Thomas Rhett Namechecks Country Classics With New Single “What’s Your Country Song”

Gettin’ back to his roots?

Thomas Rhett has been teasing a ton of unreleased new music throughout quarantine and I will say, it’s been decent… much closer to the kind of music he was making when he first started his career. You know, back when he wanted to be Eric Church and not Bruno Mars.

After admitting that he “rediscovered himself” at home in quarantine, he shared a new one called “Country Again,” and people were loving it. Even the folks that don’t typically resonate with Thomas Rhett’s music had good things to say about it.

He then name-checked some country classics in a song titled, “What’s Your Country Song,” followed it up with another one called “More Time Fishin,” and finally debuted another new one around Father’s Day called  “Things Dads Do.” All of which were pretty solid country songs. Add in a true story about meeting a “Death Row” inmate, a new one called “Mamaw’s House” that he wrote with Morgan Wallen, and another called “That’ll Be Us Someday,” Rhett has put together a solid collections of songs recently.

As it is always the case with Rhett, we’ll have to wait and see what happens in production, but so far, I’ve liked what I’ve been hearing. Compared to the pop stuff he’s been releasing over the past few years, all of these songs, at least on their face, appear to be much better.

And now, we finally have an official release to form an opinion on.

Titled “What’s Your Country Song,” new single finds Rhett name-checking some classic country songs, everything from “Chattahoochee,” “Strawberry Wine,” and “Friends in Low Places,” to even older songs like “Family Tradition,” “Mama Tried,” and “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”

“This year has taught us all how to slow down, it’s reminded us of our roots and has shifted our perspectives. A lot has changed but a lot has come full circle for me and my music.”

Is the concept original? No, not really. In fact it’s been done quite often, but for me and many other country music fans, the fans that were around for Rhett’s debut album It Goes Like This, this new chapter feels like a return to the days of old. However for others, those who discovered him more recently, it feels like a departure.

A couple of the comments on YouTube said:

“I already love it, it’s a little different but it’s really good.”

“It seems little different style. Still a good song.”

Is this new album going to be like a Tyler Childers record? Or even a Jon Pardi record? No, probably not. It’ll most likely lean way more pop than those, but as long as Rhett is moving the needle back towards traditional country, I can’t really complain… that much. Like his music or not, he’s one of the biggest stars in mainstream country music, so even if this record just sounds like 2013 Thomas Rhett all over again, it’s a step in the right direction for the genre.

“What’s Your Country Song” is the lead single from his upcoming album, the details of which have yet to be revealed. However, lead singles tend to be the most radio-friendly songs on the album, and not always necessarily the best that the album has to offer. If that is the case, we might be in for a pleasant surprise.

Stay tuned…

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