On Friday, January 14, 2022, Nick Carter made the big announcement that his next single, “Easy,” would be released just in time for Valentine’s Day on February 11, 2022.
The song, produced by Vic “BillboardKiller” Martin and Vinny Venditto during some of Nick’s Vegas recording sessions, also features one of country music’s brightest stars, Jimmie Allen.
For those that don’t know who Jimmie Allen is, let us give you a little background.
Jimmie Allen is the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards New Male Vocalist of the year and the 2021 Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year. He’s also nominated at the 2022 Grammy Awards for “Best New Artist.”
Jimmie has been making a name for himself in country music for a while, having moved there in the late 00’s. Before his record and publishing deals, he auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” and “American Idol,” but did not make it.
Some of his hit songs include “Make Me Want To,” “Freedom Was a Highway (with Brad Paisley),” “Best Shot” and “This Is Us (with Noah Cyrus).
He’s also been breaking records in the usual white-dominating country music genre.
When “Best Shot” went number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in November 2018, it made him the first Black artist to send his debut single to the top of that chart. His second single, “Make Me Want To” also went to number one on the chart.
His win at the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards made him the first Black solo performer to win the New Male Artist of the Year award.
The man is kicking down doors in country music and it’s ABOUT. DAMN. TIME.
My Thoughts
This is a great move for Nick. I have wanted him to do something country for YEARS, so when Backstreet Boys did “God, Your Mama and Me” with Florida Georgia Line, I was ecstatic. While I’m not crazy about a lot of the new country artists, I like Jimmie. His music reminds me a lot of Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt, but with his own twist.
Why is this a great move? Not only is Jimmie established now in country music, it could break Nick more into the genre than he already was with the FGL song. Country music isn’t “yee-haws” and “I lost my dog, pick-up truck and girlfriend in the same day” anymore. Thanks to people like Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Taylor Swift (among others), there’s more pop involved in the genre now.
Why? Because it’s what the artists grew up with. For instance, Thomas Rhett grew up liking *NSYNC (I’ll overlook that tidbit), but these artists grew up with what we grew up with. This is great for Nick because he IS one of these artists they grew up with and his voice is so versatile. He can sing pop, he can sing R&B, he can sing rock and the boy can sing country.
