Matt Stell is eager to share his new musical chapter with his fans. The Arkansas native just released “One Of Us,” a song that he didn’t write, but resonated with him as much as if he had penned it himself.
“My manager shared that with me, and right when I heard it, I knew that it was a smash,” Stell tells Everything Nash of the song, which was written by James Barker, Travis Wood, Gavin Slate, and Jim McCormick. “It was a song that I wanted to play live, and rock out hard with. And, it kind of checks all the boxes for me. To me, a great country song’s got a melody that you want to sing a bunch, but it’s also got a lyric that turns a trick, and that one definitely does it. So I couldn’t wait to get in the studio and cut that song, and I’m excited to have it out. Watching people enjoy it live, just from a little social media clip, has been incredible.”
Stell is an established songwriter as well, penning his debut “Prayed for You” and his follow-up single, “Everywhere but On,” both of which made it all the way to No. 1. But while Stell is quite capable of writing his own songs, he is equally capable of hearing a hit, even if he didn’t write it.
“I moved to Nashville to be a songwriter,” Stell reflects. “My first two singles were songs that I had written. When you move to town to be a songwriter,, you’re really at the mercy of artists to cut outside songs. So I told myself if I was ever in that situation, that’s what I would do. And so, I don’t really care whose name is at the top of the page. Sometimes it’s mine. More times than not, it’s mine. But now I get pitched these amazing songs by the best country songwriters in the world. And I’m lucky for that, and I try to just cut the best.”
“Everywhere but On” was climbing up the charts just as the world was shutting down because of the pandemic. The rising star knows that the inability to tour and promote his music wasn’t ideal, but he refuses to be bitter about the unexpected change in plans.
“That kind of threw the brakes on a lot of stuff,” Stell acknowledges. “I’m not gonna complain about the pandemic. It messed with all of us, and that kind of put a little hiccup in what we were doing, just in terms of momentum and things like that. Being a new artist, getting momentum is the whole thing. That’s what you’re after. So ever since we got back on the horse, whenever stuff started opening back up, we’ve been burning diesel and burning jet fuel, getting up and down the road. And it’s been great to be that busy.”
Busy, indeed. Stell is currently on his Man Made Tour, performing in both the United States and overseas in the United Kingdom. It’s a welcome return after spending so much time away.
“I’ve had occasion and opportunities to play some really cool and some really big places, arenas and things like that with other artists,” Stell shares. “That’s so much fun to play someplace big, but a packed out club or theater or something like that, where the energy’s real high and it’s packed, it’s really hard to beat sometimes. It sounds the best in those too.”
Find “One Of Us” and all of Stell’s music and upcoming shows at MattStell.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Monarch Publicity / Wide Open Lyrics