Randy Houser, ‘How Country Feels’ Is for City Folk, Too

If you've anxiously been awaiting new music from Randy Houser, your time has come. The velvet-voiced crooner is releasing "How Country Feels" -- written by hitmakers Vicky McGehee, Wendell Mobley and Neal Thrasher -- to radio May 7 and to iTunes May 8. (Until then, you can listen to the song below.)

"I didn't even know who wrote when I heard it," Randy admits to The Boot. "The first time I heard it go, 'hair down, hair down,' I was like, 'Bam! I've got to have that.' I thought it was a hit. I loved it; it was hip and cool. It's very relatable, too, because everybody who listens to country music is not in the country. One thing we have to remember as songwriters is that we have to consider that country music is the country's music. That doesn't mean that everybody's rural."

Given that he's a very successful singer-songwriter, it's interesting that Randy has taken a backseat, choosing to release a single that he didn't pen. "One thing I've had to realize in my career is that I can't do it all," explains the new dad, to 2-month-old son, West. "Sometimes we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure we're writing the next hit. There are other people out there, and that's what they do every day, and they have strengths that I don't have. With a lot of things that are going on in my life right now, I've got less and less time to do it."

Helping to affirm the decision to focus on outside songs was an executive at the singer-songwriter's new record label. "Benny Brown, who owns Stoney Creek Records, actually brought me the song, and the strange thing about Benny -- I don't know how old he is, but he's older than me -- is he still listens like he's a teenager. When he is pitched songs, he doesn't allow the writers names to be put on the CD, so he's not influenced by who wrote a song, he just wants to hear a song. That's how he presented it to me."

As a songwriter, Randy's ridden the crest to the top of the charts with Trace Adkins recording "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," which Randy wrote with Jamey Johnson and Dallas Davidson. However, despite reaching the second spot with his own "Boots On," the Mississippi native hasn't made it to the chart pinnacle as an artist, a milestone he hopes to achieve.

"There is a big difference between No. 1 and No. 2," he laments. "I don't care who wrote it. I'd love to one day have a No. 1 that I wrote, but if that ain't in the cards, whatever. My job is right now is to make the best music I can and try to get it to the people, whether it be something that I wrote or not. It's my job to be the best I can for the fans."

The song is still awaiting release, but the performer is already thinking about its visual representation, hoping to finalize plans for the music video this week.

"I'm going to meet with the director tomorrow (May 3) about what we're going to do," he reveals. "We've got some treatments in, and we're trying to figure out what we're going to do. The song dictates it. There are some cool things that are going to happen visually, not just in the storyline, but visually they're going to do some cool effects. What we have in mind are some things like a way of stepping across an imaginary line and you're in the country from the city, that kind of thing. Something different and cool. Something that's technologically based. A song like that, the storyline is exactly who that song is, so you've got to find a way to make it a little more cool."

Speaking of cool, Randy is currently on the road headlining his own Jägermeister tour. His next stop is Saturday, May 5, in Conway, Ark. Get a full list of dates here.