Out country music artist Hayden Joseph drops his new album Country To Me, which narrates the trials and tribulations of a lost 20-something hoping to find his place in the world
“What does it mean to be, ‘country?’ There is no one definition – and that is exactly what my album, Country to Me, is all about,” says Joseph. “I write stories rooted in personal experiences, but I challenge myself to write lyrics that are applicable to many walks of life – not just those country radio is currently appealing to.”
“The album represents the first time I’ve worked with collaborators who not only understood my vision, but amplified it,” he adds. “The result is something I never could have created on my own and would not exist had I not moved to Nashville when the world shut down 3 years ago.”
Hayden says the title track for the new album “Ain’t your ‘grandma’s country music.'” And for this writer, who grew up in Texas with country always on the radio, that’s fine by me. The bright and bouncy country/pop chorus is an addictive ear worm that perfectly reflects Joseph’s sunny perspective:
Six string stories set me free
Speaking truth through melody
I might sing in a different key
I’m syncing life to a beat
And that’s country to me
The collection also includes his viral sensation, “Backwoods Bougie.” The music video finds Hayden and friends armed with White Claw seltzers and unicorn water pistols hanging out at a backyard party complete with inflatable floats and rainbow-colored summer attire. The North Carolina native says he and his collaborators specifically chose to sing about White Claw and not beer because “we wanted a summer party song, but we wanted it to be something relatable to us — two gay men who don’t love beer.”
His debut album, Different, was released in the Spring of 2021, and has logged nearly 1M streams across platforms to date. Its follow-up singles served to increase his rapid trajectory, securing placements on several notable Spotify editorials, including “Out Now,” “New Music Nashville,” “Fresh Finds,” and “Country Christmas.”
You can follow Hayden Joseph on Instagram here, and check out more of his music on Spotify.
Awesome, we need more gay country musicians.