On episode #277 of his podcast, the BobbyCast, Bobby Bones chatted with Devin Dawson, who just released a new EP called The Pink Slip. The two chatted about the EP, but they also went into the behind-the-scenes story of writing Blake Shelton’s, “God’s Country,” with Jordan Schmidt and Hardy. Dawson shared that after Hardy came up with the song’s title, the rest came to them fairly quickly.
“I’ll never forget it,” Dawson said of the day. “Some of it was [memorable] and some of it was — not that the fact that it wasn’t memorable — but a lot of it was, like, blacking out. We would just go through this creative journey and then you’re like, ‘What just happened?’”
“We knew it was good, but it wasn’t until we heard the demo back the next day when Jordan sent it that we were like, ‘Whoa,’” he continued.
Dawson explained that Hardy originally had interest in recording the song, but when it was sent to Shelton in a group of other potential songs, the singer listened to “God’s Country” and immediately knew he wanted to record it.
“They literally went into the studio the next week,” said Dawson. “From blank paper to number one, it was like six months and that never, ever — and this isn’t me bragging, this is me in disbelief — that never happens. It’s almost ruined the rest of it for me because it probably won’t happen that quick or that great ever again.”
After its release in 2019, “God’s Country” not only took the No. 1 spot, but it also won Single of the Year at the CMA and ACM awards and it was nominated for a Grammy.
Dawson and Bones also dove into Dawson’s brand new EP, The Pink Slip, which features six tunes, including “Range Rover” and “I Got A Truck.” The EP’s colorful vibe is a departure from Dawson’s previous black and white style, and he attributes that to being in a colorful and happy time in his life. Dawson married his wife, Leah Sykes, in October 2019, and he shared that the happiness he feels with her has changed his approach to songwriting.
“Creatively, to make sense of that, is kind of what this EP is,” he said. “It’s a little bit more hopeful, it’s more brighter, which is not something that I usually gravitate towards musically.”
To hear more from Dawson, including details about his No. 1 collaboration, “One Beer,” with Hardy and Lauren Alaina and an in-depth discussion about The Pink Slip EP, listen to episode #277 of the BobbyCast.