Every other week, the Wide Open Country team rounds up our favorite newly released country and Americana songs. Here are 6 songs we currently have on repeat.
"Chasing After You," Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
I don't know about you, but there's something about live music that always makes the song 12 times better. Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd's "Chasing After You" was released earlier this year and is still making its way around the charts. The song, written by Brinley Addington and Jerry Flowers, is actually the couple's first duet as husband and wife and features lyrics that reflect their love story. The couple married on March 24, 2018, in Nashville, Tennessee, and welcomed their first child, Hayes Andrew Hurd, on March 23, 2020. Speaking with Taste of Country Hurd noted,
"It's been really natural. And I think that that's the best part about it. There's moments that are hard to be a creative partnership and actually have a life together ... but I think, for the most part, we do this together. We always have."
By far my favorite performance of the duo was when they made an appearance on the Late Night with Seth Meyers, which was Hurd's late-night show debut. The couple is seen singing passionately directly in front of one another and let me tell you — the sparks can definitely be seen. The song is currently in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, and for a good reason.
— Silke Jasso
"Remind Me of You," Lily Rose
Georgia native singer-songwriter Lily Rose gained notoriety when she uploaded a clip of her song "Villain" to TikTok last year. Since then, she's been signed to Republic Records & Big Loud, racked up millions of streams and gained avid fans.
Rose's latest release, "Remind Me of You," was co-written by Sam Hunt and centers on a new relationship and the memory of the woman with whom the singer is still in love. Rose sings the song from her heart and keeps the pronouns the same as they were written, something that was incredibly important to her as an LGBTQ country artist.
"She don't remind me of you, you'd think that was a good thing, it's sad but it's true," Rose sings. "Should be cool but it just ain't/ Girl, you were all that I wanted/ And that's why falling in love with her is so hard to do/ She don't remind me of you."
In a recent interview, Rose told Rolling Stone that she's encouraged by the increased LGBTQ visibility in the country music community.
"I'm just such a fan of country music that it makes me so happy," Rose told Rolling Stone. "Not only here in town are there artists and songwriters who can feel like they can be themselves, but to the world, they feel like we're at a time where it's like, I can fully be myself. It's a really special thing to be part of this community. We're all just going to keep knocking down doors to eventually change hearts."
Rose previously released the autobiographical "Overnight Sensation."
— Bobbie Jean Sawyer
"Grown Ass Woman," Chapel Hart and Mickie James
Country act to watch Chapel Hart's gotten endorsements from "Jesus & Alcohol" video co-star Billy Gibbons, Jackyl lead singer and renown chainsaw soloist Jesse James Dupree and, most recently, multi-time WWE women's champion and country singer Mickie James.
The latter connection brought us "Grown Ass Woman," a no-nonsense, Southern rock-fueled declaration of independence in the spirit of Gretchen Wilson and Miranda Lambert.
James' husband, NWA world heavyweight champion Nick Aldis, leads a stable of wrestlers called Strictly Business. This side note establishes the degrees of separation between Chapel Hart and NWA owner and Smashing Pumpkins member Billy Corgan. More importantly, it sets up the perfect group name for the trio's future James collaborations: Strictly Biscuits.
— Bobby Moore
"Made For Me to Love" (Demo), RaeLynn
"Made For Me to Love," a song for expectant mother RaeLynn's first child, has gone from a clip backing a TikTok post about the singer's pregnancy journey to a deeply personal demo from the Team Blake lifer.
"Right when I found out I was pregnant I had so many emotions like any new mom, but the biggest one is the overwhelming love I felt for my baby only having her in my belly for eight weeks," shares RaeLynn in a press release. "It was like I already knew her and met her because there was so much love. Just like when I first met Josh or when I found faith in my relationship with Jesus. All of them were meant for me to love."
RaeLynn and Davis' daughter is due in September.
— Bobby Moore
"Throw It Back," BRELAND (Feat Keith Urban)
Is "Throw It Back" the next "Old Town Road?" The up-and-coming pop-country singer's latest new single with Keith Urban is perfect for anyone who loved Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus's hit song from 2019. It's a little bit rap, a little bit country, and I just can't stop listening to it. Add on top of that the fun banjo rocking in the background and you've got one heck of a song.
— Courtney Fox
"Don't You Wanna Know," Noah Schnacky & Jimmie Allen
Is Jimmie Allen even capable of releasing a bad song? It seems like everything he's attached to is incredibly catchy and impossible not to sing along with. Partnering up with the ACM New Male Artist of the Year is definitely an ideal way for Noah Schnacky to get his name out there. This song has electronic beats, classic country lyrics, and two strong male vocalists making it really stand out.
"I had a dream my best friend was singing this song to a girl and I immediately woke up and looked up the lyrics and found nothing," Schnacky, who co-wrote the new song with Joshua Wade Dorr and Dylan Guthro told Off The Record.
"As the song came to fruition, I knew adding Jimmie's style would really make it pop. He was one of the first artists to take me in and support me, so I was stoked he agreed to do it."
— Courtney Fox
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