Country star and the California Gurl
Country To Country Ovo Hydro, Glasgow, March 10-12
Thomas Rhett might be one of the most popular country stars in the world, but he thought there was no chance of Katy Perry even knowing who he was when his label suggested they work together.
The Nashville star, who has seen
17 of his 21 singles reach No 1 in the American country charts, says he’s been blown away by the collaboration with the superstar singer, whose hits include Firework, California Gurls and Roar.
“The song was recorded, mixed and mastered when my label suggested having someone feature on it, and I asked who they had in mind.When they said they’d sent it to Katy Perry’s camp, I was kind of shocked, because I didn’t think she would know anything about me,” explained 32-year-old Rhett.
“I’ve been a fan of Katy since I was a teenager, and when I heard she loved the song, I was floored that someone of her stature would like something I was a part of.We were FaceTiming while she was in the studio, working out the parts, and then we met when she came to Nashville and we recorded the video, which came out last week. I’m very excited for the world to see it.”
Despite being a Perry fan, he says he was blown away by her voice on the track, called Where We Started.
“I’ve always known she’s a fantastic singer but when she put her voice on a song I’d written and that we’re singing together on, well, good Lord, she’s one of the best singers of my time and I was almost in tears when I heard the mix for the first time. Her voice added so much flavour to the song and I’m very grateful to her for doing it, and for slaying it and crushing it.”
Rhett has released five albums in the past decade and his songs have accumulated 12 billion streams, with 9.6 million monthly Spotify plays. Variety described him as “the most reliable maker of No 1 singles in country music”.
He will headline the annual Country To Country event at the Hydro in Glasgow in March, as the festival celebrates its 10th year. He made his UK debut at C2C in 2016 and was taken aback by the reaction.
“The depth of knowledge of my back catalogue left me shocked,” the dad of four continued.“I have to re-learn a lot of songs that I thought no one cared about in America because all of a sudden they have a new life.
“This will be my sixth or seventh time in the UK.The first time I headlined my own shows we were playing to crowds of 200 some nights, 90 other nights, and you leave thinking maybe you suck, but the next time we went over it was crowds of 1,000.The best promotion is word of mouth.The more often artists come over there, the
bigger country will get, and in 10 years’ time I think playing in the UK will be like playing in North America, because there are so many fans of the music over there.
“It happens to be spring break when I’m over for Country To Country next year, so I’m bringing the family with me and we’ll be doing a lot of touring around. It’ll be a little bit of work but a whole lot of play.”
Rhett was born into the industry, as his dad is fellow country singersongwriter Rhett Atkins. But following in his father’s footsteps wasn’t a foregone conclusion.
“I loved watching him perform and write but I thought I’d be selling insurance or real estate after college like my buddies,” he added.“I was such a bad student because all I wanted to do was play my guitar around the bonfire. In college, I just wanted to write songs for other artists and remain behind the scenes, but as I got some cuts, it started to intrigue me to make a record and it was 10 years ago I signed a deal.
“I’m still flabbergasted to this day that I’m doing it to this level 10 years in, and I feel fortunate and blessed. There’s no cooler job in the world.”
Various venues, Aberdeenshire, today until October 30
To mark the 125th anniversary of Bram Stoker being inspired to write Dracula while at Slains Castle, as well as it being the centenary of the first vampire movie, the inaugural Festival Of Darkness stages screenings of vampire movies at locations around the county.
The festival is backed by Dacre Stoker, Bram’s great grand-nephew, and screenings include Nelly Rapp Monster Agent at Bennachie Leisure Centre in Insch today;The Lost Boys at the Arc Cinema in Peterhead on Friday; Let Me In, accompanied by a ghost tour, at Aden Country Park in Mintlaw; and Dracula at Port Erroll Public Hall in Cruden Bay next Sunday.