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Kane Brown: ‘I Needed To Stop Hiding’

Kane Brown, in a recent interview, discussed his fourth studio album, The High Road, for the first time from his new home studio outside Nashville. Brown told the Associated Press,…

Kane Brown performed on stage in a white and black shirt.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images

Kane Brown, in a recent interview, discussed his fourth studio album, The High Road, for the first time from his new home studio outside Nashville.

Brown told the Associated Press, “I've always been nervous to push boundaries and do certain things. Since I've been here for a decade, I needed to stop hiding and do what I love. My country always comes first."

Kane added that he and his partners "gave our everything to the songs" on his upcoming album. Brown continued that this is "by far my favorite album, from the sequencing to the songwriting to the different sounds." He says there is definitely a song for everybody. He added that whenever he asks somebody what's their favorite song, he always gets a different answer, which he loves.

The singer is known for his big hit songs and collaborations, which cross many genre lines. In the past, he has collaborated with Marshmello, Swae Lee, H.E.R., Chris Young, his former schoolmate Lauren Alaina, Nelly, and many more.

Brown will release his most "feature-packed album," The High Road, with guests Khalid, Jelly Roll, and Brad Paisley in a little over a month (1/24).

The country star's new album and tour were recently announced. The album will be out on January 24.

Among his new songs on The High Road, there's one called "Backseat Driver," that deals with being a dad, and his two daughters and now baby son.

We talked to Kane recently, and he told us about that special song.

He told us, “'Backseat Driver' is a song that’s been going around Nashville for a while, and I’m surprised it fell into my lap. Once I heard it, I just immediately knew. I mean, it’s every Daddy-Daughter song, and every Dad can relate to it, that’s a Dad and has a daughter, or, Mom and son."

The song's chorus lyrics are: "Daddy, look, there's a plane in the sky / Are we there yet? / Did you just see that dog run by? / Do squirrels have houses in the trees? / Why'd God put stingers on honeybees / It's crazy all the things she sees on the side of the road / Out of that window beside her / I wish I could be more like her / My little dangling feet, pretty in pink, backseat driver."

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.