Brice is currently on his You, Me & My Guitar Tour.
Lee Brice is sending a powerful message with his new single, “Cry,” as he reminds everyone—particularly men—that it’s not only okay to show your emotions, but it’s oftentimes necessary.
When it comes to breakup anthems and love songs, Brice has proved his ability to sing from all the different perspectives of those in relationships. In doing so, he gives listeners an outlet to express what they’re feeling and help put their thoughts into words.
He explained to Country Now that while he initially saw many of his heartfelt songs like “Hard to Love” and “I Don’t Dance,” as being “for the girls,” he quickly discovered that many guys have also connected with them. Now, with “Cry,” he’s leaning into the sentiment that guys also need emotive anthems to navigate their tough moments in life, especially breakups.
“That’s obviously an important message to be able to show you feelings because [if] you keep ’em all held in, you never know,” Brice shared. “I’ve always loved both sides of the equation. ‘Hard To Love’ or ‘I Don’t Dance’ or something like that, I’ve always looked at it like this was for the girls, but it’s also for the dudes. So I’ll be singing ‘I Don’t Dance’ and the girls will be going, ‘oh my God, it’s my wedding song’ or whatever. And the guy’s like, ‘yeah, it’s my wedding song, man.’ They’re the ones out there really digging it.”
He continued, “And sometimes songs are just one or the other. My biggest things in my life, in my career, have been the ones that really walk the line. Like, there’s sensitive songs that a guy might not know how to say, and I hopefully give ’em a vehicle for how they can say it and they’re like, ‘yes, thank you. That was perfect, man.’”
Brice Instantly Connected With “Cry”
Lee Brice; Cry
“Cry” was penned by Ben Hayslip, David Garcia and Dallas Davidson, who also happens to be a close friend of Brice’s. The South Carolina native recalls inviting Davidson over to the studio to help him decipher which songs to include on his next record out of the 25-30 tunes he had already recorded. The conversation eventually turned into Davidson discussing a new song he had written that was potentially going to be recorded by the GRAMMY nominated artist, Teddy Swims. Brice instantly fell in love with the track and offered up the idea to record it as a duet with Swims.
Although the collaboration didn’t work out due to scheduling conflicts, Brice got to bring the tune to life on his own.
“[There was] just really something about it. I loved the simple twist of it says cry, you’re thinking you’re going to hear some sad thing, and it is just not. It’s so Dallas, it’s so us guys that aren’t afraid to, in a real thing, aren’t afraid to show some emotion. We might be tough old rednecks, but we got hearts,” he pointed out.
The multi-Platinum Curb Records recording artist felt so drawn to the ‘50s doo wop sound that Davidson had created on the demo that he decided to keep that same vibe while adding a modern twist. This nostalgic spirit of the tune combined with the upbeat tempo allows listeners of any generation to feel captivated by Brice’s gritty vocals.
“I wanted to get it just right. Sometimes it’s hard to walk a line between going to do something classic like a ‘50s doo wop, but you still got to put your own kind of spin on it and then also just something for the kids to listen to where they still like it,” he explained.
Watch The Brand-New Music Video
That groovy retro sound is further elevated in the “Cry” music video. Directed by Chase Lauer, the footage finds Brice taking on the responsibility of helping a heartbroken guy mend his relationship with the girl who still had a tight grip on his heart.
“It was so much fun, honestly. I usually love to get in and either come up with the idea, the treatment for the video or lean on Chase or Ryan and let them kind of come up with something and then [I] kind of get in it with ’em and we all finish it together and then shoot the video. But this time, man, Chase came to me with this whole idea for this video and I was like, I would’ve never dreamed of something like that. I mean, I just wouldn’t, that’s just not where my brain goes,” Brice said, praising Lauer’s work.
He put his trust in the director, and it paid off because the video takes the story and brings it to life in a way that isn’t too cheesy or far from being authentic to a real-life breakup experience. It captures the compelling nature of the narrative, but in a more lighthearted nature.
“I went with it, and we went and had, first of all, had a blast, and then second of all, the video, I just feel like it was so cool. I mean, I think you like the song when you hear it, [but] I think you like the song even better when you see the video. It’s just so kind of quirky and fun,” he admitted.
In the opening scene, Brice sits with a heartbroken man who, after experiencing a tough breakup, enlists the country star to express his emotions through song. From there, Brice follows the girl around, performing his new single at her work, at her home, anywhere she was, just trying and get her to listen. Finally, the message of the song sinks in, leading her to give her heartbroken ex a call.
“I’ve been cryin’ in my beer, cryin’ in my bed/ Cryin’ on the pillow where you used to lay your head/ I’ma cry myself to sleep tonight/ Who says a man don’t cry?” Brice delivers on the impactful chorus.
New Album And More Collaborations On The Horizon
Even though Teddy Swims did not end up on the initial recording of “Cry,” Lee Brice hinted that both artists are “still open” to a future collaborative version. If this duet comes to fruition, it will mark one of several that could appear on Brice’s forthcoming album, which he explained has been two years in the making.
“My goal is every time is to hopefully top what I did the last time before. I’m always wanting to improve and get better at writing and better at making records and better just all of it. And that’s what I was really a little unsure [about]. I was like, God, how am I going to beat this last record? And then even just song quality…it just kept coming together. Now I’m sitting here, honestly today and this week, I’ll be hopefully turning in everything and [putting] masters on. So I’m finally done with it, basically. And I am just over the moon about it.”
Getting In The Studio With Diamond Rio
Much like his past projects, fans can expect to see a variety of different musical influences and a broad range of sounds, from rocking country anthems to deep ballads. Plus, he teased an “extremely special” collaboration with the beloved country band, Diamond Rio.
“I grew up hearing Diamond Rio, so we have them on it. It’s a really special song to me in the first place and so it just needed something specific and something special on it. And we were struggling to try to find this sort of, we couldn’t really put our finger on what it was. We said, you know what? It needs like that old Diamond Rio guitar sound, just the guitar sound and his name is Jimmy [Olander], who played all that guitar on those records. And we called and he said, ‘yeah, glad to.’ And I was like, ‘dude, why don’t we just ask the whole band?’ I’m like a humongous fan of all of them. So we got Diamond Rio, the whole deal, on the song and it’s really special. It’s called “Heart Pine (The Ballad of Mr. Bill).”
“I feel like it’ll be the best record I’ve ever made for sure,” he added.
You, Me & My Guitar Tour Is Officially Underway
Lee Brice is fresh off the launch of his highly anticipated intimate acoustic tour, dubbed the You, Me & My Guitar Tour. The trek kicked off January 30 in Wilkes-Barre, PA and will find the country star bringing the stories behind his songs to life on stages throughout March, including a must-see performance at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium on February 18th.
Brice admitted he was nervous to get back in front of a crowd and perform all by himself for two hours, but upon his first show back, his hesitancy was replaced by pure excitement.
“It was awesome. We had three shows and they were all really good. I feel like I kind got every little thing kind of ironed out as much as it’s going to be ironed out by the last show this weekend. So we’re looking forward to keep doing it…It’s really special. And it’s been one of my favorite things. It’s really even rejuvenated me with just music in general and being a musician and being on the road and all the things. It really brought back a lot of energy and joy. Sometimes you can get a little blurred and get a little just stagnant if you just keep doing the same thing over and over. And this was a really cool thing and [it’s] been magic for me.”
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