Kane Brown joined forces with Blake Shelton for the title track of his latest album, Different Man.
When he decided to turn “Different Man” into a duet, Brown immediately thought of Shelton, and the “God’s Country” singer happily obliged after giving the song a listen.
“I feel like I’m a great A&R and so I was listening to the song over and over and over and trying to figure out, like, somebody can be on this song. And Blake was the first person that popped into my head,” he told Kelleigh Bannen on Today’s Country Radio. “So I sent it to him and then within 30 minutes he texted me back and said he’s on it. So that was just a crossing my fingers, hoping he could find time to record it.”
Brown and Shelton bring light to their self-examination as they extinguish the expectations of a typical 9-to-5 job and instead forge their way to stardom.
“But what if I was made for the stage What if I was made for the lights What if I was chosen to write the stories Wasn’t built to work the line Oh, what if I was different / Would I wanna be different?” he sings in the chorus.
Taking a second to relive the idea behind the new release, Brown explains the confidence that he’s gained in himself since the start of his career.
“When I’m on stage, I feel like I put on a show now. When I used to, I would just get up there and say, ‘Here’s a couple songs that I wrote.’ And then even with the music, I know what I want to say now, I know how I want it to sound. And of course it’s going to keep progressing, but I just feel like just maturity wise… I don’t care what everybody thinks now. I used to always be like, ‘I hope he likes me’ or ‘I hope she likes me,’ and now it’s just like, ‘Whatever.’”
They country stars have a history together as Brown has often covered Shelton’s hit “Ole Red” during his live shows. In 2020, Shelton enlisted Brown as a mentor for Team Blake on The Voice.
Having the opportunity to serve as the Battle Round mentor on Season 19 of the singing competition show turned out to be a dream come true for Brown.
“My dream — and nobody knows this — was to always try out for The Voice and be on Blake Shelton’s team,” Brown previously ET. “I’m just so grateful to be here.”
The 17-track collection on Different Man also features a duet with Brown’s wife Katelyn on, “Thank God” and several previously released songs including “Grand,” “Like I Love Country Music,” “Whiskey Sour,” “One Mississippi” and “Leave You Alone.”
Kane Brown will be taking his latest project on the road for his global Drunk or Dreaming Tour which is set to kick off on Sept. 17. His first set of touring dates will be held in Australia and New Zealand as well as Canada and Europe with support from Chris Lane, Blanco Brown, Restless Road and Jessie James Decker.
The U.S. leg of the tour will kick off next year in Grand Rapids, MI on March 16. With special guests Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett and LOCASH, Brown will hit 23 cities before wrapping in Greenwood Village, CO on June 10.
