Tyler Rich’s long-awaited self-titled EP is out! The four-song project includes his hit single, “The Difference,” and three more tunes, penned by hit writers like Rhett Akins, Devin Dawson, the late Andrew Dorff and more.
“We released ’11:11′ as an advanced EP track,” Rich tells PopCulture.com. “And then a song called ‘Adrenaline’ and a song called ‘Take It Or Leave It.’ Basically, they were the first few we recorded for the album, and then the label decided, ‘Well, we’re just going to put those first few together and make it an EP and get something out for the fans.’ I was like, ‘Thank God.’”
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Rich, who co-wrote both “Adrenaline” and “Take It or Leave It” from the record, admitted it was hard to narrow down all the songs he had written to just four tracks.
“There’s so many themes that you sing about, right? There’s party songs, breakup songs, love songs, so you have all these songs going,” Rich remarks. “I might have five favorite songs out of the hundred I wrote last year, but all five of those might be love songs, which means I probably only get to get two of them for the album.”
The California native revealed there is at least one song that he really wanted on the album, but didn’t make it — at least not so far.
“When we recorded the first four, we were picking a breakup song,” Rich recalls. “I had written a breakup song that the whole label loved. Everybody was pumped about it, but to me it wasn’t me. It’s rough, and it’s hard.
“The more I think about it, the more I’m talking about it, it is hard,” he continues. “Especially with the ones I’ve written. I definitely wrote at least 100 songs last year for the album, and I’ve only written three songs this year because I’ve been home maybe nine days. Radio touring makes me crazy. But out of 100, I’m emotionally attached to a lot of them, and then we’ve probably been pitched about 300 outside songs by the best songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee.”
Rich enjoys the craft of songwriting as much as he does singing. But unlike other artists, the rising star doesn’t feel like he needs to write all of his own music.
“You’ve got to listen with an open ear because as a songwriter, you obviously have an ego that you want to record your own music,” he concedes. “But I also want to be a successful musician, and if an incredible songwriter sends me an incredible song, I’d be stupid not to consider it. I start to listen to them, and if it’s a hit, it’s a hit. That’s the mentality that I’m going with right now. Now you’ve got about 300 pitches, 100 songs I wrote, 400 songs in a pile, then you choose your favorites.”
Rich doesn’t know when he’ll release his first full-length record, but he promises no one is more eager than he is share even more music with his fans.
“I’m excited to get back in, and the new stuff I’ve been writing, I’m obviously excited about,” Rich says. “Songwriters I guess always love the things they wrote last the most, but there’s a couple brand new ones that I think are special that have to make the cut.”
To purchase Tyler Rich, visit his website.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Bryan Steffy
