprise. 鈥淥ur favorite duet to sing together is and 鈥淚 Told You So,鈥� so we鈥檝e always wanted to have that type of song," he says.
And country songs, he's got a lot of them: the jukebox 鈥淔iddle in the Band,鈥� the slow-burn 鈥淏ackseat Driver,鈥� the barstool swaying of 鈥淪ays I Can.鈥�
Or the closer, 鈥�'When You Forget,' a song that I wrote about my granddad with Alzheimer's. To me, that's 鈥�90s country song storytelling,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat's keep the tradition there 鈥� and then I go far left with some other songs.鈥�
On 鈥淭he High Road,鈥� Brown believes each track tells a story 鈥� and he looks forward to sharing them, both through the record and on a North American tour next spring.
鈥淚 just hope people can find a piece of themselves in each song,鈥� he says. 鈥淥r... at least one song.鈥�
鈥淭he High Road鈥� Tracklist
1. 鈥淚 Am鈥�
2. 鈥淔iddle In the Band鈥�
3. 鈥淏ackseat Driver鈥�
4. 鈥淢iles On It鈥� (featuring Marshmello)
5. 鈥淪ays I Can鈥�
6. 鈥�3鈥�
7. 鈥淩escue鈥� (featuring Khalid)
8. 鈥淗aunted鈥� (featuring Jelly Roll)
9. 鈥淪tart A Fire鈥�
10. 鈥淏ody Talk鈥� (featuring Katelyn Brown)
11. 鈥淕orgeous鈥�
12. 鈥淏eside Me鈥�
13. 鈥淚 Can Feel It鈥�
14. 鈥淭hings We Quit鈥� (featuring Brad Paisley)
15. 鈥淏ack Around鈥�
16. 鈥淪tay鈥�
17. 鈥淒o Us Apart鈥� (featuring Katelyn Brown)
18. 鈥淲hen You Forget鈥�
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
