Corey Kent Earns First-Ever No.1 With ‘Wild As Her’: ‘It’s Been A Hell Of A Ride’
In celebration of the No. 1, the singer/songwriter has unleashed a new version of the song.
Corey Kent; Photo by Matthew Berinato
Corey Kent notches another feat with his successful debut single, “Wild As Her.” After a year of successful streaming, the fan-favorite track has reached the top spot at country radio, moving from No. 4 to No. 1 on the Mediabase chart.
The new milestone marks the first time the Oklahoma native has reached No. 1 on the chart while the track continues to stream consistently. Now, a little over a year later, “Wild As Her” has garnered over 260 million on demand streams to date. Seeing this song do so well is especially meaningful for Kent seeing as it came about at a time when he was working at a pavement company trying to make ends meet for his kids. Once live music resurged in the world, he quit his job and made a great effort to get himself back into the industry. That hard work paid off when he landed a record deal Sony Music Nashville’s RCA Nashville imprint and started to see “Wild As Her” gain some tremendous traction.
“It’s been a hell of a ride to wind up here,” Kent shared in a press release of his soaring single. “You couldn’t write a crazier script: Getting dropped, moving to Texas, working in motorcycle shops & pavement companies to provide, playing a regular gig performing in a Mexican restaurant, praying for opportunity, touring relentlessly, & trying to defy all the odds…”
He continued, “Today is bigger than my first #1. Today, I get to wave the pirate flag for all of us relentless dreamers from the mountain top, as an example that no matter how hard it gets, there is always hope. I’ll never forget this one.”
“Wild As Her” was written by Kelly Archer, Brett Tyler, and Morgan Wallen and produced by Chris Farren. Kent previously explained to Country Now that as soon as the song was brought to him, he and his team had a feeling that it was meant to be recorded by him.
“They played this song for me and everybody on my team was going, ‘this is you. You’ve gotta sing this song.’ And so I really trusted my team and went in and recorded the song,” he shared.
The windows-down anthem has proved to be something special, to say the least. Kent’s spirited vocals elevate the hard-hitting melody that encourages independence and never changing who you are to try and gain acceptance from others.
“I keep the windows down and the wind in her hair / Keep her heart hangin’ on ’round every turn / She ain’t scared to get tied down, scared to get burned / Just looking for somebody as wild as her / Wild, wild,” he delivers in the chorus.
The music video earned Kent a nomination for Breakthrough Male Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Awards as it matches the untamed energy that sparks from each note of the love-ridden track.
Kent has already dropped a duet version of the track with Carter Faith and in celebration of the No. 1, he has unleashed another version. This time, he curated a special live recording from his show at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The latest installment of the song showcases the love and appreciation fans have gained for the track as they can be heard singing every word alongside the rising country star.
“Wild As Her” is set to be featured on Kent’s upcoming major label debut album, Blacktop, which is set to drop June 2 via RCA Nashville/Sony Music Nashville.
The 10-track album features production from Jay Joyce and Chris Farren. Kent serves as a co-writer alongside a slew of highly accredited songwriters including Morgan Wallen, Ryan Hurd, Kelly Archer, Lydia Vaughan and more. Fans have already gotten a taste of the upcoming project through previously released tracks, “Man of the House,” “How You Know You Made It,” “Hood of that Car” and “Something’s Gonna Kill Me.”
Corey Kent kicked off 2023 with a run of shows in support of Parker McCollum as well as various festivals. Next up, he will host an album release show on June 2 in Nashville at Brooklyn Bowl before joining Jason Aldean’s Highway Desperado Tour later this summer.
Written by
Madeleine O’Connell
Madeleine O’Connell graduated from North Central College with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications before deciding to pursue her studies further at DePaul University. There, she earned her masters degree in Digital Communication & Media Arts. O’Connell served as a freelance writer for over two years while also interning with the Academy of Country Music, SiriusXM and Circle Media and assisting with Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast. In addition to Country Now, she has been published in American Songwriter, Music Mayhem, and Holler.Country. Madeleine O’Connell is a member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.