Thomas Rhett: My Voice is ‘Southern by the Grace of God’
Although he experiments with new sounds from different genres, Thomas Rhett says he's a country singer through and through.
Fans were ‘craving’ some hints at what lies ahead for Thomas Rhett’s next musical move and he delivered twofold with “Craving You,” his ‘80s-inspired duet with Maren Morris.
Taking on the drum-heavy and synth-infused sounds for a country hit is what some may call a risky move, but Rhett has always felt inclined to throw in the music he enjoys listening to when he’s not all cooped up in the studio. Adding a hint of edge by getting Morris to intertwine her way into some of the verses and climax chorus surprised everyone in the best way, including Rhett who had no prior expectations on the “My Church” singer’s voice being on the track.
“We didn’t know that Maren was going to be on the song until like two weeks ago,” Rhett revealed in a recent interview with GQ. “I remember her coming in and singing a bunch of harmonies on it maybe three months ago. At the time I think we decided, ‘Maybe the song is not really a duet song.’ But my producer sent me a version with just me on it, and then he sent me a version with Maren on it, and I think me and my wife and my team were just collectively like, ‘Wow, she adds such a crazy element to the song.'”
Rhett even admitted to bringing on a mixer who’s worked with pop heavy-hitters, including Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber, to produce a clearer sound than that of some gritty country tunes. Nevertheless, Rhett won’t abandon the genre that gave him his start because he remains a Southern soul through and through.
“I definitely gravitate in a pop direction, but at the end of the day there is no changing this voice that God gave me. It’s Southern by the grace of God. And I’m not sure I could make it sound any more pop than this song right here. I’m just a country singer, man. And if my songs happen to fit one day in a pop space, and it happens to make sense on Top 40 radio, that’d be great. The ultimate goal is for your music to be heard by as many people as humanly possible,” said Rhett.
“Craving You” is available everywhere now.
