Drake White on Upcoming New Album: ‘I Have to Be Vulnerable’

Drake White’s freshman Spark album, released in 2016, lit a fire in him to be as authentic as possible, for himself and for his fans. As White gets ready to release his sophomore album later this year, the Alabama native says he wants to be even more open and honest with each song on the new record.

“I’m a perfectionist, but I also understand I have to be vulnerable and get those feelings out there,” White shared with PopCulture.com at a recent media event. “I have to be vulnerable in exactly what I want to push out. To have people that just are moved by the music, media, inside the media or not, if you write your heart and your guts and you lay them on the table, and you’re really honest, I found that it doesn’t matter if it’s media, or the girl you’re trying to get with, or the person that you’re trying to impress. People gravitate towards that realness. They gravitate towards somebody that says, ‘Hey, I’m not having a good day today.’”

White, who has already recorded five or six songs, struggles not only by the time-consuming process of making an album, but also by his own limitations in wanting to be as painfully transparent as possible.

“I’ve bought a punching bag and a set of weights that sits in my garage,” reveals White. “I punch that punching bag until it’s almost worn out because of the frustrations that I’ve went through making music and playing music. You know what? I’m worth it. I’ve put that weight on my back, and I’ve accepted that this is what God put me on this earth to do. It doesn’t matter if it takes me five years or 50 years or if I get a hit tomorrow. I’m going to go out there, and I’m going to be the man that my band knows that I am, and my fans know that I am, and that my wife and my family knows that I am.”

Like any artist, White would love more commercial success on his sophomore record, following the three Top 40 singles on Spark (including “Livin’ the Dream,” which landed in the Top 5). But, White insists that isn’t how he will ultimately measure his success.

“We’re going to turn around, and it’s going to be 30 or 40 years gone by,” says White. “There’s going to be lives touched, and we’re going to be musicians the rest of our lives, no matter what happens. Yeah, hits are great. Success is great, but put your boots on and keep walking. It’s a great thing.”

Photo Credit: Instagram/DrakeWhiteStomp