Country Music Songs You Need To Hear This Week Featuring Jordan Davis, Willow Avalon, Luke Grimes & More

Jordan Davis - Like God Intended

When Jordan Davis first tucked “Like God Intended” into the digital corners of his 2025 album Learn The Hard Way, it felt like a hidden track you stumbled upon at just the right moment, a sunbeam buried in a record that often wrestled with hard truths and harder lessons. Now, the Baton Rouge native is giving the song its full spotlight, officially releasing it as his next single, and the timing couldn’t be more divine. Spring has a way of softening sharp edges, and “Like God Intended” arrives with that same warm breeze energy. It’s buoyant without being breezy, joyful without tipping into saccharine. In other words, it’s Davis at his most effortless, a reminder that while he may have learned a thing or two the hard way, he knows exactly how to deliver a good time the easy way. Over the past few years, Davis has quietly cemented himself as one of Music Row’s most reliable hitmakers, a modern marvel who threads the needle between contemporary polish and country storytelling tradition. His smooth Louisiana drawl has always carried a sense of lived-in sincerity, but here, it glides. There’s a looseness to his delivery, a grin you can practically hear between the lines. In an era when country often leans into grit and grievance, “Like God Intended” feels like a conscious exhale. It doesn’t ignore life’s complications, Davis has written plenty about those, but it chooses joy anyway. And sometimes, that’s the boldest move an artist can make. As temperatures rise and playlists refresh, Jordan Davis is once again proving that he understands the assignment: give listeners something that feels good, sounds authentic, and sticks around long after the first spin. This one? It feels like it was meant to be.

Kassi Ashton & Parker McCollum – "Sounds Like Something I'd Say (Acoustic)"

Sometimes, the fans get it right before the industry does. After a swirl of viral clips and late-night singalongs lit up social feeds, Kassi Ashton and Parker McCollum have finally delivered what listeners were practically begging for: “Sounds Like Something I’d Say (Acoustic).” And in an era of over-polished releases and algorithm-chasing hooks, the stripped-back duet feels almost rebellious in its restraint. No bells. No whistles. Just two voices and a truth neither can quite outrun. The acoustic cut leans into the song’s bruised honesty, turning what could have been a radio-ready heartbreaker into something far more intimate. Close your eyes and you can almost see it: a dim booth, a flickering neon sign, two people who know better but don’t do better. It’s the sound of pride cracking at 1 a.m. The premise is painfully relatable, that moment of weakness when you wind up back in your lover’s arms after swearing you’d never say yes again. It’s not a grand romantic gesture. It’s not redemption. It’s relapse. And Ashton and McCollum don’t try to dress it up as anything else. Ashton’s smoky, unfiltered tone has always carried a defiant edge, but here it softens just enough to reveal the ache underneath. McCollum, long celebrated for his ability to make regret sound poetic, meets her line for line. Separately, the song fits both artists like a well-worn denim jacket. Together, it feels tailored. What makes the acoustic version so compelling isn’t just the harmony, it’s the tension. There’s a push and pull in the phrasing, a subtle suggestion that these two narrators aren’t just singing about each other, they’re singing to each other. The spaces between the lyrics do as much work as the words themselves.

And that’s the quiet magic here: the song does the heavy lifting. In a genre built on storytelling, “Sounds Like Something I’d Say (Acoustic)” thrives because it trusts the story. There’s no need for arena-sized production or layered instrumentation. The grit in their voices becomes the percussion. The shared sigh in the chorus becomes the hook.

It’s a reminder that sometimes the most powerful country songs don’t shout, they confess.

Luke Grimes - Haunted

There’s something about the quiet that lingers after love leaves. The way it creaks through the floorboards. The way it echoes in rooms that used to feel full. On his gripping new single “Haunted,” Luke Grimes doesn’t run from that silence, he settles into it. Clocking in at three minutes and nine seconds, “Haunted” is storytelling distilled to its purest form. It’s the second taste of Grimes’ forthcoming album Red Bird, due April 3, and if this track is any indication, the record may mark a defining chapter in his evolution as a recording artist. Best known to many as Kayce Dutton on Yellowstone, Grimes has been steadily carving out a lane in country music that feels unvarnished and deeply personal. With “Haunted,” he leans fully into that identity. The production is easygoing, acoustic-driven, unhurried, leaving space for reflection rather than spectacle. There are no grand crescendos here. No dramatic swells. Just the steady pulse of a man reckoning with what remains after the dust settles. And what remains are ghosts. There’s a lived-in quality to the songwriting that calls to mind the plainspoken poetry of John Prine, observational, restrained, and quietly devastating. Like Prine, Grimes understands that the smallest details often cut the deepest. He doesn’t oversell the emotion. He trusts it. That trust pays off. If this is Grimes embracing his ghosts, he’s doing so with clarity and confidence. And in the process, he may just be delivering the most compelling work of his music career yet. Some artists chase noise. On “Haunted,” Luke Grimes chooses the hush, and lets it speak volumes.

