Everything We Know About Trisha Yearwood’s New Album, ‘PrizeFighter’
Trisha Yearwood is set to release her first album in seven years, and fans of her past hits and signature vocal delivery can't wait.
The iconic singer's last studio album was 'Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love' in 2007. That album earned Grammy nominations for Best Country Album, Best Female Country Vocal Performance (‘This Is Me You’re Talking To’) and Best Country Collaboration (‘Let The Wind Chase You’ feat. Keith Urban).
Her return to radio and the marketplace has been carefully managed, with details emerging slowly over time. This is what we know so far about the album.
The Title
Yearwood's new album is titled 'PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit.'
The Release Date
'PrizeFighter' will be released on Nov. 17.
The Record Label
'PrizeFighter' is set for release through a newly announced partnership with Sony and RCA Nashville.
“When I first got my very first record deal at 26, I looked at my career like a ball player,” Yearwood says. “You know, these guys come out, and they have their time. They have a few good years, and they have to know when they can’t swing the bat anymore. It’s been 23 years since my first single, and I’m just not ready to stop swinging the bat.”
The Single
The lead single from the project is the title song, 'PrizeFighter,' which features Kelly Clarkson.
The song reminds Yearwood of her mother.
"The song ‘PrizeFighter’ describes for me the fight we all fight, whatever it is," she says. "It’s the courage to get up every day and give it your best shot, no matter the odds. For me, I learned that strength from my mama, Gwen. She went toe to toe with breast cancer, and though she lost her battle, she fought every step of the way with grace, dignity, humor, and love. She’s my prizefighter."
The New Songs
In addition to 'PrizeFighter,' Yearwood performed two new tracks at an intimate album preview party in Nashville in August. 'Your Husband's Cheatin' on Us' is a bluesy track, while 'I Remember You' is a sweeping ballad that could be one of the most important songs of Yearwood's career.
The Track Listing
The album comprises 10 of Yearwood's greatest hits, as well as six new tracks. However, all of the songs were recorded (or re-recorded) specifically for this release.
"I don't like re-records. I don't want to hear something redone. I want to hear the original," the songstress says. "And so we made it into a science experiment, where we basically said, 'We're going to do this, but you have to come in, and you have to sing it exactly the way you sang it. You have to phrase it the way you phrased it. Musicians, you have to play the notes you played.'"
1. 'PrizeFighter' (feat. Kelly Clarkson)
2. 'Wrong Side of Memphis'
3. 'I Remember You'
4. 'Walkaway Joe' (feat. Don Henley)
5. 'End of the World'
6. 'In Another's Eyes' (duet with Garth Brooks)
7. 'Perfect Love'
8. 'How Do I Live'
9. 'Met Him in a Motel Room'
10. 'She's in Love With the Boy'
11. 'Your Husband's Cheatin' on Us'
12. 'Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love'
13. 'Georgia Rain'
14. 'You Can't Trust the Weatherman'
15. 'XXX's and OOO's'
16. 'The Song Remembers When'
The Cover
Yearwood revealed the album cover via Facebook on Oct. 14. It depicts her in a gown and tiara, and wearing a pair of boxing gloves that were given to her by Sylvester Stallone, who wore them onscreen in ‘Rocky V.’
Digital Partnership
'PrizeFighter' is currently available for preorder exclusively at GhostTunes. Fans who preorder ‘PrizeFighter’ will receive instant downloads of the title song, along with ‘She’s in Love With the Boy’ and ‘How Do I Live.’
She Didn't Mean to Wait So Long
"You don’t finish an album and then go, ‘OK, now I’m going to wait seven years before I do another one,'" Yearwood says. But she realized that making music and being there for her family were hard to do at the same time, "so I made a conscious effort just to be home."
During that time off, however, Yearwood's cooking career was born and became "really time-consuming, in a good way," she says. However, she admits, "music kind of got on the back burner."
"But now I said, ‘I gotta go make a record.'"