Morgan Evans Writes ‘Deeper’ Love Songs After Marrying Kelsea Ballerini

Morgan Evans was already an established songwriter by the time he began working on his upcoming freshman album, but he admits his songwriting has changed in recent years. The Australia native married fellow singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini last December, and says his new relationship status has had a positive impact on every area of his life, including how he writes songs.

“There’s obviously different perspectives on love,” Evans tells Billboard. “It’s less about meeting the girl and trying to impress the girl – I guess it’s a little deeper. I’ll have to see what comes out and tell you after I’ve written a few more songs, but wife’s definitely great and married life is treating us both well.”

Evans’ debut single, “Kiss Somebody,” from his new album was inspired by a friend of his, who was struggling getting over an ex-girlfriend. But Evans says there will be plenty of songs on the new set of tunes that give glimpses into his personal life as well.

“There’s a lot of songs on there that tell the story of my last couple years, and that’s obviously meeting a girl and getting married,” Evans reveals. “It’s also moving to the other side of the world and trying to chase down some crazy dreams — and, you know, the loneliness that comes along with that. Finding different parts of yourself that comes along with that.

“And also, I lost someone really close to me last year, as well, too, so there’s a song that talks about that,” he adds. “There’s a whole lot of stuff on there that hopefully people can discover when it comes out.”

Still, it’s “Kiss Somebody” that became the cornerstone for the rest of the project, setting the bar for how Evans wanted the rest of the album to sound.

“It just had all the elements that I wanted to have in the music I was making, and I think that was the first time we cracked the code on what that was gonna be,” Evans explains. “In the past I’ve tried to write things too high or too low or you know, or too country or not country enough. And ‘Kiss Somebody’ kind of just had the perfect spot of where I sound honest, I’m telling a story and not trying too hard.

“I moved to Nashville with just an acoustic guitar,” he continues. “Having a band for so long and then moving over with an acoustic guitar, that was a big shift. To be able to find a sound that was sort of defined by that acoustic guitar that I brought over, was a big deal to me.”

Evans has already teased a few other songs from his next record, including “I Do” and “American.” Download his songs on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Jeff Kravitz