Russel DickersonHis last song is a love letter to his wife. ET spoke with the 37-year-old country singer at Trend Management’s Sip & Sound Saloon event in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, and he teased what fans can expect from his next single, “Bones,” due out this summer.
“I’m not trying to be the love song guy, but I’m just trying to write songs about real life. My family, my wife, this is my life,” Russell told ET about his wife, Kailey, and their children. Radford, 8 months, and Remington, 3. “When it comes time to write a song, this is what happens.”
When Russell came up with the title “Bones,” in which he tells Kailey “I’ll love you until I die,” he brought together his favorite writers to develop the track.
“I can’t say I knew it the day we wrote it, but as I kept playing the demo and the song and playing it over and over again, I thought, ‘I think this could be it.’ I haven’t believed in a song this much since ‘Yours,’” Russell said of his 2017 hit. “I hope it’s bigger. Who knows? I’m risking everything for this one.”
As for how Kailey reacted to the song, Russell knew she loved it after she came home late from a girls’ night out.
“I wake up at 10:30 pm and think, ‘She’s not here yet.’ I wake up at, like, 11:30, she’s not home yet, and then I wake up, like, 1 in the morning, and I’m like, ‘Where are you?’ “And she said, ‘I’ve literally been sitting in the garage for the last hour and a half listening to ‘Bones’ on repeat.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God.'”
As he prepares to release “Bones,” Russell — who has performed alongside stars including Jordan Davis and Laci Kaye Booth at Wednesday’s event – is set to join Sam Hunt on his Locked Up Tour. His family, Russell revealed, will be by his side through everything.
“We’re doing a whole tour of the West,” he said. “… Let’s go to Tahoe, let’s go to Yosemite, we’re going up. Let’s do Dickersons Go West. Let’s just hang out.”
Even though he’s on tour, Russell is still determined to work on new music. In fact, the “Good Day to Have a Great Day” singer told ET that he’s been “recording my ass off” the last few weeks.
“I’m looking forward to having time to make a great record,” he said. “I’m doing the fewest shows I’ve ever done in my life. The end of this year is when we really dive in and get to the fourth record. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“I’m at a point in my career where I’m thinking, ‘Fuck it. Let’s go’. We had great success on commercial country radio. I’m at the point where… I’m just here to write heaters,” Russell added. “I want to put heaters where people can dance, enjoy and vibrate.”
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