Gretchen Wilson is doing a duets record, joined by some of country music’s biggest stars. The singer-songwriter is releasing another version of her freshman Here For The Party album, singing almost all of the tracks with some of her famous friends.
“I decided to rerecord the first album, and do it all as duets,” Wilson tells Country Now. “Every song on there, except for ‘Pocahontas Proud.’ That one’s a little too personal. I couldn’t imagine asking someone else to sing that they’re from Pocahontas, when I don’t even really want to sing that. But I’ve got a big lineup of different people.”
Wilson reveals that Travis Tritt joins her on “Holding You.” Other artists appearing on Wilson’s new project include Ashley McBryde, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, and Cody Johnson.
“Some of these songs, now doing them in a duet form, I don’t know how we didn’t think of this years ago,” Wilson adds.
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What Gretchen Wilson Says About Her New Album
This isn’t the first time Wilson has talked about doing a duets project. Last year, the Illinois native shared her plans of doing a record of collaborations.
“It’s going to be the very first album with all of the big hits that everybody knows on it. But what’s different is I’m going to have a guest artist on each song,” Wilson told People. “I can’t tell you who yet, but definitely some big names and some that are very, very right now and some that are just my favorites from yesteryear.”
Wilson may have never thought of doing a record of duets, if not for her time on The Road, working as a tour manager for the aspiring singers.
“Watching the fire and just the want in these kids… These contestants were all so very talented and just amazing to work with,” Wilson says. “They lit a bit of a fire in me.”
Gretchen Wilson Wins ‘The Masked Singer’
It’s been 22 years since Wilson’s Here For The Party album was released, but she still remains one of country music’s best vocalists. In 2025, Wilson won Season 13 of FOX’s The Masked Singer.
“I decided to try my hand at The Masked Singer because I wanted to see just how far I would be able to take myself,” Wilson said after her monumental win. “For the first couple of performances, I was very nervous, shaking, heart was beating really fast. But after I started getting comfortable, I realized that I could do anything back there.”
Like plenty of other artists, Wilson got her start by singing in local bars, unaware that those early years would ultimately lead her to winning The Masked Singer.
“When you’re in a bar band playing covers, people gauge whether you’re good or not by how much you sound like the record,” the 51-year-old reflects. “And so, I basically crafted my voice from song to song, to sound as much like the artist I was doing. So, maybe that was a pretty good leg up for me in this competition … I had no idea that I was preparing for The Masked Singer all these years.”
Photo Credit: CMA