Brad Paisley photo by Kurt Markus, courtesy of Arista Nashville.
May 18, 2009 — Brad Paisley’s current ballad, "Then," has practically flown up the charts; it’s at No. 4 just two months after he released the song to radio and sang it during an episode of "American Idol."
While it’s made fast progress since its release, "Then" actually took several years to develop.
"That song was somethin’ I wanted to write for a long time — that exact thing, essentially," he says. "I didn’t know I wanted to write that exact song, or I would have written that exact song a long time ago, but we had a goal in mind — the [two] writers and I who wrote that — and it was to capture the feelings that you have early in a relationship, and then to sort of take what is a mature relationship and describe how those feelings change and really do get better. I mean, we were all three in that place in our lives, and being able to say that as well as I think we did, it was really cool to see that come to life like it did."
Brad’s two co-writers have seen quite a few songs come to life in the past. Chris Dubois’s credits include Mark Wills’ "19 Somethin’," Josh Turner’s "Your Man" and Brad’s "Mud On The Tires." Ashley Gorley’s had a hand in such hits as Darius Rucker’s "It Won’t Be Like This For Long," Carrie Underwood’s "All-American Girl" and Trace Adkins’ "You’re Gonna Miss This."
"Then" will be included on Brad’s American Saturday Night album, set for release June 30.