As January 24 approaches, anticipation continues to build among fans for the release of Kane Brown‘s fourth studio album, The High Road. He’s previously teased a few of the unreleased songs but now the complete track is finally out, and it says a lot about what to expect from the project.
So, here’s what we know about The High Road so far.
Kane Brown Is Not Afraid To Push The Boundaries
Brown has experienced a boost of confidence and he’s ready to try his hand at pushing the envelope a bit more and expand his sound with genre-bending collaborations. So while we are still expecting to hear honky tonk anthems like the already released “Fiddle In the Band” and the traditional ‘90s country storytelling of “When You Forget,” there will also be notes of R&B and pop woven throughout.
He recently opened up to The Associated Press saying he’s “always been kind of nervous to push boundaries and do certain things. But I’ve been here for almost a decade now, so I needed to stop hiding and just do what I love to do. And country is always my number one.”
The result of shutting out the opinions of others and sticking to his gut is the creation of his “by far” his “favorite” album.
“This is by far my favorite album, from the sequencing to the songwriting to the different sounds. There’s definitely a song for everybody,” he continues. “My other albums, I always kind of, you know, cared what people thought about. And this album, we don’t… we gave our everything into the songs.”
More Star-Studded Collaborations Than Ever
In order to bring this 18-track collection of stories to life in an even bigger way, Brown tapped a mix of five artists to be featured, making for the most collaborations he’s ever had on a project.
Among the collaborations that go beyond the country scene are Khalid on “Rescue” and EDM giant Marshmello, who previously appeared on the Georgia native’s “One Thing Right,” on the chart-topping radio hit, “Miles On It.”
Then there’s the previously teased collaboration with Jelly Roll, “Haunted,” a tune centered around mental health that Brown penned while staying in a hotel in Manchester, England.
“It was this big hotel, and I had the suite, which was a bank vault. So, the bank vault was actually in my room and there were these, like, old paintings on the wall. And we wrote three or four songs that day and we couldn’t think of a song title. And I was like, ‘This is place is haunted,’” he recalls. “Let’s write a song called ‘Haunted,’ about depression and all that. So, I mean, it actually, it came out really quick and, you know, it’s meaningful to me. So hopefully it’ll be meaningful to a lot of other people.”
Jelly Roll’s entire career in country music has been built on his vulnerability to express himself and his willingness to bring awareness to topics of mental health. So it’s safe to say that the Antioch native was an easy choice to bring onto this track.
“That song is so him,” Brown told the outlet. “He didn’t think that I was going to release it, so he was trying to keep it for himself. So that told me that the song meant even more to him than what I thought it was going to mean.”
Two Tracks Recorded With His Wife, Katelyn
While we still have to wait a bit longer for these songs to drop, Brown was gracious enough to share a look inside the project with the release of “Fiddle In the Band,” “Backseat Driver,” “Miles On It” (featuring Marshmello), “I Can Feel It” and “Body Talk,” his first of two collaborations on the project with his wife, Katelyn.
The unveiling of the track list reveals that the lovebirds have come together in the studio for yet another duet, “Do Us Apart.” This track is slated to pull inspiration from Brown’s love for traditional country music and the power of a good duet.
“Our favorite duet to sing together is Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood’s ‘I Told You So,’ so we’ve always wanted to have that type of song,” he says.
Morgan Wallen And HARDY Credited As Songwriters
Along with all the featured voices we will hear across the record, Brown has assembled an impressive lineup of talented songwriters for The High Road as well. One of the tracks that includes especially impressive songwriting credits with two of the biggest acts in country music also happens to be his collaboration with Brad Paisley, “Things We Quit.”
Brown’s duet with Paisley was penned by Morgan Wallen and HARDY alongside two fellow hit-making songwriters, Josh Osborne and Jesse Frasure. He has previously teased it on social media and dubs it “a comedy country song.”
The entire album will officially be released January 24, giving fans the chance to experience Kane Brown’s journey of expanding his boundaries and driving home his creativity.
‘The High Road’ Track List:
1. “I Am”
2. “Fiddle In the Band”
3. “Backseat Driver”
4. “Miles On It” (featuring Marshmello)
5. “Says I Can”
6. “3”
7. “Rescue” (featuring Khalid)
8. “Haunted” (featuring Jelly Roll)
9. “Start A Fire”
10. “Body Talk” (featuring Katelyn Brown)
11. “Gorgeous”
12. “Beside Me”
13. “I Can Feel It”
14. “Things We Quit” (featuring Brad Paisley)
15. “Back Around”
16. “Stay”
17. “Do Us Apart” (featuring Katelyn Brown)
18. “When You Forget”
2025 Tour
Next spring, Kane Brown will launch The High Road Tour in support of the upcoming project. The trek kicks off on March 13, 2025, in San Diego, CA and features stops in 23 cities, including Portland, Montreal, Nashville, and more before wrapping in Gilford, NH on May 25. Scotty McCreery, Mitchell Tenpenny, Ashley Cooke and Dasha will serve as support.
He will also deliver a live performance at NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH airing Tuesday, Dec. 31at 8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT, 10:30 PM-1:30 AM, ET/PT on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+*.
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