The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Country star Brett Eldredge at Jacobs Pavilions
Rising country star Brett Eldredge has shown a gift for making hit songs
Brett Eldredge jumped at the opportunity to perform Dolly Parton’s and Kenny Rogers’ famous duet “Islands in the Stream” with pop singer Meghan Trainor for a recently aired episode of “CMT Crossroads.” ¶ “I’ve always loved that song,” said Eldredge, calling from Denver. “That’s one of those I wish I wrote. It’s just lyrically so good and timeless. I felt really good about our performance of it. ¶ “I thought it was a good tip of the hat, and we learned from the greatest, who performed it back in the day. We felt like we had a really cool moment with that song. I’m glad we got to do it.”
Over the past five years, the rising country star has enjoyed plenty of cool moments, beginning with his 2013 debut, “Bring You Back,” which included three chart-topping singles – the platinum-certified “Don’t Ya,” as well as the gold-certified “Beat of the Music” and “Mean to Me.”
Eldredge followed that up with his 2015 No. 1 album “Illinois” and its mega-hit singles “Drunk on Your Love” and “Lose My Mind.” Then, last year, he returned with a self-titled affair that was, naturally, a chart-topper, based on the success of hits “The Long Way” and “Somethin’ I’m Good At.”
“With this latest record, I just dove in and went much deeper into my artistry and my inspirations,” Eldredge said. “I introduced definitely more of my influences on this record, like with the song ‘The Reason,’ which was jazzy and the verses kind of swing going from a crooning vibe into a soulful chorus.
“The latest single, ‘Love Someone,’ kind of brings that feel-good vibe of songs like ‘Beat of the Music’ and ‘Drunk on Your Love.’”
The new album ends with “Castaway,” which Eldredge said speaks to the heart of the project.
“That’s a song I wanted to do because it was kind of everywhere I am in my relationship with love and just being really honest with that,” Eldredge said. “That’s a really powerful feeling. I’ve seen it a lot in my shows and hear a lot of people talk about it.
“That’s where I’ve been with love, falling in and out of it and trying to run away from it and trying to get it back and getting it stuck somewhere in between. I felt like I was a castaway, so that’s a powerful song.”
So, basically, Eldredge is all about the love.
“I am, man. It makes the world go around,” Eldredge laughed.
One of the reasons for his feel-good outlook can be tied to a visit to Cleveland two years ago to see his Chicago Cubs win their first World Series since 1908.
“Growing up a Cubs fan, I’ve been through a lot of years of losses,” Eldredge said. “But, I never had respect for another team like that of the Cleveland Indians. It was really interesting. You could tell everybody kind of felt like we’re all there together.
“Of course, we want our teams to win, but I have mad respect for the Indians and Cleveland. So I have no shame wearing a Cubbies hat around, but I hope Cleveland fans will still love me, too. I respect a deep-rooted sports town like Cleveland. I have nothing but love.”