Thomas Rhett on his genre-broadening new album, jamming a Whitney Houston classic and more: 'The Vision for This Album Was Joy'

For Thomas Rhett, creating his new album, About a womanout Friday (August 23) via The Valory Music Co., was a family affair.

The singer-songwriter, who has four children with his wife of nearly 12 years and childhood sweetheart, Lauren, says Bulletin boardthat his “two oldest.” [daughters, Willa Gray and Ada James] they begin to form their own opinions about what they like. If they go to a hip-hop class and a Luis Fonsi song comes on, they think that's fire. Or they'll hear kids at school talking about Luke Combs or Morgan Wallen. In terms of my music, they've become a bit of my little A&R team. On the way to school, I play a new demo and watch if they start moving or ask to hear it again. So, in a way, they influence the music a lot. They can mark a bop. They like “Gone Country”, “Back to Blue” and “Don't Wanna Dance”.

These songs are among the key tracks that represent the new album's range of sounds, ranging from '90s country to pop and soul. “Don't Wanna Dance,” which interpolates Whitney Houston's 1987 classic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” presented a challenge for the singer-songwriter, subverting the pop anthem's longing for romance .

“It was no easy feat… when you're going to put it unequivocally [one of] the most listened to and covered songs ever in one of our songs and from one of the most amazing voices to ever walk this planet,” says Thomas Rhett, who has scored nearly two dozen Bulletin board No. 1 Country Airplay hits, including pop love songs like “Die a Happy Man” and “Angels Don't Always Have Wings.” “Don't Wanna Dance” was co-written by Matt Dragstrem and Ryan Hurd, who texted Thomas Rhett the file of the song, along with a note that just said, “Whitney.”

“I was coming down Music Row and I heard it, and when that chorus came on, I was like, 'I can't not try it,'” says the 2020 ACM Awards Entertainer of the Year. “It's heartbreaking, but it also makes you want to punch a wall because you're so excited about the tune.”

The album was managed by the production team of respected producer Dann Huff and Julian Bunetta, who has produced recent albums for Sabrina Carpenter and Teddy Swims. About a woman Recorded at Berry Hill's Blackbird Studio and Bunetta's Nashville home.

Songs on the album, such as the rhythm-driven 'Fool' and the laid-back 'Overdrive', draw inspiration from artists ranging from Steely Dan to the Oak Ridge Boys. Thomas Rhett recalls that he aimed to “do 'Beast of Burden' and 'Miss You' by the Rolling Stones when writing another track on the album, 'Can't Love You Anymore'”.

“The vision for this album was just a joy,” he says. “It's this weird melting pot and Julian and Dann have found a way to make it feel progressive but timeless. They're both old souls,” Thomas Rhett says of Huff and Bunetta, recalling the “neat old-school vs. new-school collaboration that came with knowing the same music and the same sounds the same way.”

Like many of his previous albums, About a woman draws much of his inspiration from his own love story with his wife. He keeps things upbeat and romantic with 'Beautiful as You', the midnight velvet of 'All the Bars Are Closed' and the slow-moving 'Somethin' 'Bout a Woman', before closing the album with the tender ballad 'I Could Pass forever loving you.”

On “Church,” Thomas Rhett nods to Lauren's high school love story through the lens of Eric Church's music, pairing the melody with Church song titles like “Springsteen,” “Love Your Love the Most” and “Talladega”.

Although Thomas Rhett isn't one of the original writers on “Church,” he rewrote the song's final chorus, turning it from a heartbreak to one more closely aligned with the couple's story.

“That's Lauren's favorite on the album, because when we were in high school, I used to buy [Church’s] Caroline record, which was his second album,” he says. “I had to buy a new copy every three months because I barely wore it. He kept getting sidetracked — but he was like our own Zach Bryan. He was this dude who was kind of on the radio, but he could care less if he was or not, and he was kind of grumpy and said things in songs that most people wouldn't say. I learned the whole album on acoustic guitar and whenever we were at a party, that's all I played — so that song means a lot to us because it was the soundtrack to our teenage years.”

