Thomas Rhett’s 7th studio album, About a Woman, has arrived and the singer-songwriter is taking fans into its depths with Audacy’s On The Record special. Listen in as Thomas takes us behind the scenes of the 14-tracks revealing the stories, inspiration and meaning behind the songs.

“I wrote this record about one woman, which is my wife [Lauren],” he said of the project. “A lot of the songs on this record kind of take you back through the history of our relationship from high school to now, to the future. My main goal was to make it fun and make it something that I felt represented my live shows well.”

The 34-year-old sets that mood perfectly with the opening song, “Fool,” which appropriately sits at track one being one of the first he wrote for the album. “I wanted a song that felt very ear-wormy that my kids could immediately know how to sing,” he shared. “This song is about being kind of young, dumb, and in love and being willing to do just about anything to be able to date the person that you like. For me, I go back a little to my younger years of just being head over heels for my wife and this is a fun song that I think you’re going to love.”

As promised, Rhett covers the many stages of love through the 14-track playlist, including what he would deem the soundtrack to he and Lauren’s love story with the song, “Church.” “I grew up being a massive Eric Church fan, so did my wife, and I feel like we kind of fell in love to his music,” Rhett said before stating this song is Lauren’s favorite of the entire album. “The song has a lot of different, old Eric Church song titles that kind of describe the story of this girl taking you to Church.”

From falling in love at Eric Church shows to now raising four daughters of their own, The Akins have weathered a lot in their 12 years of marriage, and while TR had a blast reliving some of his favorite moments from their story, he also made sure to capture exactly where they are today. Their present day love is represented by the song, “After All The Bars Are Closed,” an ode to spending more time together as their kids gain more independence.

“Our kids are older, we’re starting to go on date nights more, we’re starting to kind of get back to our younger selves,” he shared of the inspiration behind the tune. “The song is basically about when the night is over, the night doesn’t have to be over. It kind of takes you through just a random evening of bars are closed, but our night is just now getting going.”

While every song is inspired by the deep love TR feels, not every track reads autobiographical with the lyrics, some capture the love in the way it makes the listener feel. Example, “Gone Country,” a up-beat tune about falling in love with the way Country makes you feel — a concept Rhett captured interacting with travelers at Nashville’s BNA Airport.

“This concept honestly came from me being at the Nashville airport and seeing how many different people were coming into Nashville — not just from North America, but from Canada, Australia, the U.K., everywhere,” he shared. “I asked them where they were going and immediately, they said, ‘We’re going to Boot Barn - gonna get some boots, then we’re going to get a cowboy hat and we are going to visit every Country music artists’ bar in Nashville.”

The interaction fueled reflection for the Georgia native, who has always has pride in his roots and is proud to see others embracing the Country spirit. “Obviously, I have loved Country music for forever, but I feel like Country music is having this global moment and I feel like when people get one little dose of the culture and the lifestyle of being Country, they kind of don’t really ever want to go back to how they used to live.”

With an album as personal as this, Rhett sits as a songwriter on 12 of the 14 tracks, and according to him — it’s pretty easy to figure one he didn’t write based off the subject matter alone. “‘Country for California’ was one of the two songs I didn’t write on this record,” he shared. “My buddy John Morgan wrote this track and he sent this to me… It’s one of the few heartbreak songs on the record and I don’t do heartbreak very well, so praise God for songwriters who are willing to send me those type of songs,” he laughed. “I don’t know what it was about it, it took me to a place in time, it took me to like I was driving up the PCH [Pacific Coast Highway] listening to an old Eagles album and I just loved the hook of this song.”

No surprise the second song Rhett didn’t write is also a heartbreak tune — this one written by pal, Ryan Hurd. The song stands out big time as it featured an ode to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” which Rhett says makes him “want to jump through a brick wall” (in a good way).

“[Ryan] sent me this song and he said… ‘No idea if it’s going to work for you but I just wanted you to hear it.’ Just the subtle Whitney Houston ode in the chorus made me roll all my freakin’ windows down and scream this chorus,” Rhett recalled. “I just knew that it had to be on this project for no in particular reason except that chorus - the makes me want to jump through a brick wall.”

A Thomas Rhett album wouldn’t be complete without his signature love ballad, and that’s exactly what he gives fans with track 14 — as he wraps things up with, “I Could Spend Forever Loving You.” “I feel like if you’ve listened to my music in the past, you know that my records always contain at least one song that feels like this — a sweet love ballad, a timeless kind of song about my relationship with my wife,” he expressed. “I just kind of thought, ‘what better way to end this record than with a classic love song?’”

No better way if you ask us. The song ties the perfect bow on a cohesive, fun-loving, “bangers only” album that Rhett should feel proud gifting his fans. Hear more stories behind the songs, creative process and recording of About a Woman by checking out Thomas Rhett’s full episode of On the Record with Audacy above and be sure to check out About a Woman, available now.

Words by Monica Rivera