Everything We Know About Luke Bryan’s New Album, ‘Kill the Lights’
Luke Bryan's 2013 record, Crash My Party, spawned six consecutive No. 1 singles, sold over 2 million copies (along with 8 million digital downloads) and received double-platinum certification. Think he can top that?
So far, Bryan has stayed relatively mum about his forthcoming record, Kill the Lights, but its debut single, "Kick the Dust Up;" a big collaboration with Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild; and the fact that it's Luke-freaking-Bryan make it easy to think that the country superstar can get even bigger.
Here is what we know so far about the 38-year-old's upcoming project.
The Title
Bryan's new album is titled Kill the Lights. The title track is the second song on the record.
The Release Date
The album is scheduled for an Aug. 7 release. To celebrate, Bryan will perform at New York City's Irving Plaza, and live stream the concert on Yahoo Screen’s Live Nation channel.
“I am so excited to be getting this new music out to my fans and cannot wait to be onstage and enjoy the album release night with them,” he says.
The Cover
The Kill the Lights cover features a black-and-white shot of Bryan, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, standing in a long, industrial-looking hallway -- perhaps backstage at a venue somewhere.
The Singles
“Kick the Dust Up” hit country radio on May 19, and fans immediately hooked into the catchy song, written by Dallas Davidson, Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley, who also wrote "That's My Kind of Night." From the moment Bryan utters "Kick the dust up," the party gets started in the beat-driven, party-enthusiast anthem. It's how he's been kicking off his Kick the Dust Up Tour shows -- even before the track was released.
“That’s how confident we are in the song being pretty awesome,” Bryan tells USA Today. “We figured the socials would start lighting up and people would start learning the words."
Bryan debuted a lyric video for "Kick the Dust Up" in early July.
In early August, just before the release of Kill the Lights, Bryan revealed that "Strip It Down" had been named the album's second single.
The Songs
Some of Nashville's top songwriters were involved in Bryan's newest project: Luke Laird, Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson, Rodney Clawson and Rhett Atkins, to name a few, had a hand in penning songs. Plus, Bryan himself co-wrote six of the tracks.
Although the only released song thus far is "Kick the Dust Up," Bryan did preview another new track, "Fast," during his fan club party at the 2015 CMA Music Festival, and shared "Strip It Down" and "Huntin', Fishin' and Loving Every Day" through lyric videos in mid-July and early August, respectively. He also debuted "Kill the Lights" through a partnership with Tinder -- and then there's that collaboration with Fairchild that has us sitting on pins and needles waiting for the first listen.
Fans can expect new sounds from Bryan as well, as he says that the album has "really, really country stuff on it, too, that kind of solidifies what I’m about and what I love."
While there are, of course, party-centric, danceable songs on the record, Bryan says that he went a little deeper as well and will be tugging at listeners' emotions with a few tracks.
"I've got some stuff that is as deep as "Drink a Beer," love songs, sad songs," he admits.
Bryan adds, "The subject matters will obviously grow beyond Spring Break subject matters, but for the most part, I'm still going to have fun with my music and always try to write that song that makes everybody dance and have a good time."
Luke Bryan, Kill the Lights Track Listing:
1. “Kick the Dust Up”
2. “Kill the Lights”
3. “Strip It Down”
4. “Home Alone Tonight” (feat. Karen Fairchild)
5. “Razor Blade”
6. “Fast”
7. “Move”
8. “Just Over”
9. “Love It Gone”
10. “Way Way Back”
11. “To the Moon and Back”
12. “Huntin,’ Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day”
13. “Scarecrows”
Target Exclusive Tracks:
14. “Corner Booth”
15. “Little Boys Grow Up and Dogs Get Old”
16. “Buddies”
The Producer
Jeff Stevens and his son Jody Stevens produced the album. It's not a surprise that the elder Stevens is at the helm of producing this record, as he has been involved in all of Bryan's projects.
The Tour
Bryan's Kick the Dust Up Tour runs through Oct. 30. It includes seven stadium shows and two nights in 13 cities -- a dream come true for the singer. Special guests for the regular part of the tour will be Randy Houser and Dustin Lynch, while the stadium markets include Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett.
“We’ve been performing the new song on tour this spring, using it to open the shows,” Bryan shared earlier this spring. “We love the crowd reaction to it, and I cannot wait to be able to share more new music this summer. It’s been two years since we’ve had a new album, and I don’t think I’ve been this eager yet to get it out to the fans.”
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