“21 Forever,” Chris Janson‘s unlikely collaboration with Dolly Parton and Slash, is out now. The song with the Country Music Hall of Fame member and the rock legend, written by Janson along with Tom Douglas and Tommy Cecil, is about the realization that growing up is inevitable.
“21 Forever” is about that transitional time in life when you’ve grown out of the youthful partying and start embracing life in a whole new way – realizing that you “can’t be 21 forever” and understanding the beauty of growing up,” Janson says in a statement. “I’m so thrilled to announce that two global icons have joined me in song, for my absolute biggest collaboration to date. Dolly and Slash, it doesn’t get any BIGGER than that. I’m incredibly humbled and grateful for these two. Hope you all enjoy ’21 Forever.'”
Perhaps surprisingly, “21 Forever” marks Janson’s first duet with a female artist, and with good reason.
“People have been asking me for years about me doing a duet with another female artist and I always made a joke, although I was serious about it at the same time, that I had so much respect for my wife and our marriage that I never wanted to make her feel weird about me working with another woman,” Janson tells Entertainment Focus. “We are both big fans of Dolly Parton, I mean, who isn’t, right?
“I’ve always said that Dolly would be my first and maybe only choice as a collaborator and duet partner and what do you know?” he adds with a laugh. “I’ve got the first female duet of my career and it’s with the one and only Dolly Parton! The queen of country music.”
“21 Forever” is from Janson’s forthcoming new album, The Outlaw Side of Me, out on June 16. The record, produced by Julian Raymond, marks his first on his own Harpeth 60, in partnership with Big Machine.
“I always wanted to have my own record label and to be partnered with such a big label like Big Machine is pretty awesome,” Janson says. “What a blessing that is. I loved that opportunity but I also loved the people I met and who work at the label. Julian Raymond is such a cool guy, he’s a brilliant music man. The staff at the label are people you may not know and not necessarily people the fans care about as much but they are good people and they let me be not only who I want to be but who I am.”
Find “21 Forever” and all of Janson’s music, as well as pre-order The Outlaw Side of Me, at Find all of Janson’s music and upcoming shows at ChrisJanson.com.