Thomas Rhett impacts hearts and ears with latest album, an ode about twists, turns

Ryan Boyd

Antelope Staff

As country music slowly swerves into the pop and hip-hop lane, many artists are finding themselves adapting with the times. One such artist is Thomas Rhett, a man who has become a music sensation because of his small-town roots mixed with today’s music flavor.

Rhett’ album, “Life Changes,” became the first No. 1 country album in 2017 on the Billboard 200. The album released on Sept. 8 and has built a lot of momentum in just two months.

This constant dedication has made the Rhetts a goal for all relationships across the nation.

Rhett is a unique artist as most of his music is written for his wife, Lauren Rhett.

At the beginning of his music career back in 2012, Rhett wrote “Something to Do with My Hands,” and it was a hit on the radio.  However, it wasn’t a very big hit with his wife. Lauren had started to ask for different songs from Rhett, and he says his career started to take off when he listened to her. Rather than just have a song that people would tap their feet to, Rhett started making music to tell the public just how much he loved his wife.

In 2015, according to multiple radio interviews, Lauren asked for a song that was like “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw. Rhett had put pen to paper and wrote “Die a Happy Man” which had become such a hit he wasn’t prepared for the changes that awaited both he and Lauren.

Rhett’s biggest hit became his next inspiration for the title song of “Life Changes.”

In the song, Rhett goes on about how he was just writing down songs on a notepad in college and never expected success, but now those same songs are sitting on shelves in Wal-Mart.

“Life Changes”is an ode for this generation about how quickly plans change because of the unexpected twists and turns that life brings, such as getting married at age 22. 

Jumping ahead five years, the couple has expanded their family with daughters Willa Gray and Ada James.

Rhett and his wife will only continue to be “couple goals” on social media while he is consistently creating music that she approves of.

“Unforgettable” quickly became the biggest hit of the new album based on Spotify numbers with 42,980,420 listens, and it was just Rhett retelling nights early on in his relationship with his wife.

Another highlight of the album is “Sweetheart,” which is Rhett’s take on all that his wife is to him. There was only one of her created and he’s so grateful she exists. The song is played in a do-wop style that people of many ages could enjoy. The lyrics and relevance can connect with Rhett’s peers while the instrumentals could almost put the listener in a trance that would place them in the 60s and 70s.

While Rhett has been veering away from his old school country roots, it’s important for fans of country to realize that, in music, it should be the lyrics and the meanings behind them that are given analysis, not the sounds being made behind those words.