Jason Aldean’s Next Album May Include Hip-Hop Help

Jason Aldean took his duet, 'Don't You Wanna Stay,' with pop star Kelly Clarkson to the top of the charts, and now the Georgia native says he is considering a song for his new album with another artist that is decidedly not country.

"Probably a pretty good chance [of collaborating with a hip-hop artist]," he tells Billboard. "Probably quicker than you might think, as a matter of fact. So we'll have to see. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag on that too much, but we've got a couple things in the works."

The multi-platinum selling singer surprised fans when he showed off his rapping skills in his current single, 'Dirt Road Anthem,' also surprising millions of viewers on Wednesday's CMT Awards when he performed the song alongside famed rapper Ludacris. But that isn't too far of a stretch from Jason's musical tastes.

"You listen to my iPod, there's everything from Conway [Twitty] to Kanye [West]. It's everything in between," he explains. "I like all kinds of music. I really do. I like everything from R&B to hip-hop, blues, rock ... I grew up listening to all kinds of music."

But Jason won't be ditching his cowboy hat any time soon. "I don't think there's any chance I'll ever be a rap star," he assures, "but at the same time I have an appreciation for that kind of music and what those guys do, just like I would hope they have an appreciation for what we do, even if it might not be their cup of tea. Just having the respect factor of, it's cool for what it is."

The married father of two young girls is spending more time away from home this year, while he enjoys the perks of headlining his own tour. "It's really been our first year to go out and do major headlining stuff, so it's been great," he says. "It's our first crack at doing amphitheaters, that kind of thing, and so far it's been unbelievable."

The 'Big Green Tractor' singer is relishing his expanding success. "Last year we were playing arenas, and we were going into 8,000, 10,000 seaters and selling some of those out, which we thought was great," he notes. "This year to go out and there be 25,000 people out there, it's an unbelievable sight. And to know that those people are there to see you. It's not like you're an opening act for somebody and you know that they're there to see whoever you're opening for. The fact that they're coming to see our show, that's a pretty cool feeling."

Jason will play tonight (June 9) at CMA Music Fest in Nashville, followed by shows in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. Keep track of his tour schedule here.