New Music Wrap Up: Kelsea Ballerini, Priscilla Block, Bryan Lanning and more!

It’s been a BIG week for country releases! Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan and Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes all have new albums out. PLUS as well as the singles we have already shared from Trinity Woodhouse, Taylor Moss, Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, Gretta Ziller and Kieran Lancini, there's a handful of artists we are still keen to share! From Kelsea Ballerini to Priscilla Block, LANCO and Michelle Cashman and so many more, here's a wrap up of all the new releases in country world!

Kelsea Ballerini – Half of my Hometown

The fourth single from her 2020 album Kelsea, Half of my Hometown with Kenny Chesney finds the Knoxville natives longing for the streets and hills that raised them. She says, "It's one of my favourite songs I've ever written and been a part of. Having the guy that was from Knoxville, my home town, that I grew up listening to hop on the song just adds a level that I really can't explain. It's special ... and I'm stoked about it." Half of my Hometown follows her chart-topping single Hole in the Bottle, which she also released as a remix featuring one of her idols, Shania Twain.

Forest Blakk – If You Love Her

Forest has dropped a remix featuring pop-star Meghan Trainor of his hit single If You Love Her, which has been steamed over 9 million times on Spotify and viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube. He says, “If You Love Her was inspired by me getting my heart broken but wanting to honour the relationship and honour that partner. It’s a way of saying: ‘We may not be meant for each other, but I genuinely hope that everything works out for you, and that the next person who comes along gets it right.’”

Priscilla Block – Wish You Were The Whiskey

We pegged Priscilla’s last single I Bet You Wanna Know as our Song of the Day back in February and her new single, Wish You Were The Whiskey is just as worthy of a contender. Priscilla says, “I wrote this one over two years ago to try and get to Jason Aldean unfortunately, I didn’t have his number ... I wrote this with a couple of friends in a house of mine that got broken into twice in the same month, where most of our gear was stolen. Crazy how life happens ...”

Michelle Cashman - Praying For Rain

Michelle has been flooded with support for her new single, which debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes Country Songs Chart. Although recovering from flooding in NSW and Queensland, Praying For Rain deals with the drought inside as relationships end and you navigate new ground. Co-written with Melody Moko, and recorded with Shane Nicholson, Michelle says, “I just felt like I wanted to write about the idea of the drought, but not just the lack of rain drought, but this feeling of drought inside, so we sat down and started pumping out all these metaphors of what it’s like to be in that space.”

Adam Doleac - Another

Another completes the music video storyline that started in Whiskey's Fine, which depicts the beginning of a decades-long love story of a married couple suddenly forced into separation after the husband is enlisted in World War II. He says, "To me, a video is a new way for a fan to hear a song. I never want it to be exactly what you think it would be. When I decided to turn it from just one video to two videos, and include both Another and Whiskey’s Fine, that’s when I really got to let my imagination run. I think the videos tell the story of these two songs better than I ever could, and give them both a new life.”

LANCO – First Beer

Following their roots-rock anthem of the trial, error, and heartbreak on the winding road to everlasting love called Near Mrs, which was our Song of the Day last month – LANCO (short for Lancaster and Company) have released their catchy single First Beer. Comprised of vocalist Brandon Lancaster, guitarist Eric Steedly, bassist Chandler Baldwin, keyboardist Jared Hampton, and drummer Tripp Howell, the American country band was founded in 2015. They say, "Raise it up and say cheers! ... Do you remember your #FIRSTBEER?"

Bryan Lanning – Steady

Written by Bryan, with Daniel Martin and Whitney Fenimore in Nashville, Steady features Brennley Brown on vocals, who after becoming the youngest highest charting artist in the history of the television show The Voice, began doing voice over work with top Networks like Nickelodeon, Disney, and DreamWorks. Bryan says, “Did I mention we filmed the Steady music video on the same dry lake bed that Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood filmed their music video for Remind Me?”

Jason Lee – Dust Beneath My Boots

Dust Beneath My Boots is Jason’s new single, co-written with Chicago-based songwriter, Timothy Gleason. Early in the recording process, Jason knew this song needed to be a duet and as fate would have it, Tania Kernaghan instantly agreed. Jason says, “Being out in the open air and countryside is an amazing feeling of difference - emotionally, psychologically, and physically. It somehow just slows you down and allows you to breath. And that’s exactly where and what this track is about.” Dust Beneath My Boots is the third single from his upcoming album, following She’s In It and Whiskey Kinda Night.

Bella Mackenzie – Ain’t For You

Bella taught herself guitar watching YouTube and entered her first country music talent competition at the age of 12, shortly before writing her first song a year later. The pragmatic singer-songwriter is quickly carving out her own authentic, exciting place in a very pop country domain. Bella seeks to maintain the feel good without conceding authenticity, apparent on her latest release Ain’t For You. Produced by Andrew Cochrane and written by Bella, she says, “Ain’t For You is an empowerment song for anyone who’s ever felt less than, not only in a relationship but in general. I hope this song resonates with people all over."

Raechel Whitchurch – Don’t Be Afraid

Don’t Be Afraid is Raechel’s fourth single from her upcoming album, Finally Clear, set for release on April 16. Produced by Matt Fell at Love HZ Studios, the track is deceptively uplifting. Raechel says, “When I first wrote the song, the verses were a little darker than how they ended up. I usually play my new my songs to my husband, Ben, soon after I write them, so I asked him to have a listen. The first line of the song was, ‘the sun’s going down’ and he said, ‘why don’t you make it a bit more positive and start with the sun’s coming up?”

For more breaking news from CountryTown, check out here.

Images: via Facebook