However, she says how involved Lauren is in listening to new music early on has changed over the years.

“Even three years ago, I was at the point where every time I went out on the road, I would play her everything we wrote and sometimes it would stick [a song] which I wasn't attached to — so that awkward conversation happened when it came time to record. It's like, “Oh, you're putting that in there?” and I'm like “No” and she's like “Why?” So lately, I've been slowly giving her things I know I like. I have even stopped playing demo because it will link to the demo [version] of a song. So on this record, I might have played her some demos, but for the most part, I'll be playing her rough cuts in the studio first.”

Meanwhile, life and social media balance is one that Thomas Rhett and his family continue to refine. At one point, “Every bit of it [social media] he was off the phone,” he says. “I screened everything that came out, but I couldn't look at it anymore.”

A recent conversation with his longtime manager, Virginia Bunetta of G Major Management, helped him redefine his relationship with social media. “He said, 'Everything is for sale.' I thought, “Yeah, if a post doesn't do well, you think, 'What else about my life can I share that might generate engagement?'” I think for me, for better or worse, a lot of my social media engagement is about my family,” he says. “You can go through this spiral of, 'I'm going to film this and that,' and then you haven't lived your day — you're just recording content. I'm trying to figure it out.”

The fact that Gen Z music consumption has skewed towards social media and streaming as opposed to terrestrial radio has only added to this challenge. “Artists coming from my generation, it was like there's a master who can serve—if my song hits the top 10 on the radio, people will hear it,” says Thomas Rhett, 34. “Now, the landscape it's so huge that you feel like when you talk on social media, you're competing with a million voices. Some kid from Nebraska can put a video on social media and get instant stardom. I think some of us are kind of sitting there going, 'What's our voice today?'”

Up next, he'll kick off a mini-residency at the BleauLive Theater at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, with four shows on December 6-7 and 13-14. He was inspired by attending one of Miranda Lambert's The Velvet Rodeo concerts in Vegas as he considered the new opportunity.

“I love the freedom they had,” he says of Lambert's show. “They did a set that they probably would never take on the road, they played songs that might not get much road play, and they did covers that felt very old in Vegas. When you go to a show in Vegas, you want to see something different. I'm glad we're doing these shows, because it's going to be a different world. Yes, your fans will be there, but they might also be the random guy playing blackjack who says, “I'm going to see a show.” I think I'll be playing bigger, darker songs, getting diligent with the arrangements, more Bakersfield, older country tunes with our spin.”

Meanwhile, back in Nashville, it looks like downtown celebrity bars don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon—but don't count Thomas Rhett among those planning to add to the cluster.

“There were a few people who mentioned it to me a few years ago, and I mean, I wake up every day and there's a new bar,” he says. “I'm kind of thinking, 'Would it be nicer to open a sick brunch spot that doesn't have my face stuck to the wall?' That's never been my vibe — I don't want someone to walk into my restaurant and see me all over the place. I'd like to serve the strongest cookies and breakfast tacos and mimosas and call it the “TR Tequila Bar” or something. But it's not really my style to do Broadway, and people have too many options as it is.”

While a star bar might not be in the plans, eventually releasing an album in another genre could be. Earlier this year, Thomas Rhett teamed up with contemporary Christian artist Brandon Lake for a cover of Elevation Music and Maverick City Music's “Talking to Jesus.” During the pandemic years, he teamed up with another CCM luminary, Chris Tomlin.

As for releasing his own CCM album, he says, “That question has come up a lot lately. My point is I just want it to be the correct version of this. I'm not trying to run a church service, but my faith is extremely important to me. I write a lot of worship songs, Christian-type songs, and worship music is changing so much today. Brandon renewed my love for it, and my friend Forrest Frank had just released an album — I was talking to him like, “You think I could do this?” and he was like, “Absolutely.” So I think it's nice that these two people could maybe one day help me figure out which version is for me. It's a dream that we hope will come true this decade.”