(Brown Sellers Brown) Quartz Hill Records multi-platinum-selling artist Joe Nichols is celebrating the release of his 11th studio album, Honky Tonks and Country Songs, available now across all digital retailers and streaming partners.
Honky Tonks and Country Songs arrives with momentum from its first radio single, "Better Than You," having been a Top 5 Most Added Song at U.S. Country Radio (Mediabase) for four consecutive weeks, including one week before the track's official impact date. The track has earned double-digit adds for the past four weeks.
An emotionally charged duet with rising country star Annie Bosko, "Better Than You" is about love at first sight, your last first kiss, and realizing that nothing else could compare with the feeling you've found in your lover's arms. In his MusicRow column, legendary music critic Robert K. Oermann described the power ballad as "Goosebump-thrilling."
Produced by Mickey Jack Cones (Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan) and Derek George (Randy Houser), Honky Tonks and Country Songs highlights why Nichols "remains one of country music's most consistent, indelible vocalists" (Billboard). The six-time No. 1 hitmaker has delivered an album that connects traditional country's past and resurgent present over 11 radio-ready tracks.
A renewed explosion in the popularity of '90s and early 2000s country has seen Nichols riding a new wave of love and respect, including from some famous fans. In July, he was one of only four country artists invited to share the stage with Post Malone for the genre-bending star's "A Night in Nashville" concert. In another show of respect from one of today's hottest stars, reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson references Nichols' classic No. 1 hit "Brokenheartsville" in her 2024 heartbreaker "Devil Don't Go There."
Honky Tonks and Country Songs could be described as a new classic because the album's timing has allowed Nichols to recapture the warm signature vocals of his early breakthrough success.
"My favorite thing about making this new album was, I think my voice is in good shape right now - the best shape it's been in years," he explains. "In the studio, I think I sounded more true to me, and how I started, than I have in several records."
"And I knew we had some good country songs, like 'Doin' Life With You,' 'Bottle It Up' and several of the country-er things on this record, like 'Helpless in a Honky Tonk' and 'Honky Tonks and Country Songs.' I just felt like we could lay back and lay down some of those 'old-school me' vocals."
The album also features "Country Boy Can Survive," an impassioned cover of the Hank Williams, Jr. standard that has become a fan favorite at Nichols' live shows.
Additional album highlights include "Hard Fires," featuring a guest appearance from ACM-nominated group Runaway June's lead vocalist, Stevie Woodward. The pedal-steel-soaked mid-tempo track explores the conflicting emotions of returning to an old flame who might be wrong for you but always feels so right.
Honky Tonks and Country Songs - Official Track Listing
1. Honky Tonks and Country Songs - (Tyler Hubbard/Matt Jenkins/Travis Wood/Casey Brown)
2. Bottle It Up - (Josh Kear/Dan Isbell/Paul Sikes)
3. People Still Doin' That - (Justin Lantz/Clint Daniels/Jeremy Crady)
4. Helpless in a Honky Tonk - (Jared Keim/Ryan Beaver/Neil Medley/Dan Alley)
5. Country Boy Can Survive - (Hank Williams, Jr.)
6. Hard Fires (featuring Stevie Woodward) - (Michael Carter/Adam Craig/Matt Rogers)
7. Doin' Life With You - (Jimmy Yeary)
8. Y'all Do - (Jake Mitchell/Michael Hardy/Mike Walker)
9. On and On - (Jason Sellers/Terri Jo Box/Dan Smalley)
10. Better Than You (Joe Nichols & Annie Bosko) - (Derek George/John Pierce)
11. Amazing Ways - (Dan Isbell/Jordan Minton/Jonathan Smith)
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