Earlier this year, Easton Corbin released a new single, ‘A Girl Like You,’ giving fans a glimpse into the singer’s fourth studio album. The song was written by Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure and Rhett Akins, and Easton admits that when he heard the demo, it wasn’t necessarily love at first listen. “The demo was pretty far out there but I kept coming back to the song. I liked the song itself and what it had to say, I wasn’t necessarily crazy about the production of it, but I loved the energy of the song, how it made you feel. I thought I could take that song, I could put my voice on it with the right instrumentation behind it and kind of come out with something that’s me,” Corbin explained. As far as the sound goes, it’s a bit outside of Easton’s typical realm. “It’s got a bit more of a retro-y sound. Everything sounds pretty similar on the radio right now so I was kind of going for something that was a little bit different and still keeping it traditional. It’s got a bit of that bounce but we still keep everything in there.” What’s not different, however, is the subject matter – the lyrics even point out that there’s countless songs out there similar to this one. “They play lots of songs on the radio ‘bout them good ole’ country girls that we all know … I’ve heard them all at least a time or two, ain’t none ‘bout a girl like you,” Easton sings in the chorus. ”It’s about every song on the radio, or every song you write. Any subject you come up with, it’s all been written about or sang about a million times, you just try to find a fresh way to do it. In general it all comes back to a girl,” he justified.
Although the single has a bit of a new sound, the 35 year old assures fans that they can still expect to hear more of what they know and love on his upcoming album. “We’ve got a few songs on there that kind of stand out but we’ve also got some songs that are very traditional on there,” he described, adding that the overall vibe of the album and the lyrics are undoubtedly country. “I think it’s a balance between keeping one foot in the old and one foot in the new,” said Corbin. “With your sound you have to evolve a little bit to stay relevant with the times. I think a great example of that is Blake Shelton. His songs are pretty progressive but his voice kind of reels him back. You have to be yourself and for me it’s keeping those traditional elements in the songs.”
As Corbin’s on the verge of releasing a new record, the singer described the many emotions that are in play, and how the fourth time around is different than some of his past album releases. “You’re excited about new material but you’re nervous about how people are going to respond to it. As far as putting out a first record, you don’t really have a presence. So you don’t know what to expect from your first record, and I was very blessed and fortunate to have success on that record. You know the old adage, ‘You’ve got your whole life to work on your first record,’ and not on the rest of them. So that puts a little pressure on you. But at the end of the day what it comes down to is making music you’re proud of.” Currently, Easton said, he’s got enough material for the new record. “We haven’t cut every song but we’ve got kind of a mapwork laid out. So we’ve got our songs unless we find something between now and finishing the record that we like better.” Right now he couldn’t say for sure when the next body of work is due out, but we’re hoping it’s sooner than later.
Last year we were able to catch Easton on the road as he had a supporting slot on Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller Tour that made a few stops in New England. Corbin appeared on both legs of the tour and raved about what an unforgettable and incredible opportunity it was. “It was a great experience and she’s a great performer,” he said. “Carrie, she definitely appeals to not only the country audience but other audiences out there that might not normally hear country music – not that they don’t like it, just that they don’t get a chance to listen to it – and I think it was a great opportunity to get exposed to those audiences. Hopefully we’ll take away and share some of those fans as well.” This year, Easton is planning on making some stops of his own around the country to share his new music. “We’re not doing another tour but we’re going to be doing our own thing this year which is going to be a lot of fun. It’s awesome to do the big tours like Carrie and get out there and support those guys, but it’s also cool to get out and do your own shows as well,” he said. Currently, he’s not scheduled for anything in the region, but we know he can’t stay away for too long! We’ve been longtime fans of Corbin’s and love to watch his continued success. Album four is already off to a great start with ‘A Girl Like You,’ and we can’t wait to hear what else the singer has been working on.
You can purchase Easton’s new single, ‘A Girl Like You’ on iTunes here.
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