Lady Antebellum Admits to ‘Some Healing’ Ahead of Release of Next Album

Lady Antebellum is back at radio with “What If I Never Get Over You,” the debut single from their upcoming seventh studio album. The record comes a little more than two years after their previous Heart Break, with Charles Kelley admitting that there was, indeed, a bit of heartbreak between projects.

“We really did have, there for a little moment, a tough time,” Kelley acknowledged. “We’ve got all these kids, all this responsibility, we’re all going through these changes and kind of having that moment of like, ‘Gosh man, have we accomplished everything we’re gonna accomplish?’ The three of us did some healing and got together, and got so close. We feel like we’ve finally been writing again from a really honest place.”

Lady Antebellum, which also includes Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, allowed themselves to be painfully honest in writing songs for their next set of tunes, choosing to be vulnerable and transparent in the songs they both wrote and recorded.

“There’s definitely some layers that people, when they hear this record, are gonna be like, ‘Wow,’” Kelley conceded. “There’s some deeper stuff in there, and even some dark stuff – things that we went through. And it just feels like a good refreshing time to get some new perspective. Let’s see where we can go, let’s take some chances. We don’t have to always be the biggest thing in the world but I want to rest my head and go, ‘Man, we put out something bold and took some chances and it really reacted.’”

“What If I Never Get Over You” is one that the trio didn’t write, but perfectly reflected what they had each already experienced.

“So, ‘What If I Never Get Over You’ is definitely about that feeling – I think right after you break up, there’s that moment that whether you were the one that did the breaking up or got broken up with, that you wonder if you’ll ever find that same connection and love,” Kelley said. “And I know I felt like that before. Before I met [my wife] Cassie, I had a longtime girlfriend, and I mean, it was years of feeling that, ‘Am I ever gonna find anyone like her? Was that the one?’

“I think that’s why it is kind of a universal message,” he added, “and that’s what this is about.”

Lady A might be well-versed in making records by now, but they promise their upcoming album will be unlike anything they have released so far.

“We’re bringing 10-plus more years of life into that process, so it’s familiar,” Scott explained. “It feels very familiar and cozy. I know that’s a funny word, but it does. It feels so comfortable, but it’s also fresh because we’re in the middle of talking about what it’s like to be parents of toddlers and my little girl starting Kindergarten.

“And, you know, we have babies that are keeping us up at night,” she added, “and so all those things that are working their way into the music as well.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Roger Kisby