Josh Ross On Growth, Honesty, And The Making Of His Debut Album, ‘Later Tonight’

Josh Ross is adding onto an already whirlwind year by releasing his debut album, Later Tonight via MCA / Mercury Nashville / Universal Music Canada/ CORE Records. Over the summer, he landed his first-ever No. 1 at US country radio with “Single Again” and recently collected two trophies from the 2025 CCMA awards for Entertainer of the Year and Single of the Year for the chart-topping hit. His new project marks a celebration of how far he’s come and a glimpse of what’s still ahead.

Produced by longtime collaborator Matt Geroux, who also worked on Ross’s JUNO Award-winning EP Complicated, the 15-track collection hones in on his signature rock-leaning country sound that has fueled Ross’ rise. Fans will find familiar favorites, including “Single Again,” the title track “Later Tonight,” and recent releases like “Hate How You Look” and “Leave Me Too.”

Through every story told on this record, Ross peels back another layer of himself, weaving together a mix of lighthearted anthems, emotional ballads, and unapologetic messages. Since moving to Nashville in late 2018, he’s spent years shaping his craft and finding his voice. According to Ross, this album, represents that journey of growth both as an artist and as a person.

“It’s taken six or seven years of me finding myself and figuring out what I want to say, compiling a project of songs that I believe, kind of showcase the depth to who I am,” he explained to Country Now and other outlets.

For Ross, the most personal songs on this record, like “Nobody From Nowhere,” “Scared of Getting Sober,” and “Songs You Gave Me,” were also the most natural to write. Ross also points to “My Side of Town” as another standout track that tells a story no one has heard from him before. “It’s my perspective, my side of the story, and I thought that concept was so personal and powerful to include,” he shared.

“I think that’s just an honesty thing for me…that’s kind of my biggest focus even with the outside songs that I caught on the record is songs like ‘My Side Of Town’ is like I have a story that nobody’s heard in regards to, here’s my side of the story and I just thought concepts like that were so personal to me. But yeah, those three would be the three that of course, it’s the emotional songs but are the most personal to me.”

Ross claims himself to be a listener of all types of music. He doesn’t confine himself to one lane, but instead pulls from a wide-variety sounds, which comes across clearly on this record. Along with the soulful country leaning tracks, he also branches into his hard-hitting rocker sound with his new single, “Hate How You Look” and even put his own spin on Akon’s 2008 smash hit “Right Now (Na Na Na)” featuring vocals from Akon himself.

Written by Chris McKenna, Christian Yancey, Jessica Farren, and Nicholas Sainato, “Hate How You Look” was named the No. 1 most-added single at country radio at the top of September, notching 70 first-week stations. The tune acts as a natural follow-up to his latest single, “Single Again,” with both songs serving as an earworm for fans to jam out to with ease.

“I was very much just like, ‘let’s do something that’s fun for the listeners.’ I want something that people are like, ‘Hey, what was that?’ Versus just passing through another song. And to me, from the moment I heard that song, I was like, ‘okay, there’s something here, whether it was the drums, the vocal melodies, very high energy.’ And again, going back to me having to live those situations or really believe in the song, it felt like a song that I had lived.”

Then there’s the title of the entire record, “Later Tonight.” Ross admitted choosing the title was no easy task and it almost was named “Nobody From Nowhere.” However, he felt that “Later Tonight” would be easier for fans to digest with its carefree spirit and infectious beats.

I also thought it was very coincidental that if you take the title later tonight and kind of add the other titles to it later tonight, you’ll leave me too ‘later tonight…I’m scared of getting sober.’ There was a lot of concepts in the record to me that happened ‘later tonight.’ And so for me too, it was a lot of fun to kind of put that as the first track to welcome people to the record.”

Once everything was done, from choosing the sequencing to securing a title and finally landing on a release date, the Canadian singer/songwriter shared he felt “relieved” to finally have the pressures behind him.” Closing the door on this chapter has also allowed him to step back into his role as a songwriter, not with the intention of churning out songs for a project, but just for fun.

“I get kind of against the grain on things and just really, to be completely honest, I’m one of those people once I turn songs in, I don’t listen to them again. Yesterday was the first time that I had listened to the record since I submitted it three or four months ago, and it’s like a chapter of my life has been completed and I get to go ship it off and hope for the best. And so for me it’s definitely been a relief. I feel like it’s not a not positive weight, but there’s a weight of getting everything done. And obviously still until the release date, I’ll have a little bit of that, but now I’m excited.”

To mark the release of Later Tonight, Josh Ross is kicking off a full day of celebrations in Nashville. Beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT, fans can catch him on Lower Broadway with performances at Ole Red and Luke Combs’ Category 10, complete with line dancing. Then he will head over to Margaritaville for a special SiriusXM Happy Hour appearance. That evening, Ross will step onto the Grand Ole Opry stage to share a few new songs from the album, followed by an intimate acoustic set and conversation with fans in the Circle Room.

Beyond Music City, he is set to spend the fall season on the road, joining Dylan Scott for six U.S. dates before traveling overseas for back-to-back headline shows at London’s Camden Assembly. Looking ahead to 2026, he’ll launch his 17-date Later Tonight Tour across Canada beginning February 6, with Chandler Walters tapped as direct support.

Later Tonight Tracklist

1. Later Tonight (Alexander Izquierdo, Ryan Vojtesak, John Byron, Ashley Gorley)
2. Hate How You Look (Nicholas Sainato, Chris McKenna, Jessica Farren, Christian Yancey)
3. My Side Of Town (Jimmy Robbins, Seth Ennis, Josh Miller, Abram Dean)
4. Smith & Wesson (Ben Stennis and Michael Tyler)
5. Leave Me Too (Ben Stennis, Michael Tyler, Laura Veltz, Allison Veltz-Cruz
6. Half Lit (Michael Tyler, Josh Miller, Will Bundy, John Morgan)
7. Mad At Me (Kyle Fishman, Travis Wood, Jimmy Robbins, Casey Brown)
8. Whiskey You (Josh Ross, Matt Geroux, Mason Thornley, Jacob Hackworth, Heath Warren, Brad
   Rempel, Joe Fox, Seth Ennis)
9. Break My Heart In Two (Josh Ross and Mason Thornley)
10. Single Again (Josh Ross, Joe Fox, Brad Rempel)
11. Songs You Gave Me (Josh Ross, Mason Thornley, Matt Geroux)
12. Namin’ Names (Geoff Warburton, Michael Lotten, Ryan Hurd, Jesse Fink)
13. Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na) with Akon (Edgar Robin Albers, Johannes Dieter Kranenburg, Michel
    Rozenbroek, Jorrit ter Braak, Maurice Huismans, Aliaune Thiam, Giorgio Tuinfort, Josh Ross, Brett
    Tyler, Grady Block)
14. Nobody From Nowhere (Josh Ross, Matt Geroux, Brad Rempel, Jacob Hackworth, Heath Warren)
15. Scared Of Getting Sober (Josh Ross, Joe Fox, Seth Ennis, Mason Thornley, Heath Warren)