With Valentine’s Day coming up soon, it’s time for our annual round-up of stories about romance, relationships, Valentine’s Day, and love…or something like it. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
Cam’s nervousness about seeing an ex after a break-up that she felt she hadn’t handled well inspired a dream that led to her chart-topping hit, “Burning House.” (:17)
“I was gonna see an ex for the first time. I hadn’t seen him in a long time since we broke up, and I really wasn’t sure how it was gonna go. I was really nervous about it and tryin’ to plan the best way to sort of apologize and make amends, and I went to bed with all that on my mind and had this dream about this burning house.”
Kenny Chesney says that he’s very attracted to the kind of woman who embodies his song, “Wild Child.” (:54)
“I’m very attracted to women that are like that: that love hard, that they got a little bit of island soul to ’em, they got a little bit of hippie in ’em, and a whole lot of free spirit. And I guess, all my years in the islands, I just became attracted to that kind of person, you know, and met so many wonderful people from so many different parts of the world. And I think that whether they want to be a doctor, or whether they want to play music in Hawaii, or whether they want to grow a garden, or whether they want to surf around the world or bar tend in the islands, or whatever it is their passion is, that’s what drives them, and that’s what this song is about — and I think that’s a beautiful thing to see. You know, that’s one thing that I’m really attracted to in women when they see that, and they take it and run with it, and live their life to the fullest. You know, the person in this song is the ultimate free spirit also, which I have to admit I’m also a sucker for sometimes.”
Tyler Farr has found one of the keys to relationship happiness. (:21)
“I’ve learned a phrase with age that tends to work greatly. And that is: ‘Whatever you want, Honey.’ Key phrase for every man across the nation to learn, memorize, and say every chance possible. ‘Whatever you want, Honey.’ That’s all you gotta say.”
Tyler Farr says that there’s a lot of real (love) life in his smash, “A Guy Walks into a Bar.” (:36)
“The song is kind of sad, but it’s…you know, you don’t feel sad when you hear it or when you sing it. But it’s, you know, it’s kind of sad: it’s about a guy that is lookin’ for love and goes in a bar, and they’re in love for a while, and then it doesn’t work out, and then a guy walks into a bar, and he meets a girl, and it’s a ongoing…I mean, it’s real, it happens every night all over America. A guy walks in a bar and meets his girlfriend, and maybe they date for a month, maybe it’s a one-night stand, maybe it’s two days, a week, a year, maybe they get married and get divorced; it’s just real country music.”
Old Dominion got a little parental appreciation for their number-one debut single, “Break up with Him.” (:15)
Geoff: “Somebody came up, was like, ‘You’re in Old Dominion…that song — it totally worked; I broke up with him.’ And then her mom (laughs) was at the table next to her, or, you know, like, next to us at dinner, and she’s like, ‘I’m a fan, too. She needed to break up with that guy.'”
(band laughter)
Geoff: “I was like, ‘Alright, okay.'”
Matthew: “That’s awesome. Changin’ lives.”
Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey says that the band sees “Break up with Him” as about trying to make the right decision in a relationship. (:23)
“You know, sometimes people think it’s kind of a cheating song or somethin’, but we don’t really think so. We’ve actually met quite a few people that tell us that their relationship started that way or that our song kind of convinced ’em that maybe they were in the wrong relationship. So, we like to focus on the good side and think we’re helping people make the right decision instead of these poor guys gettin’ their hearts broke out there.” (laughs)
Brad Paisley says that being a parent inspires a minimalist approach to Valentine’s Day. (:07)
“Very simple. When you have kids, it is what it is. You know? You fight for every last minute together.”
Carrie Underwood remembers her worst experience on a date. (:49)
“The worst date I ever had was actually probably my first date ever. I was 16, and I was going out on a date with a guy that was a bit older. He might have been like 18. And he came in, and my dad actually had gotten out his shotguns earlier to start cleanin’ ’em. I don’t know why he decided to clean them right before my first date, but he did. Mom made him put ’em up, though. But my date gets there, and we go out, and he really just didn’t put that much thought into it. Like, we just went to the mall and were gonna watch a movie. But I was 16 and couldn’t get into any rated-R movies. So we ended up watching this horrible movie. We left like halfway through, and he took me home, and that was that. (laughs) Not a great first dating experience.”
Carrie Underwood says that, in some ways, her new song “Heartbeat” is really her story. (1:17)
“‘Heartbeat,’ is…it’s definitely in some ways, it’s me: it’s my story. It’s, you know…my husband and I are so lucky to be able to, like, go to so many events and things. And you know, we live our lives, like, in the public and around people, but I’m the kind of person I just want to be alone with him and be one on one. And I don’t typically do very many love songs, but ‘Heartbeat,’ when we were writing it, just, there was something so real about it. And it was like, you know, all that stuff’s great, hangin’ out with our friends is great, being around all these crowds and these people are, you know, it’s wonderful, but I just want you. And that’s all I need, and you know, we’re gonna drive out to where we can’t be touched. We can’t be touched by technology, and we can’t be interrupted, and it’s just gonna be the two of us. And it’s just something I feel like a lot of people will be able to relate to because we live in just this crazy, loud world where just so much stuff is flyin’ at us. Sometimes we just need to get back to what’s simple and what’s real.”
Chris Young warns that any future suitors for his young niece had better be on their guard. (:13)
“I dread the day that my niece starts dating, and I feel sorry for the little boy who tries to date her. It’s just gonna be…between me and my sister, my sister’s bad enough. And yeah, it’s gonna be fun.”
Chris Young recalls the funniest pick-up line he’s ever heard. (:23)
“This is not mine, but this is a buddy of mine, and I thought this was the funniest line I’ve ever heard — and he used it on a bartender one time, and it worked. He said…he walked up to her, he’s like, ‘Look, you’re pretty much the hottest woman in here, and I’m pretty much the least attractive guy. You’re my only shot at havin’ average-looking kids. Can I get your number?'” (laughs)
Chris Young laughs that he’s been permanently upstaged on Valentine’s Day. (:24)
“My favorite story about Valentine’s Day is everybody’s like, ‘So, what are you gonna do special?’ or, you know, kind of, ‘What do you have in your back pocket on Valentine’s Day?’ And I can never live up to my stepdad, because he asked my mom to marry him on Valentine’s Day, and then called us down from upstairs and asked me and my sister permission. So, pretty much anything I do, he made me look like a punk for the rest of my life (laughs) on Valentine’s Day.”
Chris Young says that he’s never resorted to song lyrics when he wanted to impress a woman — at least, not yet! (:36)
“I have never, ever, speaking to a girl, tried to pass off lyrics of a song as, like, what I wanted to say. Like, I honestly have never tried that. (laughs) I don’t even know if that would work. I mean, most girls are gonna be able to figure out that’s from a song, aren’t they? Maybe not; maybe I’m just missing out on a great opportunity that I have to totally make myself sound smarter and cooler than I actually am by using song lyrics. I’ll just go find songs that I’ve written already that haven’t come out and just have that shelved for when I need to say somethin’ that doesn’t sound moronic to a woman.”
Chris Young can see how a lot of people would relate to the feelings behind his three-week number-one smash, “I’m Comin’ Over.” (:13)
“Girl, guy, in a serious relationship now, not in a serious relationship, I just think there’s somethin’ about this song that everybody can kind of put themselves in. You might not be in that moment specifically right this minute, but you’ve probably been there.”