Surprise! Thomas Rhett just dropped a brand-new song, “Angels Don’t Always Have Wings.” The song, from his latest Where We Started album, was written by Rhett, along with Julian Bunetta, Jaten Dimsdale and Josh Thompson, and inspired by his wife, Lauren Akins.
“This is my favorite song from the album. I wrote it from a personal perspective, but I think it will resonate with a lot of people,” Rhett says. “It’s about how none of us are perfect, and how lucky we are to have those people in our lives who show up and love us despite our flaws. I often look at my wife and think she’s truly an angel, for the love and grace she shows me every single day.”
It’s fitting that Rhett honors Akins in his new song, since he recently revealed that his entire focus had changed over the last couple of years, with his career now taking a distant second to his first priority: his family.
“The last couple years to me was more of a rearranging of priority, if you will,” Rhett tells BMLG. “Not that certain things aren’t still important, but I think I put so much stock in just winning at all costs. And when you look back at what it did cost you, it cost you time away. Now that my family is so big, that is the number one. There is nothing that trumps that.”
Rhett isn’t giving up on music, of course. In fact, with his new mindset, the 32-year-old believes he can be the best father, husband and artist with his priorities in order.
“I think for me it was like, ‘How can I be excellent at this, and excellent at this, and excellent at this?’” he reflects. “And to me, it’s just finding those moments of like, ‘Okay, today I’m in a music brain, and today I will give music everything that I have. Today I’m in dad brain and I will give [being a dad] everything that I have.’ If it weren’t for the last couple years, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to realize some of that stuff.”
“Angels Don’t Always Have Wings” follows Rhett’s 20th No. 1 hit, with “Half of Me,” his duet with Riley Green.
“20 number ones in ten years is mind-blowing,” Rhett said of the achievement. “The support since 2012 by radio, songwriters, my team and all the fans has been incredible. This is insane and I’m so grateful for this wild ride! I can’t wait to see what the next decade has in store.”
Rhett will embark on his Home Team Tour 23 in May, with Cole Swindell and Nate Smith serving as his opening acts. Find music and tour dates at ThomasRhett.com.
Read ‘Thomas Rhett: 11 Things to Know About the Superstar’ here.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of The GreenRoom
