00:00 He'll sing a line and he'll sing it back and he's singing it different and he's saying
00:03 different words but they're just better.
00:06 Hey, I'm Darius Rucker and this is Billboard News.
00:11 Hey, it's Tetris Kelly with Billboard News hanging out with Darius Rucker.
00:19 How's it going?
00:20 I'm good, Tetris.
00:21 How are you, man?
00:22 I cannot complain.
00:23 We've got to talk about this new music.
00:39 So Carolyn's Boy is out on October 6th, six years since your last release.
00:42 So why now?
00:44 What has taken six years?
00:45 When the pandemic hit and everything, it slowed everything down but it also made it to where,
00:51 you know, there was no rush for the record so I took my time.
00:53 I think it's time for it to come out.
00:55 And then of course, Carolyn's Boy obviously referencing your mom.
00:58 So what was it like to name the album after her?
01:00 You know, it was during the pandemic and everything.
01:02 We were writing the record and I was having a bad day and I just remember I just said
01:06 to myself, you know, at the end of the day I'm just my mama's boy.
01:10 And so I decided I was going to name it Carolyn's Boy after that.
01:13 And it was just, she was such a big influence on me and she was so important in my life
01:17 and, you know, it was time for me to do something special with that.
01:20 That's really touching to me.
01:22 You know, I lost my mom at a young age as well and people call me Trish's son.
01:25 So yeah, I completely understand when you're just the son.
01:29 And one thing that I think about is like, what experience did I go through that I'm
01:33 like, oh, I wish she had seen that.
01:35 So what's a career accomplishment that you wish you could show Carolyn?
01:39 Oh, I wish she could have seen me win my first Grammy.
01:42 That's something I wish she could have seen.
01:43 I mean, we used to watch the Grammys as a family when I was a kid and that was a moment
01:48 that really hit me when I won that first Grammy just thinking, God, I wish my mom was here
01:52 to see this.
01:53 No one believed in me as much as mama.
01:58 You did a track with Ed Sheeran, Sarah.
02:00 So how was it to work with Ed?
02:01 Yeah, I flew over to England to write with him and that kid is such an amazing songwriter
02:06 and such a really good guy and good human being.
02:09 And I was honored to work with him and he's something special.
02:13 Well when you get in the studio with somebody that's a great songwriter like that, is it
02:17 like competitive or are you like, we're just going to work together?
02:19 But you're like, these skills are up here, you know?
02:21 You know, it's a work together thing, but you know, it's amazing.
02:24 You'll say a line or you'll sing a line and he'll sing it back and he's singing it different
02:29 and he's saying different words, but they're just better.
02:32 And you know, so you go with that.
02:35 It was a great experience.
02:36 I hope I get to write with Ed again.
02:38 He's awesome.
02:39 Everything's happening with country music right now.
02:40 We got to talk about that.
02:41 Obviously, we've had multiple weeks on our Hot 100 where the top three songs were all
02:46 country music.
02:47 Yeah.
02:48 Jason Aldean, Luke Holmes, Morgan Wallen.
02:50 What are your thoughts on country music's rise right now?
02:53 Country music is taking over.
02:55 For me, I think it's great to see.
02:58 To have the top three spots in the Hot 100 and all the touring everybody's doing and
03:02 doing well out there.
03:03 It's great to see country is not rock's little sister anymore.
03:07 Country's standing up for itself and on its own and I love being a part of it.
03:13 You see a lot of great things happening in country music from those guys doing that and
03:16 then you see all these African American artists getting record deals and stuff like that.
03:19 So country seems to be moving on up.
03:22 So you mentioned being a black country singer.
03:24 So with artists like Kane Brown, Breelin, how has that journey been for you?
03:29 It's been awesome and crazy.
03:30 When I first came to Nashville, I didn't even think I'd get a record deal.
03:34 You know, and then we did and we go on a radio tour and there were people saying that they
03:38 didn't think the audience would ever accept a black country singer and we proved them
03:43 all wrong and my success turned into Kane and all those other guys getting a shot and
03:50 blowing it up and I love it.
03:51 I love watching it.
03:53 Chapel Heart, all these great groups that are coming out right now.
03:56 I love it.
03:57 History in the making.
04:03 And obviously I'm a millennial so I came from the Hootie and the Blowfish days and what
04:08 was it like to switch genres a little bit because I never heard you talk about that
04:12 like being rock and then now all of a sudden being country.
04:15 What made you do that transition?
04:18 I always wanted to make a country record.
04:19 I've been saying it for years and I was like alright let's go see what happens.
04:23 I didn't think I'd get a deal and I did and we went in and made that first record and
04:28 had three number ones off it and that changed everything.
04:31 That was, you know, now let's do it again and do it again and do it again and it was
04:36 different because the genres are so different but country music, especially the artists,
04:41 are just so welcoming.
04:43 You know like rock and roll and pop is really sometimes, a lot of times, there's a lot
04:47 of people that they make it a competition.
04:50 It seems like for me in country music everybody thinks there's room for all of us if you're
04:56 good.
04:57 And speaking of Hootie, talk about a milestone.
05:02 Next year will be 30 years since Crack Rearview.
05:05 That's wild.
05:06 So how do you feel 30 years later after that album coming out and how are you guys going
05:10 to celebrate?
05:11 Oh I don't know how we're going to celebrate.
05:13 We're still talking about what we're going to do or if we're going to do anything next
05:16 year but it's amazing that that record's been out for 30 years.
05:20 It was such a huge thing for us.
05:22 I mean our whole lives, everything we have came from that record.
05:26 I remember making it and I'm just proud.
05:28 I'm proud that it seems to stand the test of time.
05:30 And I mean it was one of the best selling debut albums ever so did you guys know when
05:34 you were kind of experiencing the hype of that album that it would go down as such an
05:39 iconic record?
05:40 Oh no.
05:41 People were making it.
05:43 The thing that was crazy and tough for us was while we were making it, grunge was so
05:46 big and it was such everywhere.
05:49 We didn't know if there was room for this little pop rock band from South Carolina.
05:54 And now decades later, how do you feel now?
05:56 What do you have left to say as an artist?
05:59 Oh I don't know.
06:01 I still think I got some good music in me for people to listen to but if that wasn't
06:07 the case I could walk away right now and be pretty happy.
06:10 Well that's a good way to live my friend.
06:12 Thank you so much for hanging out.
06:13 Thank you.
06:14 Great talking to you Tantris.
06:14 Thank you.
06:15 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:18 you
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