Matt Stell Wants to Put a ‘New Spin’ on Heartbreak With New Single ‘That Ain’t Me No More’ (Exclusive)

Matt Stell recently surprised fans with the release of his new single “That Ain’t Me No More,” giving fans the first new music from the “Prayed for You” singer since his October EP, Better Than That. “That Ain’t Me No More” is told from the perspective of someone who got their act together after a breakup, only to find that their ex has already moved on.

“It does so much of what I love that songs do,” Stell told PopCulture.com. “It’s kind of a classic subject matter, but it’s a new spin on it, it sounds cool, it’s got a lot of energy, it’s heavy in a lot of ways, the melody works and then the lyric really pays off the way how my favorite country songs do. To me, it was just out of the park song and I was very proud to be the guy that I get to get to record it.”

“She’s tellin’ everybody that she’s in / A better place than she’s ever been,” Stell sings. “There’s a name she thanks the good Lord for / But that ain’t me no more.” The song continues to use its titular phrase as a contrast to the ex in question’s current situation, wordplay Stell appreciates. “That’s something in country music that I think is very distinct for the form, for the genre, is sort of that lyric turn in that way,” Stell reflected. “That’s really one of my favorite parts of country music, so anytime I can do that, I try to do that as much as I can and whenever I hear it done in such a great way like that, I want to be a part of it.”

While he didn’t write the song, the Arkansas native had no trouble relating to its lyrics. “I’ve had plenty of experience getting my heart broken in all manner of ways, so I’ll let any of these kinds of songs are always cool to me,” he said. “That being said, even in my happiest moments, I still love songs that, I don’t know if you’d say sad songs, but heavier songs and even sad songs. I have lived this, it’s not current mood necessarily, but I’ve definitely been there and those songs about stuff that you can relate to like that is really something that’s special to me.”

“That Ain’t Me No More” was written by Hunter Phelps, Smith Ahnquist, Jake Mitchell, Nick Donley and Hardy, the latter of whom joined Stell as one of Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces this year. “I’m a huge Hardy fan, he’s a good dude and one of the most talented guys we have in town,” Stell said, sharing that Hardy “texted me kind of out of the blue about cutting outside songs and I was like, ‘Yeah, man,’ and he sent me over what’s now my single, just me, and he wrote it with a handful of other guys, super talented, and so I’m a huge fan of him and what he does.”

Stell co-wrote his first two singles, “Prayed for You” and “Everywhere But On,” both of which went No. 1. Despite that success, the 36-year-old remains adamant that for him, the best song wins. “I’m always going to pick the best songs, hopefully, what I think are the best songs,” he said. “Hopefully I write a few of them and I know that there’s so many people in this town and every day that there’s going to be a lot of great stuff out there. I just keep my antenna up because I love songs.”