Hunter Hayes Plans Experimental New Release, ‘The 21 Project’

After months of teasing his fans with tiny tidbits about his new music and releasing a few new tunes exclusively via Spotify, Hunter Hayes has revealed the details of his new project.

The 21 Project, which Hayes describes to The Boot as "not a record per se ... kind of a box set ... an art project," is a three-disc set that will feature acoustic, studio and live versions of seven new songs. Each song will be featured in each format -- a total of 21 songs.

"I'm trying not to call it a record," Hayes says. "We're calling it a project because it was a lot. It was a huge undertaking on everybody's part. It was fun."

Included in the track listing is Hayes' current single, "21," plus two new songs, "Suitcase" and "I Mean You." The other four tracks -- including "Where It All Begins," featuring Lady Antebellum -- were released via Spotify throughout the summer. A complete track listing is available below; Hayes co-wrote all seven tunes and co-produced The 21 Project with Dann Huff.

"The band and I just tried a bunch of different stuff. We did a bunch of different stuff we've never been able to do," Hayes explains. "It was just really fun to be able to do random, acoustic versions of everything -- and not just like, 'Hey, let's play the song with acoustic instruments;' we sat down as an acoustic band and rearranged everything and said, 'Okay, if this song existed this way first, what would it be?'

"And we also experimented with a lot of live information. We love our random, live adaptations of songs, so we said, 'Okay, let's do some portions of a live record; let's have some fun with that, see what that looks like,'" he continues. "So it was really, really fun ... It's cool to see these songs live in multiple different ways ..."

The 21 Project is set for release on Nov. 6. It is available for pre-order now on Hayes' website.

Hayes will be embarking on his 21 Tour in late October.

Hunter Hayes, The 21 Project Track Listing:

1. “21” (Dallas Davidson, Kelley Lovelace, Ashley Gorley, Hunter Hayes)
2. “Young and in Love” (Hunter Hayes, Dan Omelio, Dave Barnes)
3. “Saint or a Sinner” (Hunter Hayes, Lori McKenna, Barry Dean)
4. “Where It All Begins” (feat. Lady Antebellum) (Hunter Hayes, Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott)
5. “Suitcase” (Hunter Hayes, Ashley Gorley, Ross Copperman)
6. “The Trouble With Love” (Lori McKenna, Hunter Hayes)
7. “I Mean You” (Hunter Hayes, Jimmy Robbins, Ashley Gorley)

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Hunter Hayes Discusses His New Music