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Lady Antebellum’s fifth album is almost ready for takeoff: “747” is due Sept. 30 via Capitol Records Nashville. The set is preceded by fast-rising lead single “Bartender,” which bullets to No. 36 on the Hot 100 this week and No. 5 on Hot Country Songs, and the band recently previewed album-opener “Long Stretch Of Love,” which made its debut in a new commercial for Samsung’s Milk Music streaming radio service.
In a statement, Lady A’s Hillary Scott said the band “knew unanimously” that the album had to be called “747,” sharing its name with a key song on the album. “The track itself has this pushing, driving spirit about it that sums up our attitude right now. We are pushing ourselves as a band and as songwriters…taking ourselves out of our comfort zone and not taking ourselves too seriously. There’s an urgency and an energy to it that we’ve never released before.” Sources close to the band say talks are already underway for a potential airline partner to further bring the album’s title to life. The band is no stranger to teaming up with brands for extensive partnerships, from a 2013 program with Citi around the launch of fourth album “Golden” to a 2012 TV campaign and tour sponsorship with Lipton.
Watch Kate Upton in Lady Antebellum’s ‘Bartender’ Video
This is the band’s first album with co-producer Nathan Chapman, having worked previously with Paul Worley (Dixie Chicks). The album reunites the band with longtime songwriting partner Josh Kear, who co-penned Lady A’s breakout 2010 hit “Need You Now,” as well as Kacey Musgraves’ cohorts Luke Laird and Shane McAnally, who co-wrote 2013 hit “Downtown” and contributed to three songs between the two of them. New collaborators include country duo The Warren Brothers and songwriters like Rodney Clawson (who co-penned “Bartender”), producer Chapman’s wife Stephanie (she co-wrote “Down South” with Christian Rada and Dave Thomson) and singer-songwriter Ben Rector (he co-penned “She Is” with Jeff Pardo).
“We are so ready to get this music out,” added Lady A’s Charles Kelley. “To get the reaction we’ve gotten from ‘Bartender’ has only made us more fired up about the rest of these songs!”
“We had the opportunity to write with some new songwriters and really dig for outside songs that were songs we wish we’d written,” says Dave Haywood. “As we took them into the studio, we changed our approach and challenged ourselves to try some new things that were outside of what we’d done before.”
The band is currently halfway through its 80-city Take Me Downtown Tour, which next makes stops at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot, N.D. (July 18), Cheyenne, Wyoming (July 19), the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles (July 22), the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana (July 24) and the Ohio State Fair in Columbus (July 25).
“747” track list:
?1. “Long Stretch of Love?” (Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Josh Kear)??
2. “Bartender” ?(Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Rodney Clawson)??
3. “Lie With Me”? (Marc Beeson, Abe Stoklasa)??
4. “Freestyle” ?(Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Shane McAnally)??
5. “Down South” ?(Stephanie Chapman, Christian Rada, Dave Thomson)??
6. “One Great Mystery”? (Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Josh Kear)??
7. “Sounded Good at the Time” ?(Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)??
8. “She Is?” (Ben Rector, Jeff Pardo)??
9. “Damn You Seventeen” ?(Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)??
10. “747?” (Gordie Sampson, Caitlyn Smith, Cary Barlowe)??
11. “Just a Girl”? (Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Shane McAnally)