Hunter Hayes Promises a New Album Is Coming This Year
Hunter Hayes celebrated Valentine's Day in a big way: debuting the final installment of his three-part mini movie, Pictures, at Nashville's Regal Cinemas. The screening included the airing of his previously released music videos "You Should Be Loved" and "More," as well as the conclusion of the storyline with the premiere of "This Girl."
In an interview on the red carpet ahead of the premiere, Hayes discussed his involvement in the concept of Pictures and shed some light on his forthcoming studio album, which he says is coming later this year.
"This is the most fun video we've ever done because I got to be involved," he tells Taste of Country. "I got to work with the writer, be on conference calls and emails, and go back and forth and really push the whole story to be everything we wanted it to be. What a fun process that was for me too, because I love writing and telling a story."
The music video series comes together as a short film and includes several recurring characters who are brought to life through dialogue, in addition to Hayes' songs being played throughout. The storyline is taken from the three paintings first shown in Hayes' video for "Rescue."
The final installment of "This Girl" was officially released online following Wednesday's (Feb. 14) premiere. "This Girl," as well as "You Should Be Loved" and "More," are currently available for streaming, but Hayes says the three new tracks won't necessarily be featured on his upcoming project.
"It's complicated," he says, pausing. "They're all out right now, they're all streaming and are all available. I don't know ... I kind of like the mystery of that."
While he remained mum on the track listing to his forthcoming project, he did say it will be released later this year and that the album has "a lot of emotions."
"I was hoping it would be at least as emotional as the debut record. Honestly, I can't compare this record to anything else," he explains. "I've never done anything like this. I've never written anything like the stuff on this album and there's topics that I've never covered before that I've been afraid to cover. Musically, there's some stuff we've tried that we've never tried before."
Adds Hayes: "I've learned that when I do crack the surface and break through the ice and show people the scars and the things underneath, we have a lot more to talk about together. Those moments are beautiful too — the hard times in life and the good times. Really letting people in is always a better conversation. The fans taught me that lesson. If anything, I'm trying to listen to what they've taught me and work with the faith that they've put in my hands."