Everything We Know About Jason Aldean’s New Album, ‘They Don’t Know’
The year 2016 has been a big one for Jason Aldean so far: He notched his 17th No. 1 single and finally won Entertainer of the Year ... and he still has the release of a brand-new album, They Don't Know, to look forward to.
They Don't Know isn't scheduled for release until early September, but already, fans have been able to learn quite a bit about the new project. Below, The Boot rounds up all of the details that Aldean has revealed so far..
The Title
Aldean's new album will be called They Don't Know. That's also the title of the project's seventh song.
The Release Date
They Don't Know is set to drop on Sept. 9. However, the project will not be available on streaming services until Oct. 9.
The Album Cover
The They Don't Know album cover features Aldean in a jean jacket and cowboy hat mugging seriously for the camera against a desert backdrop. The country star's name is in red text, while the record's title is in black, all set against a bright blue sky.
The Record Label
Aldean has been with Broken Bow Records since 2005. Other artists who are currently signed to Broken Bow include Kristy Lee Cook, Jackie Lee and Dustin Lynch.
The Producer
Michael Knox is the producer of They Don't Know. He was instrumental in initially getting Aldean signed to a record label, and he's produced all of Aldean's albums.
The Singles
"Lights Come On" was the first single off of They Don't Know. It was sent to country radio in early April.
“I really wanted to start this new album with one of those big uptempos,” Aldean says of “Lights Come On” (quote via Rolling Stone Country). “With all the records we’ve done, we’ve been able to explore new sounds and really just do things our own way, and that’s sort of what the title track is all about.”
After "Lights Come On" became Aldean's 17th career No. 1, the singer dropped They Don't Know's second single, "A Little More Summertime," in early July. It's a mid-tempo song about summer, love and yearning.
""A Little More Summertime" really hit me the first time I heard it,” Aldean says in a press release. “It’s always been about the vibe of a song for me. So when that chorus hits and the song takes off, I knew it had to be on this album.”
Fans who pre-order They Don't Know on iTunes will receive instant downloads of both singles.
The Songs
Along with "Lights Come On" and "A Little More Summertime," fans also know that They Don't Know features the song "First Time Again," a duet with Kelsea Ballerini, and 12 other tracks. Aldean says in an interview with iHeartRadio that his song with Ballerini "was actually something I was going to cut on my own; we really didn't have a plan for it to be a duet." However, "the more we kind of got to listening to it, we thought it could probably set up that way, so we started thinking about people, you know ... and Kelsea's one of those who's off to a great start. She's really early in her career, first album, but she's off to a really great start, having some big songs, and, you know, I love her voice, I think she's got a great voice."
Listeners can expect some new things from Aldean on his new disc.
“For me, we’ve always tried to make a mark with each album,” Aldean says. “Sometimes that means to try new things. We want to make a great record, and that means to be a trailblazer with some sounds. I give the musicians free reign to do their thing. We may use more drum loops than we have before. It depends on the song.”
A complete track listing is below.
Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know Track Listing:
1. “Lights Come On”
2. “A Little More Summertime”
3. “This Plane Don’t Go There”
4. “Comin’ in Hot”
5. “First Time Again” (feat. Kelsea Ballerini)
6. “Bad”
7. “They Don’t Know”
8. “One We Won’t Forget”
9. “Whiskey’d Up”
10. “In Case You Don’t Remember”
11. “All Out of Beer”
12. “Any Ol’ Barstool”
13. “The Way a Night Should Feel”
14. “Reason to Love LA”
15. “When the Lights Go Out”
The Tour
Aldean is currently out on the road on his 2016 Six Strings Circus Tour. The tour kicked off in Arkansas in May, and will criss-cross the United States through October; it features Thomas Rhett and A Thousand Horses as Aldean's special guests, and Kid Rock will join the trek for two shows at Boston's Fenway Park in September. Ticketing details and a complete list of dates and locations are available at JasonAldean.com.
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