Thomas Rhett on Wife Lauren: ‘She’s Always Been My Biggest Fan’
Thomas Rhett married his wife, Lauren Akins, in 2012, one year before the release of his debut album, It Goes Like This. The singer-songwriter, who has known his now-wife since first grade, says that he doubts he would have found any success without her support.
"She’s always been my biggest fan," Rhett gushes to The Boot. "I remember, going back, even in high school, just sitting there, playing a Brad Paisley song on my acoustic guitar, and her being like, ‘Dang it! You have an okay voice. Maybe you should do something with it.’ So it’s crazy how far we’ve come, not only as a married couple, but as friends.
"Our friendship has grown, and she is such a part of my career," Rhett continues. "My fans love her more than they love me; it’s hilarious. It’s just been a great ride with her."
Rhett's current single, "Star of the Show," is the fifth single from his 2015 sophomore album, Tangled Up, and the only single released from the deluxe edition of the project. It's the first time that Rhett has released a deluxe-edition album, but he calls the experience "a great bridge" between records.
"I go through a phase in between records, where I’m like, ‘Gosh, I’m bored. Can we please put more songs out?’ And so that’s what this deluxe is for us," Rhett explains. ""Star of the Show" is one of those songs that I wrote right after I got married in 2012, so for that song to resurface and raise its hand as a single is pretty cool; to hear it on the radio now, after writing it so long ago, is amazing."
Rhett, who scored a multi-platinum No. 1 single with his Grammy-nominated hit "Die a Happy Man" -- another song about his wife -- admits that he might need to find new subject matter soon.
"I feel like I write way too many songs about her, and, at some point, I’m going to have to stop putting those songs out," Rhett says. "But for now, it’s just a really cool thing; it’s great to hear those songs on the radio and be sitting with her in the car and be like, ‘That’s about you.’"
Not that Lauren is complaining; in fact, she's so invested that she even gets a say in how the songs about her are recorded!
"My wife called the other day, when I was in the studio, and she’s like, ‘Make sure [producer] Dann [Huff] doesn’t put any dobro on a certain track,'" Rhett recalls. "Dann was like, ‘I’ve never had a wife ever call and tell me how to do my job.'"
Rhett has extended his Home Team Tour into 2017, with Kelsea Ballerini, Russell Dickerson and Ryan Hurd serving as his opening acts. The new leg of the trek will kick off on Feb. 23 in Saginaw, Mich.; a list of all of Rhett's upcoming shows is available on his website.
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