Multi-talented singer-songwriter, Noah Guthrie, shares his new single, “That’s All,” on American Songwriter ahead of tomorrow’s formal release. Guthrie’s roots as a South Carolinian from a musical family, run deeply country, placing his music in that category. But his genre-bending vocal range sets him apart sonically and could place him anywhere in the industry.
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“It’s about that feeling of how things would be different if I made different decisions,” the artist offered about the lead single for his impending un-named record. “It focuses on that idea through the lens of a relationship. I always picture a guy driving around calling an old flame, just checking in and seeing how they’re doing and how their lives have changed.”
The story sorts through life’s big ‘what if’ moments. “I think about a change sometimes / Think about a plane sometimes / Think about how you might have the wrong last name sometimes,” he works out soulfully in the bridge.
The song came to fruition when Guthrie brought a snippet of a guitar lead to the table with co-writers Cory Batten, Jason Duke, and Jason Massey in Nashville. From there, ideas from each contributor flooded the creative space, recalling those instances that pivoted trajectories. He completed the finishing touches at Studio 101 with his brother Ian’s help on drums and production.
“It’s been a long journey for me,” shared Guthrie, who launched his career singing covers on YouTube when he was only 17. He began doing what everyone does now, but what was still new back then – posting videos, covering hit songs with his characteristic tenor.
“I thought I could retool and tweak it a little bit to make it my own I got lucky and had some success with a few of those songs becoming viral videos and built a nice little fan base. I always knew that making original music is where my heart is. I wanted to start getting into that world,” he remembered.
Guthrie released his first album of original music in 2013. His debut record, Among The Wildest Things, preceded 2017’s The Valley. Between the two, the artist shared four volumes of his most popular covers from his YouTube days. His commitment to releasing new content has cultivated a dedicated fanbase online and has garnered over 85 million total views and 512k engaged subscribers on his YouTube channel. From there, his music career rolled out onto the college tour circuit, then smaller clubs and bars.
This upswing led him down a few major detours along the way. In 2015 he received a random phone call that someone referred him to the casting department for a role on Glee. With two days’ notice, Guthrie moved to Los Angeles to star in the hit TV show as Roderick Meeks. Most recently, he landed a spot on a season of America’s Got Talent. Guthrie, who has shared the stage with acts ranging from Willie Nelson to Selena Gomez, manages to keep his feet on the ground by focusing on his music as a passion. He resides in his hometown of Greer, South Carolina, where he feels harbored in the creative process.
“I am using what I can to get my name and music out there,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m a songwriter, and that’s my heart. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Though he is immensely grateful for his television experience, he shared that it felt strange to him at that point in his career. “At the time, I was so gung ho about making music, and I still am. Television felt like a departure from that. It was a cool experience in that world. I developed just an amazing fan base that now still comes to the shows and likes the original music. It’s just funny how things can work out.”
Placing those experiences in the context of today’s release seems fitting to the artist who has navigated many stops and go’s along the way. Some of those ‘what if’s’ that shaped where Guthrie is now as an artist date back to the early days.
“The obvious one is ‘what if I had never posted that one YouTube video’,” the artist laughed. “I think I would have been in music somehow. But I don’t know if I would have had the courage to pursue music as a career for myself.”
He was immersed in music as a child, formally introduced when he joined the marching band. I told himself he’d like doing something with music, but figured it would be on the educational side. “Then, I started finding myself through writing and arranging and fell in love with it,” Guthrie recalled. “So, I look back, and I think if I’d never done that, what would I be doing right now? It’s weird how these little shifts in life can kind of take you down a much larger, wider path.”
The artist shared that there will be more singles following “That’s All.” He had pre-pandemic plans to release an album with the collection of eleven songs he has in the can. Given the current climate, he and his team have decided it’s best to continue to share songs and give people something to grab onto while deciding on the best steps going forward.
The songs Guthrie has waiting are road tunes he and his band have been performing for fans. “It’s the stuff that our fans who have come to the shows know already,” he explained. “They’ve been waiting for years to have them available to listen whenever they want.”
Another challenge of sitting on this song collection is that Guthrie has been stuck at home, creating more relevant content to sift through. “I’m trying to write songs about what’s happening that we’re all going through,” the artist illustrated. “So now, I’m like, ‘well is the album even done yet?”
Take an exclusive listen to “That’s All” below. Pre-save Noah Guthrie’s latest single and follow along for updates on upcoming singles.
