Lee Brice loves everything about his new single, “Drinkin’ Buddies,” out now. The song, which features both Hailey Whitters and Nate Smith on the track, is from his next record, the follow-up to Hey World, out in 2020.
“I got pitched this song, and first of all, it was kind of funny, ’cause I didn’t know there were two artists on it,” Brice tells Everything Nash. “I got pitched the song, I hit play, I’m on the phone. And as soon as I got about even halfway through the first chorus, I just stopped it, and I texted the publisher who sent it to me. I said, ‘Put it on hold. I’m cutting this.'”
The publisher then asked Brice which female artist he wanted to sing on it with him, a question that initially perplexed the singer, since he hadn’t even listened to the second verse when he decided to record it for himself.
“Lo and behold, there was a girl on the second verse, which even made the song better for me, because it’s not just a couple of dudes,” Brice recalls with a laugh. “There’s a camaraderie between guys and girls. And usually, when you have a guy and a girl on a song, it’s like a love song, or an ‘I miss you’ song or a ‘Go away’ song or whatever. But this one had a camaraderie that I hadn’t heard in a song before, really, between a guy and a girl.”
Brice ultimately asked both Whitters and Smith to join him on the feel-good tune, who were each fortunately able to lend their talents to the track, and the music video as well.
“We had so much fun going to the video shoot,” Brice says. “It wasn’t even supposed to be a video shoot. It was supposed to be just a content day, and we had so much fun, we ended up getting a full video out of it.”
“Drinkin’ Buddies” is just part of a new project that Brice is ready and eager for his fans to hear.
“I’ll probably turn it in in July, so I’m almost done with it,” reveals the singer. “I’ve done all of the main recording. I can tell you that it’s as honest and as heart on my sleeve as I’ve ever had, in any record. But I’ve always done that with every record. I try to beat the last one. And every time I try to do that, it’s pretty daunting at first, because the last record was pretty good. And so, it’s a task to put yourself to try to make an even better record. But I think we’ve done it.”
The father of three has created a lengthy and successful career for himself, with songs like “I Drive Your Truck,” “I Don’t Dance,” “One of Them Girls” and more. But he hints that his new album will have some of the best songs he has ever recorded, at least so far.
“We’ve got some special stuff on here,” Brice says. “Big smashes, but also really special songs. In fact, if somebody said, ‘Okay, you can only play one song off your whole new record, ever, for anybody, what would it be?’ It wouldn’t be ‘Drinkin’ Buddies.’ It wouldn’t be the ‘hit songs’ that are on it. It would probably be a song called ‘When the Kingdom Comes.’
“It’s just a big part of my heart coming out, and I love it,” he continues. “So keep your ears open. It’s very diverse like it always is with my stuff. I’m a fan of all kinds of music, so a little bit of that comes out in everything I write and produce. We’re excited about it. It will be out the first of the year.”
Brice is headlining his own shows throughout the rest of the year, and also joining Dierks Bentley for select dates on Bentley’s Gravel and Gold Tour. Watch the “Drinkin’ Buddies” video here. Find all of Brice’s music and upcoming shows at LeeBrice.com.