First Country is a compilation of the best new country songs, videos and albums that dropped this week.
Luke Combs’ much-anticipated sophomore album What You See Is What You Get dropped Friday (Nov. 8), which features special guests Brooks & Dunn and Eric Church. Additionally, countless new collaborations dropped Friday, from Jordan Davis and Julia Michaels with “Cool Anymore” to Sheryl Crow, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby on “Prove You Wrong.”
Plus, RaeLynn announces her new label deal with Florida Georgia Line’s Round Here Records and AWAL with the release of “Bra Off,” while Madison Kozak pulls on the heartstrings in new song “Household.”
Here are some new country selections to add to your weekend playlist.
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Jordan Davis, “Cool Anymore” feat. Julia Michaels
Davis teamed up with Michaels in the writing room alongside Nicolle Galyon, Ross Copperman and Emily Weisband for “Cool Anymore.” A confessional tune that has both Davis and Michaels telling one another to be themselves, the pair’s rhythmic singing style coupled with hand-clapped beats and an endearing video get the point across.
“‘Cool Anymore’ is a song about not taking things too seriously,” Davis says in a statement. “We spend a lot of time playing shows and it’s easy to get caught up in it, but this song is just a reminder to leave work at work. It’s a job. Enjoy it, go out to do the music thing but then come back and be a husband and a friend.”
Luke Combs, What You See Is What You Get
Combs’ sophomore album features 17 standout songs that effortlessly blend modern and traditional country with the singer-songwriter’s adept storytelling. The project, all co-written by Combs, includes raucous chart topper “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and reflective “Even Though I’m Leaving” as well as the arena-ready “1, 2 Many” featuring Brooks & Dunn and heartfelt demo version of “Dear Today” penned in a Huntington Beach hotel, among countless other memorable story songs like “Refrigerator Door” and “Reasons.”
Madison Kozak, “Household”
Newcomer Madison Kozak takes listeners back to her childhood home in the poignant “Household.” The nostalgic tune has the 22-year-old reminiscing of the place she lived with her seven siblings in Canada before moving to Nashville at the age of 14. “I’m trying to pack light/ But you can’t pack a life in a Samsonite/ I got waterfall tears after 18 years/ You can’t wait to leave ‘til it’s time to go/ And you don’t know how much a house can hold ‘til you leave the household,” she sings.
RaeLynn, “Bra Off”
RaeLynn’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics shine throughout the infectious new track “Bra Off.” “Breaking up with you was like taking my bra off/ Feeling free and loose like this T-shirt I got on,” she sings to an ex.
“This is what girls want to hear,” she says. “As a girl, this is what I want to hear. I grew up in a small town of Baytown, Texas. And I’ve always said, ‘If it ain’t Baytown, I don’t want to cut it.’ It has to have that Baytown flavor. I grew up a church kid, but I like to cuss, too. And I want all those flavors in the music because that is me, and it’s my fans, too,” she says in a statement.
Sheryl Crow, “Prove You Wrong”
Crow enlists the help of Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby for a feel-good performance of “Prove You Wrong” at Nashville’s revered Ryman Auditorium. Featured on her latest album, Threads, the four-minute clip has the three women trading vocals and smiles throughout the engaging number.