Eli Young Band ‘Say Goodnight’ Video Will Co-Star ‘Cute Robot’

The Eli Young Band is making country music history -- their new video for "Say Goodnight" is country music's first science-fiction film.

"There's a robot," Mike Eli tells The Boot. "But not an evil robot," adds Jon Jones. "It's a cute robot. When we saw the first line of the treatment, and saw that it said a robot does this, we were like 'What?' But by the end of the script, we were like, 'This is OK. I get it.' The way it was shot, which makes the robot come to life, is very cool."

Mike says the video's storyline is perfect for the band and their approach to making videos that are "a bit outside the box and not straight up the middle. We like to be more creative with what we do."

He also admits that "Say Goodnight" is something a little unexpected from them. "For me as a singer, it's incredible fun to sing. The song is something we haven't done before lyrically, and it gives us the opportunity to do something a little different."

The group was in Nashville recently to work with Musicians on Call, visiting with patients at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcase System's Nashville campus. Musicians on Call is an organization that takes singers to patients who are hospitalized and otherwise unable to experience live music.

"It was incredible to see so much optimism in their eyes," Mike notes. "It was an opportunity for us to say thanks to gentlemen who have given so much and sacrificed so much for our country. For us, it was nice that our music put a smile on their face and made their day a little bit better, especially the ones going through tough times."

Jon recalls that the group met a veteran named Allan, whose birthday was being celebrated the day they were visiting. "He was a Navy SEAL for 28 years, and he has to go through dialysis three time a week, four hours each time. He couldn't have been more upbeat about his life and everything. He was really inspiring.

"He told us, 'I got to see the world four times over. It's my birthday today, everything's great, you guys are awesome.' It made us understand why we are doing this [which is to] be there and let them know we do care."

The group recently played the last date on the Rascal Flatts Changed tour with Edens Edge and Little Big Town. "This is the longest and biggest tour we've ever been on," Mike explains. "We've learned a lot, stayed up late, had a lot of early morning, but we loved it. There were just some really full days of hanging out with bands and groups. The dynamic is very cool."

No release date has been announced for the "Say Goodnight" video. The Eli Young Band is vying for CMA Vocal Group of the Year at Thursday night's (Nov. 1) awards gala. The 46th Annual CMA Awards air live from Nashville at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.