Oklahoma native/Texas based Corey Kent releases his major label debut Blacktop today. The 10-track album features writing credits from Kent himself as well as Morgan Wallen, Ryan Hurd, Kelly Archer, Lydia Vaughan and more with production from Jay Joyce and Chris Farren. Listen to the album
here.
“I went to work for a pavement company when the world shut down,” says Kent. “I even recorded a few of the songs on Blacktop while I was still working there. So what better way to pay tribute to that industry and the folks that gave me an opportunity to provide for my family. I also called it Blacktop because that’s where we’ve spent the most time over the last few years pounding the pavement and playing club after club every weekend since Jan 2021. Blacktop pays tribute to where I’ve been, what we’ve been up to, and through, and where we are headed.”
Blacktop is an actual representation of various pieces of Kent’s life and the next evolution of his sound. With a better understanding of who he is as an artist, and as a man, the songs suggest more depth and substance than typical mainstream fare, showcasing key tenants of his life, while the production hits true to Kent’s live performance grit.
The album features Kent’s #1 US certified platinum debut single “Wild As Her” (Combustion Music/RCA Nashville). The track continues to stream consistently culminating in over 280 million on demand streams while the music video helped garner Kent the nomination for Breakthrough Male Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Awards. The album also features released tracks, “Man of the House,” “How You Know You Made It,” “Hood of that Car” and “Something’s Gonna Kill Me” and the deeply personal track “Once or Twice.” Watch the lyric video for “Once or Twice” here.
In celebration of the release, Kent will take the stage to a sold out crowd at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville with special guest Dylan Marlowe and end release week with a performance at the 50th Anniversary of CMA Music Festival. Later this summer, Kent will hit the road on Jason Aldean’s Highway Desperado Tour. Earlier this year, Kent kicked off 2023 joining Parker McCollum, played Tortuga Music Festival, made his debut at Stagecoach and played at C2C in the UK. For more information on the tour please visit: https://www.coreykentofficial.com/#tour.
Kent was named as a CMT Listen Up Artist for 2023, a Pandora Artist to Watch The Opry Next Stage Class of 2023, Sirius XM Class of 2022 and was nominated for an AIMP Nashville Country Awards for AIMP Rising Artist-Writer of the Year.
BLACKTOP Track List
1. Wild as Her (Kelly Archer/Brett Tyler/Morgan Wallen)
2. Long Story Short (Corey Kent/Lydia Vaughan)
3. Something’s Gonna Kill Me (Corey Kent/Austin Goodloe/Joybeth Taylor/Lydia Vaughan)
4. Man of the House (Corey Kent/Austin Goodloe/Joybeth Taylor/Lydia Vaughan)
5. Gone as You (Casey Brown/Matthew McGinn/Travis Wood)
6. BiC Flame (Corey Kent/Jack Hummel/Jon Sherwood)
7. Call It a Night (Aaron Eshuis/Ryan Hurd)
8. How You Know You Made It (Corey Kent/AJ Pruis/Smith Ahnquist)
9. Hood of That Car (Corey Kent/Blake Chaffin/Jack Hummel/Jacob Lutz)
10. Once or Twice (Corey Kent/Lee Miller)
About Corey Kent:
Corey Kent finds himself musically at the intersection of rock infused country, heartland values, and red dirt grit. Still in his 20’s, he built the foundation of a fanbase, has been developing his show for 15 years, and is now positioned as one of country music’s next breakout artists nationwide. Drawing inspiration from The Eagles, Keith Richards, Turnpike Troubadours and more, Kent strives to build an undeniable stage presence and his bandana-wearing Rock ‘N’ Roll spirit comes to life on the stage.
In 2020, Corey released his From the West LP (Combustion Music) which garnered 3.5+ million aggregate streams and set the stage for his next chapter. His song “Gold” and fan favorite “Ain’t My Day has nearly 15 million streams combined. In December of 2021, Corey released his sophomore album, ’21 (Combustion Music), to an overwhelmingly positive reception and landed on multiple playlists across the streaming platforms with his single “There’s Always Next Year.” March 4, 2022, Corey released his smash hit single “Wild As Her” and shortly after signed his deal with Sony Music Nashville and their RCA Nashville Imprint. Kent released two additional tracks in 2022, “Hood of That Car” and “How You Know You Made It” as well as his ’22 Tapes EP which was a collection of 4 songs that Kent wanted to share with his fans for their support all year long.
A road warrior, Corey has been seen out on the road performing over 100 shows a year in 2021 alone. Along with headlining his own shows and playing the top music festivals across the country, Corey has co-headlined dates with Bailey Zimmerman and been the supporting act for artists including Parker McCollum, Cody Johnson, Chase Rice, Eli Young, Josh Abbott, Flatland Cavalry, and Kolby Cooper. Corey also has major success writing songs for others including Kolby Cooper, Brandon Jenkins, Clark Green’s #1 hit “Hit You Where It Hurts” and more under his publishing deal with Combustion Music.
