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Brantley Gilbert began his career 15 years ago as a songwriter. Now, even with five No. 1 singles as an artist (and two additional as a writer) and three chart-topping albums, the Georgia native still considers himself a songwriter first and foremost, and it’s that approach that brought So Help Me God (Deluxe Edition) to life. Set for release April 21 via The Valory Music Co., the project showcases Gilbert’s medley of influences alongside a wide cast of collaborators.
“We’ve always been a little outside of the box when it comes to writing and recording,” shares Gilbert. “It’s not necessarily something we’ve done on purpose, but it tends to happen because we always try to serve the song as it takes shape rather than shaping the song to serve us.
“If a song is asking for a harder edge, let’s do that. If it feels a little more introspective, let’s lean into that. This album intersects across a lot of different genres, and we’re proud to say that it’s something that happened naturally,” he explains.
So Help Me God (Deluxe Edition) acts as the next chapter in Gilbert’s life as he cowrote all 15 tracks on the project, including current chart-climbing single “Heaven By Then” with Blake Shelton featuring Vince Gill, giving the song perspective “from three different generations of country music,” Billboard observes, while noting the track is “capturing the reluctance often applied to change.”
Building upon the 10 songs released last year, So Help Me God (Delxue Edition) features five new tracks, including “Behind The Times,” cowritten with Jake Mitchell, Randy Montana and Taylor Phillips, that expands on his current single, detailing some of the parts of rural life that can often feel as though they’re quickly disappearing in this fast-paced world, while “Wrote The Book Around Here” broadens the view of Gilbert’s hometown in previously released “Miles Of Memories,” recounting some of his own antics as a young man and how there are some things in this world, and a small town, that never change.
Earlier this week, Gilbert revealed four new RIAA certifications: “Bottoms Up” is now 6X Platinum while “One Hell Of An Amen,” “The Weekend” and “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” are now 2X Platinum, joining additional 2X Platinum songs “Kick It In The Sticks” and “Country Must Be Country Wide,” along with Platinum-certified “What Happens In A Small Town” featuring Lindsay Ell.
