Kaitlin Butts is no stranger to the country music world. She released her first album in 2015 and has recorded songs like “Mornings With You” with her husband’s band, Flatland Cavalry. (Butts, 32, is married to founding vocalist Cleto Cordero.) This year, however, the Oklahoma singer-songwriter took TikTok by storm with her viral breakout hit “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me.)” For those of you who still can’t get the irresistible kiss-off track out of your head (same), it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of Kaitlin Butts. The 32-year-old artist has landed a record deal with Republic Records.
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Kaitlin Butts to Release Covers of Jimmy Eat World, Chappell Roan
As Kaitlin Butts racked up more TikTok views with “You Ain’t Gotta Die,” phone calls from record labels came pouring in. Everyone wanted a piece of the Tulsa singer-songwriter. And Butts announced Thursday, Oct. 30, that she has found her home at Republic Records.
“I feel like country music’s for everybody. And I want to try to be able to reach out to people who might not even listen to country music, but they listen to me,” Butts told Variety. “So aligning myself with (Republic) was the best idea. And then to be on a label with people like Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift is just ideal.”
Butts will release her first project with Republic, a five-song EP called Yeehaw Sessions, on Nov. 14. Following last year’s full-length Roadrunner, the record features Butts’ cover versions of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle and Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova.” Others include Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time” and the Chicks’ “Sin Wagon.” The fifth and final song is a reprise of her signature hit “You Ain’t Gotta Die.”
“I’ve kept my head down and done the work for so long, I finally stopped to look around and see that the work that I’ve put in has brought me to where I’ve always wanted to be,” Butts wrote on Instagram Oct. 30.
[RELATED: Country Star Fakes Wardrobe Malfunction To Help Guitar Player Propose to Her Tour Manager]
New Single Out Friday
With “The Middle” hitting the airwaves as a single on Friday, Oct. 31, Kaitlin Butts explained why she wanted to cover Jimmy Eat World’s anthemic 2001 pop-rock hit. “The Middle” is one song that has gotten her through the ups and downs of viral fame this year.
“I started playing it live, because it really just feels like a reminder for myself to just sing it out loud and speak those words that I need to just enjoy this ride,” she told Variety. “And as I played it live more and more, it felt so good to see other people resonate with it and hear those words. So I was like, I need to record this version.”
Featured image by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
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