He was previously one half of the ultra-successful, multi-platinum duo Sugarland. And when the duo decided to chase after some individual endeavors it was only natural that Kristian Bush do what he knew best, and what he was best at doing: country music. For years, he got to tour the country playing for sold-out crowds in some of the nation’s most notorious venues. When speaking of their stop at New England’s own Gillette Stadium in 2009, Kristian proclaimed, “Ooh, I love it there! That was an awesome show!” And as Kristian continues his endeavors as a solo artist, he is set to release his debut solo album on April 7th, titled ‘Southern Gravity,’ an album in which he says is truly looking forward to hearing what fans feel and think about this album and describes his feelings as “both nervous and super excited.”
Speaking to New England Country Music about the album, Kristian tells us that he wrote over 300 songs for this album! And to decide which songs would make the cut for his debut solo album, he reached out into the community to see what songs might fit when he finally figured out what the album would feel like. Those other songs that were written, but not cut, were used for a feature that Kristian launched called ‘Music Monday,’ which started in 2013 and where he would stream a brand new song each week on his website. Kristian says that if the feature continues, there would still be about four more years of Music Mondays!
For ‘Southern Gravity,’ Bush brought on some people that he has known for years: Tom Tapley and Byron Gallimore. Both of whom worked on Sugarland’s top-selling studio albums such as three-time Platinum ‘Enjoy The Ride,’ two-time Platinum ‘Love On The Inside’ as well as the Platinum-certified ‘The Incredible Machine.’ Speaking of the two, Kristian says, “He (Tom) was a real big part of listening to me to figure out what my voice sounds like. He kind of watched me discover that what I was really making was an album when I was thinking that I was just recording songs. Byron came in at the very end of the process and mixed the record. So in a lot of ways, having Tom around was comfortable but having Byron around at the end was kind of like having your dad look over your homework.“
And despite Kristian’s great success with Sugarland, he says he does not really feel the pressure. “In a weird way, I don’t feel that much pressure. I notice that people have low expectations of what I am doing. Because I’m not really sure what I sound like when I sing. Mostly, it’s like a surprise.” But Kristian should not feel much pressure as he has shown time and time again that he is an amazing musician and the first single off ‘Southern Gravity,’ titled ‘Trailer Hitch,’ has been received extremely well by country radio listeners. But of all the songs on the album, Kristian is most excited for people to hear the title track, which he chose to title the album because he loves the way that it exemplifies country music and the way he hears country music, which Kristian says is “a little south of Nashville, stuck in some red clay, talking about what it feels like to be in the south.” Bush goes on to say the most fun thing for him will be to watch fans laugh and giggle at ‘Flip Flops’ and the song that means the most to him is ‘House On The Beach.’ “If I’m being as honest as I can be, everybody hopefully shares this moment where ‘I could use just one day off to do nothing but sleep.”
One thing that Kristian did not intend or expect when he was writing or recording songs for the album was the deep connection that fans would ultimately make with ‘Trailer Hitch.’ And that message has brought Kristian to a partnership with Goodwill. “We first started to realize that ‘Trailer Hitch’ had such a deep message and it started to communicate with fans in a way that was reminding them that if they have extra stuff to give it away. It (Goodwill) became a real natural fit. And then I started to discover more and more about Goodwill as we spent more time with them. And I had no idea how awesome of a corporation that is. They take all that money, that makes them look like they are a giant thrift shop, and they are not. They are a giant employer. They take all that money and train people for jobs and get them jobs in the community. Whether you’re a doctor or work at a hotel or anything. They go and evaluate your career choices and put you in programs so you can then go follow your dreams. And I can’t think of something that is more well suited to both Trailer Hitch and me. “
While Kristian got the chance to play the Grand Ole Opry with Jennifer Nettles as Sugarland, he got to play the fabled venue as a solo artist earlier this year, which Kristian described as ‘fantastic.’ He went on to say, “At the Opry, these are your country music fans that are at ground zero. And to be accepted into not just that building but those people and their hearts. They are the people that deserve at the beginning of the conversation. And they are the first place I went, was to the Opry. And said ‘Hey, look, turns out, I’m going to put out a solo album. And I’m a country singer.’ And they were like, yes you are. Come inside.’ So I am forever grateful for their embrace.”
So what’s next for Kristian Bush? He says, “I want to be on the radio. And I want to come and play for you and make you dance. It’s that simple.” And with songs like ‘Trailer Hitch’ already on the radio and his highly anticipated album on the verge of it’s release, it appears what Kristian Bush wants is very close to fruition. And for all of you Sugarland fans wondering if they duo will ever come back together, Kristian says “I think you will.”
You can purchase ‘Southern Gravity‘ on iTunes here.
You can follow Kristian on Twitter, Facebook, and his official website.