Lonestar Admits Frustration That Fans Prefer Old Music to New (Exclusive)

It’s been a few years since Lonestar released a new set of tunes, but fans clamoring for those might have to wait just a little bit longer. The band, made up of Richie McDonald, Dean Sams, Michael Britt and Keech Rainwater, will head back into the studio to record new versions of their 10 No. 1 hits, including “Amazed” and “I’m Already There,” in response to fan demand.

“We’ve tried making albums of new songs, but I think when people go to a Lonestar show, they really want to hear the hits,” Sams told PopCulture.com. “So we thought what better way to give them what they want. But we’ve also been playing these songs for 20 years. So we’re trying to do something a little different with them, but at the same time not screw them up and make them where they’re unrecognizable. It’s fun for us. We get to come out with new things, but the fans are very familiar with the songs already.”

Lonestar’s first album was released in 1995, and set of a series of successes over the next decade, with their third album, Lonely Grill, released in 1999, selling more than three million copies. After McDonald left the band in 2007 to pursue a solo career, Lonestar released Party Heard Around the World, followed by both Life As We Know It and Never Enders after McDonald returned. None of the albums produced a hit single, which led Lonestar to return to the music that fans wanted most.

“It’s frustrating,” Sams acknowledged. “I’ll say it’s frustrating for me. I mean I love when we’ve gone in. When Richie first came back to the band; it’s well written now that Richie left the band for five years. And when he first came back, we did two albums that I thought were amazing. Loved both of those albums. Great records and had great songs on it. The guys were kind enough to let me produce it and I think it turned out well in spite of that.

“It’s just two records that we thought were just going to hit and be amazing,” he continued. “And nobody really received it but like we wanted them to. So we’ve learned from that and just decided they want to hear our hits. So we’re going to go back in and record these number ones we’ve been singing for years and years and years. Put a fresh coat of paint on them and release it that way.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Gustavo Caballero