ERNEST - Boat Named After You

If memory had a soundtrack, ERNEST’s latest single, “Boat Named After You,” would be it, a four-minute cruise down winding roads of love lost and longing remembered. Written by Nashville heavyweights Nathan Chapman and Tony Lane, and produced by ERNEST himself alongside Jacob Durrett, the track is a sun-soaked anthem for anyone who’s ever felt the weight of a love that lingers long after the last goodbye. From the very first chord, listeners are swept into a breezy, top-down drive. ERNEST drifts through recollections of an old flame, his voice tinged with warmth and wistfulness, capturing that delicate balance between nostalgia and hope. He doesn’t just remember, he wonders: where are they now? And, more poignantly, how do those shared moments continue to ripple through his present? The brilliance of “Boat Named After You” lies in its simplicity. It’s a song that wears its heart on its sleeve, yet it’s crafted with the subtlety and polish that only seasoned Nashville songwriters can deliver. Chapman and Lane’s lyrics sail effortlessly atop Durrett and ERNEST’s sun-dappled production, creating a track that feels intimate, yet expansive, like a long summer drive with memories trailing in the rearview. In a musical landscape often crowded with fleeting trends, ERNEST reminds us why storytelling remains at country music’s core. “Boat Named After You” isn’t just a song, it’s a vessel, carrying listeners back to moments that shaped them, and forward with a bittersweet sense of wonder.

Ty Myers - Morning Comes

At just 18 years old, Ty Myers is already writing songs that feel lived-in, the kind that carry the weight of hard truths and harder goodbyes. This Friday, February 27, the breakout star returns with “Morning Comes,” a groovy, soul-soaked meditation on the kind of love that burns bright at midnight and fades with the sunrise. Recorded at the legendary FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals and produced by Brandon Hood, the track leans into the rich musical lineage of its surroundings while carving out a space that feels distinctly Myers. There’s something poetic about an 18-year-old cutting a song about emotional misalignment inside the same walls that once shaped generations of soul and Southern rock. But Myers isn’t chasing nostalgia, he’s chasing honesty. “Morning Comes” unfolds like the aftermath of a neon-lit night. Two people, one connection, two very different intentions. One heart reaching for something lasting. The other quietly guarding the exit. It’s a tale as old as time, but in Myers’ hands, it feels personal, almost uncomfortably so. His delivery is both gritty and tender, laced with the kind of stark self-awareness that’s becoming his calling card. Sonically, the track grooves with an easy, soulful sway. The rhythm section hums beneath him, warm and unhurried, while Myers’ vocal sits front and center, weathered beyond his years but never performative. There’s restraint in his phrasing, a subtle ache in the spaces between lines. He doesn’t oversell the heartbreak. He lets it simmer. At 18, most artists are still figuring out their voice. Myers sounds like he’s already found his, and it’s one that understands that sometimes the most honest thing you can say is goodbye before morning comes. With this release, Ty Myers isn’t just proving he can write a good song. He’s proving he can tell the truth, and in country music, that still matters most.

Trey Pendley - Podunk

Throughout Podunk, he experiments subtly with new sonic textures, allowing his distinctive voice to remain the anchor. There’s grit in it, but also warmth. A steadiness that suggests he knows exactly who he is as an artist, and isn’t chasing anyone else’s lane. That confidence may be the EP’s greatest strength. In a genre sometimes accused of forgetting its humble beginnings, Pendley remembers. He remembers the people who dwell in the margins, the lessons learned the hard way, the humor found in hardship. He writes for them. About them. As one of them. With Podunk, Trey Pendley isn’t asking for a seat at the table. He’s building his own, six songs at a time, and inviting the rest of country music to remember where it came from.

