Capitol NashvilleLuke Bryan‘s new album, Kill the Lights, is out Friday featuring the #1 party anthem, “Kick the Dust Up,” as well as the follow-up, “Strip It Down.” That new single is downright sultry, and Luke says it’s an indication of some of the more romantic material on Kill the Lights.
He explains, “[It’s] something for people that want to dance and have a romantic night, and I’ve never really done that in any of my music now that I look back.”
“Strip It Down” is one of six songs Luke had a hand in writing on Kill the Lights, which is a big increase from his previous project, Crash My Party.
“On Crash My Party, I really, really wrote a lot of songs, probably 40 or 50 songs prior to that album getting done,” Luke says. “Then I didn’t have but three songs on that album. And then with this album, I didn’t write but about 10 or 12 and a lot more songs landed on the album. So, I’m pretty excited about that.”
While Kill the Lights includes plenty of up-tempo tracks to help get the party started, Luke does include some more reflective songs like “To the Moon and Back” and “Scarecrows.” In the past year, Luke and his wife, Caroline, have been helping their nieces and nephew deal with the loss of their father, Luke’s brother-in-law, Ben Cheshire. Ben was married to Luke’s sister, Kelly, who passed away in 2007. That situation led Luke to dig a little deeper emotionally when it came to song selection for Kill the Lights.
He says, “I certainly want to keep the youthfulness and the fun going for as long as I can, too, but I also know that a lot more things in my life are a lot more serious these days, too. And that stuff will come out also.”
Luke also feels like Kill the Lights features his best vocal performances to date. “Each album that I’ve had the ability to get in the studio, I always feel like I have learned new things on singing a little better and being more prepared to sing in the studio,” he says. “So, I couldn’t be prouder form track-to-track on a lot of my performances on this album.”
Kill the Lights includes a duet with Little Big Town‘s Karen Fairchild on the song “Home Alone Tonight.” Look for Luke to kick off the new album with a performance on ABC’s Good Morning America Friday.
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
