Brett Eldredge says his self-titled third studio album is "the album I’ve been waiting to make for a long time."
The country star’s new record follows his 2016 holiday album Glow and his 2015 studio album Illinois, and features 12 new very truthful, personal songs. These include lead single "Somethin' I'm Good At," along with other previously released tracks like "Love Someone," "The Long Way," "No Stopping You," and one of his favourites: "Castaway."
Eldredge recorded the album in an actual castle just outside of Nashville. “It's a really cool recording studio. What I loved about recording this was the fact that I could go way out in the country away from the world and really just get down to my love for music,” he recalled. “I was able to not think about the business of it all, and just make the record I wanted to make, and really just spend the time with the songs that I felt [they] needed."
The Illinois-born singer explained why the album bears only his name.
“At first, the thought of making this a self-titled album kinda freaked me out because, you just look at the album art and it's just your name,” said Eldredge. “There’s no title or anything, it's just your name. And I was like, 'I don't know, that's a big risk, that's really putting yourself out there.’
“But I think that this album puts myself out there, and that this album is more truthful to me as a person and as an artist than anything I've ever done.”
Eldredge says this album has been a long time coming — with good reason. “I wanted to make this album that big career album. I've had two really successful albums. Now people know me and my music, and now I want to show them what I really got,” he said.
“And not that I didn't before, but this is the album I've been waiting to make for a long time, and I think it'll show.”
Eldredge said the lead single "Somethin' I'm Good At” was the result of a five-hour writing session with country music songwriter Tom Douglas.
"The meaning behind 'Something I'm Good At' is simply you go through life, try a lot of things, have fun, be yourself, be crazy, be spontaneous, screw up a lot of things, do a lot of things bad, you'll find something you're good at, and you'll find something that someone's gonna love you for, and it's usually you being yourself,” Eldredge explained.
“And it's putting a smile on their face. And look, you found something I'm good at. I finally found something I'm good at. And that's what it's all about."
Eldredge worked with some new songwriters, and a few that "didn't have a whole lot of success yet" (a bold move to make if you're trying to put together a "big career album”).
“That's what it's all about, is sharing this with other people, and sharing success, and sharing the ups and downs of all of it,” he said. “That’s what makes an artist. And a lot of these writers, all of these writers, and all the people that I made this album with make me the artist that I am. It's a team effort, and we definitely put a lot into this one.”
While it's hard for Eldredge to pick a favourite song, he is partial to “Castaway."
He said: “It rounds out the whole album. There's so much tension in it, and I feel very vulnerable when I sing it because it's so truthful to my story of love. It's kind of my letter to love, and how I always run away from it, and always find myself wanting to work my way back. I think it's a special song.”
Original article by Nicole Mastrogiannis at iHeartRadio