Read Our Full Review

Tyler Booth & Jamey Johnson - Clean Dirt

When Tyler Booth sings about redemption, it doesn’t sound like a sermon. It sounds like a confession whispered across a tailgate at dusk, honest, unvarnished, and a little road-worn. Today, the Kentucky native unveils “Clean Dirt,” a stirring new collaboration with Jamey Johnson that feels less like a duet and more like a passing of the torch. The track marks Booth’s debut release under his new joint venture with Average Joes Entertainment and Johnson’s Big Gassed Records, a partnership that signals Booth is digging his boots deeper into country music’s most traditional soil. And make no mistake: “Clean Dirt” is steeped in it. Booth’s steady baritone and Johnson’s granite-deep growl in a classic country arrangement that never overreaches, makes this song special. Steel guitar sighs in the distance. The rhythm section walks a deliberate line. Every note serves the message. And the message is heavy. “I read the good book when I can / But don’t make it every Sunday,” Booth sings in the opening verse, sketching a portrait of a man who knows where the straight and narrow is, and admits he doesn’t always stay on it. There’s no pretense here. No polished halo. Just a sinner owning his stains. “Clean Dirt” arrives as one of several spiritually charged cuts Booth has recorded for his upcoming full-length project, suggesting a body of work that won’t shy away from life’s harder questions. In an era where country music often leans glossy, Booth is choosing grit, and grace. There’s something fitting about a Kentucky singer teaming up with one of Alabama’s most steadfast traditionalists to sing about salvation. It feels rooted. Earnest. Real. With “Clean Dirt,” Tyler Booth isn’t just releasing a new single. He’s staking a claim, not in the polished pop-country landscape, but in the sacred, dusty ground where country music has always told its most honest stories.

Willow Avalon - Easy On The Eyes

Willow Avalon is back, and she hasn’t just returned, she’s arrived with a vengeance. “Easy On The Eyes,” her first solo release since last year’s debut album Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell, is a masterclass in timeless country storytelling. Avalon, already cemented as one of the genre’s most compelling new voices, delivers a track that feels both vintage and vividly modern. From the first note, Avalon’s voice transports listeners to the golden era of country, evoking the raw emotion of Loretta Lynn and the haunting beauty of Patsy Cline. It’s a sound that reminds you why the genre endures: storytelling that cuts straight to the heart. The song itself spins a tale as old as time, love, longing, and a cowboy who’s undeniably “easy on the eyes.” But Avalon doesn’t let the allure fool you. With each verse, the charm of the cowboy is balanced by heartbreak waiting just over the horizon, making it a song as bittersweet as it is irresistible. “Easy On The Eyes” isn’t just a new single, it’s a reminder that Avalon has the rare ability to blend classic country sensibilities with the sharp, emotional edge of today’s music. And if this track is any indication, her sophomore year as a solo artist is going to be one to watch.

Ben Chapman - Everything's Different

There’s a particular kind of Southern morning, the kind where the air is thick with memory and the coffee tastes stronger than usual and Ben Chapman bottles that feeling whole on his new single, “Everything’s Different.” With the release of the self-reflective track via Soundly Music, Chapman isn’t just kicking off a new year. He’s stepping into a new era, one that feels wiser, looser, and more lived-in. If modern Southern rock has been searching for a torchbearer who can honor its roots while carving something personal and present-tense, it may have just found him.

Written by Chapman alongside wife Meg McRee and Bryan Simpson, “Everything’s Different” unfolds like a front-porch confession. The song drifts in on jangling keys and a warm, resonant organ that hums beneath the surface like cicadas in July. Chapman’s fluid guitar lines, equal parts grit and grace, weave through the track with an unhurried confidence. Nothing feels forced. Nothing feels borrowed. Instead, it feels earned. “Everything’s Different” doesn’t wallow in nostalgia, though it nods respectfully in its direction. The production is steeped in ageless Southern rock textures, earthy organ swells, sunlit piano accents, and guitar tones that feel pulled straight from a well-worn vinyl collection, but Chapman’s perspective is unmistakably contemporary. He’s not trying to relive the past. He’s measuring it. And that’s what makes the song resonate. Modern Southern rock may have a new voice, but more importantly, it has a storyteller who knows that sometimes the biggest revelations come quietly, over coffee, when you realize everything’s changed… and maybe that’s exactly the point.

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