Lady Antebellum Taking Chances on Their Sophomore Album

Get ready for things to get more personal with Lady Antebellum on the CMA-Award-winning trio's upcoming sophomore album.

"We definitely are taking a few more chances in our lyrics and our production this time around," Lady A's Charles Kelley tells The Boot. "First and foremost, this is our first experience out on the road and we are all kind of growing up together. Especially Hillary, these last two years are the first time she's been truly out on her own, and I've seen a tremendous amount of growth for her. And the three of us are getting closer and chasing this dream together. And I just got married so there's a lot of that in there, too!"

Hillary Scott agrees, saying, "A lot has happened to me in my personal life. I know a lot of those writing sessions for the new album were therapeutic for me for me. I was 20 when we wrote most of those songs for the first record, and I'm 23 now and have lived a lot, got my heart broken a couple times, so I have those experiences to pull from."

Hillary says she's actually thankful to the men who caused her heartbreak. "I think I sing differently now, because of what happened to me, and I'll thank both guys in both relationships for that the rest of my life!"

Although the trio, which also includes Dave Haywood, wrote with many of the same songwriters as on their debut disc, they added some new names to the mix. Says Hillary, "We're just trying to stretch ourselves creatively. We're trying to learn and soak up as much as we can from the songwriting pool and the talent that is here in Nashville. I think our single 'Need You Now' (which just became the group's second No. 1 hit) shows that a little bit. So we're willing to push the envelope a little bit more on what we are lyrically willing to say."

Charles says that after being together for three years he hopes their songwriting has improved tremendously. And as they work on the new project, he thinks back to the albums he listens to and why he loves them. "I think we always think how songs fit together as a piece of work. Not necessarily a theme but just the journey it takes you through. On our new album you'll hear songs about breaking up, falling in love, having a good time -- similar to the first record, but I think lyrically we got a little deeper."

While he admits that with the first album there were some things the trio were "kind of afraid to say," Charles adds that the new album's first single 'Need You Now,' "says 'I'm a little drunk and I need you now.' It's pretty risky. We didn't do it to push anybody back; this is a story song, this is country music. If you look back at the Waylon Jennings songs, Johnny Cash, they weren't afraid to say things. I think definitely country music got a little scared to say these kinds of things. We feel like our fans want us to write honest songs and we can take some chances, because I guess we are on second record now. Whether we are justified in feeling that way, we are going to try."