As John Morgan continues to make waves on country radio with his Top 25 and rising hit, “Friends like that” featuring Jason Aldean, he unleashes a brand-new story of growth and perspective with “I Know Better.”
The country star has been performing “I Know Better” while out on the road opening for Nate Smith and offering glimpses into the vibrant tune via social media, causing fans to demand it’s release. Today, (Nov. 15), listeners can finally get their hands on the clever track that puts a unique spin on the confident phrase.
It would be easy to assume that with a song title like “I Know Better,” the narrative could be centered around an individual who may feel that they should have made a better decision in order to avoid a mistake at hand. However, Morgan’s version uses the phrase to shut down any assumptions that someone’s life was better before their relationship.
“I dig this song. It’s kind of got just an interesting twist on that phrase. Those kinds of storylines are always cool to me for some reason,” Morgan told Country Now while reflecting on his latest release. “It was one I wrote with Rocky Block, Lydia Vaughan and Will Bundy and I don’t know, it was just a fun idea to chase because I’d never heard it before…It turned out to be one of my favorites. It’s just kind of fun, tempo, easy to listen to song.”
Confidence burns through the rising star’s vocals as he reflects on all the memories of the individual’s past that he believed made up the best moments of his life. But listeners quickly learn through the toe-tapping beat that love has caused that person to realize that it’s the newfound partnership that has made the biggest impact on his life.
“Cause I know better days/ Better nights/ A better way of living lost in your eyes/ Up on cloud nine/ Feeling things I thought I’d never / There ain’t no better smile/ Aint no better kiss/ Ain’t a memory I’ve made that compares this/ I thought the best part of my life was in the past forever/ But now that I know you, I know better/ Baby I know better,” Morgan sings on the buoyant chorus with his North Carolina-bred vocals on full display.
“I Know Better” comes hot on the heels of Morgan’s September release, “Long Ride Home.” Both of these songs find the singer/songwriter putting his emotions on full display and honing in on the power of love. He admits that a lot of moments and feelings in this song were inspired by his wife, Hailey Rae Morgan, who also acts as a tough critic when it comes to giving her feedback on his music.
“She doesn’t tell me she likes anything if she really doesn’t so she’s a pretty good scale, I guess, to run stuff by. But, no, she really likes this one too. And, honestly, as far as inspiration, she was definitely a big part of the inspiration and the way that I wanted to take that song. Just because, you know, like I said, it’s a different way of saying it. It’s somehow endearing and I think it feels really different just to kind of have that groove underneath of that storyline. That’s something I always kind of look for…I like unique stuff, I like stuff that sticks out a little bit, and that’s what this whole record’s about, so I’m excited to get this one and a few more others out.”
Readying His Debut Album
This serves as one of 12 songs that are set to appear on Morgan’s forthcoming debut album. While discussing his first full-length project, the artist revealed he had “so much fun” cutting tracks for this record as he got to be involved in every aspect of the process, from writing to recording and producing alongside Brent Anderson.
“When I first moved to town I was heavily involved in production and that side of things and kind of thought that might be my pathway and what I did contributing in the music industry and I obviously had different plans, but I still love doing all that. Thankfully my label really gave me a lot of creative freedom on this record and was just like basically, ‘do your thing on it,’” he explained.
“We essentially got to pretty much play everything on it. I had my guys come in and play a few different instruments and we kind of had a compilation on it, as far as players and instruments and stuff. But it was just such a good release for me to finish some of these songs on this record that are five, six years old. I’ve had them on hold for a minute just waiting on this project. So it was a good release and it felt like a weight off my shoulders to at least get it done and get the project turned in and have it ready to get out in the next couple months.”
While he went on to say that he already had an idea for what he wanted the songs to say story wise, one of his biggest sonic inspirations for this collection was hitmaker, Ronnie Milsap.
“You go back and listen to some of his older records, man, it’s just like, you never know what kind of track was coming next. He could have a saxophone, he could have a fiddle, it’s like you knew who it was when he started singing, and that was always so cool to me that he could just kind of do a lot of different styles and it all worked and that was kind of his thing,” Morgan told us. “So I didn’t really do it on purpose, but that’s kind of what this project feels like. There’s just a lot of different tastes and a lot of different textures and influences that I tried to incorporate into it. So I’m excited.”
Future Collaborations
We likely won’t be seeing any new collaborations from Morgan on his album, but he did hint at his desire to get in the studio with some of his friends and fellow artists in the near future.
“There’s a couple people I’m trying to wrangle down and get them in the studio, but I don’t think we’ll have any collaborations on this project, at least not right now. Unless I can talk Zach Top into hopping on board with me. He’s a little busy right now,” he said with a laugh. “I haven’t ruled it out yet. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. I got a couple of songs that definitely could have a feature or somebody hop on, so we’ll see how that goes, but as of right now, I don’t have anything solidified on that.”
Touring With Nate Smith
John Morgan is currently on the road with Nate Smith for his 2024 Through The Smoke Tour. The intimate setting of these club shows has allowed the rising star to connect with his fans as well as the “Bulletproof” singer, which Morgan says been very helpful and kind throughout this entire journey together.
“One thing I respect about Nate too is that he’s a song guy. He’s not going to cut something if he doesn’t think it has meaning…Obviously there’s times where you cut something cause it’s more of a message thing or something you want to say, but I feel like there’s a way to meet in the middle on pretty much every song if that’s your goal. I think he’s very good at doing that, especially for what he does and what fits his voice and what fits his style and brand. So, it’s been cool to kinda take some stuff outta his bag and put it in mine.”
Touring these smaller club venues has also given Morgan the chance to meet hundreds of new listeners and thank them for allowing him to pursue his dreams.
“It’s been a really fun tour. The coolest thing about doing this kind of a club tour is, you’re able to kind of, I guess, connect with people and spend time with them. At least for me, I know sometimes it’s hard for me to be out there for forever, but I love going out and just meeting people, hanging out at the merch table after the show, taking pictures and shaking people’s hands and just thanking them for allowing me to do this. I think it goes a long way. It goes a long way for me, too, on the other end of it because it’s like I always tell them, I’ve dug enough ditches in my life to not want to have to get back to it and I really appreciate that people take the time out of their day or their night to listen to my music.”
Morgan is next slated to open Smith from Nov. 21-23 with back-to-back shows across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. They will close out their run together with a final show in Nashville on December 5. In 2025, John Morgan will perform at a variety of festivals throughout the year as well as serving as a special guest on Chase Matthew’s World Tour.
The post John Morgan Dishes On New Song, ‘I Know Better,’ Touring With Nate Smith, And Building His Debut Album [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.
