Rising country star Renee Blair has released her latest single and it’s one you will definitely be adding to your party playlist! “Turn Up the Night” is the perfect pre-game anthem and although we may not want to replay every decision we make on those wild nights out, the song is one we will be hitting “replay” on all night long.
In an exclusive interview with Celeb Secrets Country, Blair said that “Turn Up the Night” is a “worth-the-wait” jam for all the things we couldn’t do this past year.
“I’m very excited. It’s been a long time coming. This was a song I had cut right before the unfortunate pandemic and it’s all about going out, partying, and living it up. Obviously no one was able to do that for a year, but I actually think the silver lining is that people are so excited to make up for lost time, get out there and enjoy themselves. So I think even though it was hard to wait, it’s definitely worth the wait and I’m really excited.”
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Written by Kane Brown, Corey Crowder, Jordan Schmidt and Matt McGinn, the new song kicks off a long-awaited chapter in Blair’s music. While the artist has given fans heartbreak anthems and love songs, she shares that the party is just getting started because this single is the first of a “party pack” that was put on hold.
“I realized that like I had a few heartbreak songs the fans connected with, a few love songs and then there was a whole separate party pack that was kind of coinciding with the album,” Blair said. “So the party pack was put on hold. But, these were some that from day one, when we first started releasing music, I was really most excited to get to. So I think out of everything I’ve put out, this really like screams me the most.”
Tapping into what represents her the most, Blair has paid homage to the formative years in her mid-twenties that molded her.
“I lived it up, so I definitely know my market of the fan that I want to at least try to relate to
and it’s, you know, girls either in college or just coming out of college that are becoming women and
adults and falling in and out of love and trying to find their person. There’s a lot of heartbreak that
goes along with that and a lot of wild nights, so a lot of hangovers,” Blair said. So, I really think those are the people I’m trying to make music for because those are some of the years that just shaped who I am most.”
Celeb Secrets Country sat down with Renee Blair (virtually) to learn more about this new single, the music video that will accompany this track and some behind-the-scenes details.
Check out the full Q&A below and don’t forget to let us know what you think of “Turn Up the Night” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @CS_Country.
Celeb Secrets Country: We are just days away from the release of your new single “Turn Up the Night.” What’s going through your mind so close to this release?
Renee Blair: “I’m very excited. It’s been a long time coming. This was a song I had cut right before the unfortunate pandemic and it’s all about going out, partying, living it up and so obviously no one was able to do that for a year, but I actually think the silver lining is that people are so excited to make up for lost time, get out there and enjoy themselves. So I think even though it was hard to wait, it’s definitely worth the wait and I’m really excited.”
CSC: This song, definitely sports kind of like a different theme than your past music. Like you said, it’s very like club jam party song. You’ve given us so many great heartbreak anthems and love songs, but nothing really with this theme before. So what inspired the switch?
RB: “Well, that’s interesting. So this kind of larger projects that I’m working on, like as the whole album, this song “Turn Up the Night” is actually my show opener. It’s been my show opener. You know, when I was touring pretty much like every weekend for about a year consistently, right before the pandemic and so I would always like to think that my live show is like a ranger. It’s a major party for sure. It’s what I try to bring the people. But I’ve always gone out and partied. So again, like the other music I’ve released in the last year or so was really just because I had to put this one on hold. This was one that like, I feel like has really represented me for a long time. I realized that like I had a few heartbreak songs the fans connected with, a few love songs and then there was a whole separate party pack that was kind of coinciding with the album. So the party pack was put on hold. But, these were some that from day one, when we first started releasing music, I was really most excited to get to. So I think out of everything I’ve put out, this really like screams me the most. And most of the other songs, like my first couple of releases “Gotta Quit Drinking,” “Me Tonight,” “Better Off,” they were all about the aftermath of going out and partying, like, you know, too late at night when you’re drunk and you like start texting your ex. So this is really like on your way to get drunk, if that makes sense. So it’s like, I basically feel like my music has kind of given you all ends of what going out looks like and really we’ve given you like the come home, sloppy debauchery and then this is like before that starts.”
CSC: The full timeline is now available for us for those crazy nights out and then the mistakes that happen when you do go out! So the song is co-written by some movers and shakers in the industry. We’ve got like Kane Brown, Matt McGinn, Jordan Schmidt, Corey Crowder. What an incredible bunch. Tell me about the first time that you heard the song. Did you know right away, like “I need to have this”?
RB: “Well I have a little bit of a golden ticket, I guess you could say. My boyfriend is Jordan Schmidt. We’ve been dating for over four years now and he was at home working on the demo and we’ve lived together for like many, many years at this point. We’re basically married. We just haven’t officially tied the knot. But yeah, he was working on the demo and I mean, he works on demos all day long every day and this one certainly like stuck out to me. I was like, ‘This is a smash.’ But it was for Kane and so last minute when Kane didn’t end up cutting it, I like begged the guys. I was like, ‘Please, please, please, please, please, please, please.’ This is the only song I’ve ever released that I didn’t write. So, I just kind of like inserted myself at the first available opportunity and I think that is like, like I said, a little golden ticket that I have, that I wasn’t expecting because you know, the song wasn’t even like on the market so to say. No one else even knew it was available and I just asked and kind of put a vocal on the demo just to see how it sounded so that we could send it out to the other writers, kind of get the green light from them and I just kind of said, ‘This is what I’m doing. I’m obsessed with it and I’m gonna see this thing through, I believe in it.’ And so, yeah, it’s really amazing. those guys, they’re all like my closest friends too. I mean, Matt McGinn and Jordan Schmidt are on like almost every single song I’ve put out thus far too. So they’re my tribe.”
CSC: I love that! Your boyfriend has written a couple songs for FGL. I know that you’re a big fan of FGL and you’re a big fan of Nelly. I’ve heard that before that it kind of like inspires your goals and music. So I’m curious how much do those artists inspire or mold your style?
RB: “What’s crazy is BK from FGL lived above me in college. So like before FGL was even a duo, like we go so far back, those guys are like my homies, my best friends and then I grew up in St. Louis, you know, Anheuser-Busch wearing always representing. So Nelly was really part of the why I even got into music. I grew up listening to Nelly, Shania Twain. So I’ve always tried to think like naturally, hopefully I would be lucky enough to land somewhere in the middle. And then I was like pissed or jealous, but like in a good way of when Cruz came out with the Nellie remix, I was like ‘Now I should, like, what!’ So you know, it’s been really, really amazing to kind of watch firsthand how they navigate their careers, where their careers have gone. I definitely learn a lot kind of just getting to be in the passenger seat for a lot of it. So I think it helps make me more knowledgeable about certain decisions I make in my career. Also being really selective when it comes to picking songs. But yeah, I mean, there’s a reason why Nelly has been around for so long when he’s been over, we have a studio at our house and that’s where they wrote some of the new songs on his album that also comes out Friday. You know, some people get success and then they just want to enjoy their money and what the success brings, but some people get success and want to continue to have more of it and work harder and harder and harder. And I will say that, you know, those guys don’t stop. They work every single day harder than I think anyone realizes and that’s super inspiring to me is to never get comfortable to just always keep working and keep your head down. So yeah, it’s super, super inspiring for sure.”
CSC: So can we anticipate a music video for this single?
RB: “Yes, I am shooting the music video on Tuesday and it’s actually going to be a double video. I kind of have this like concept, you know, think about a TV show that you love once you finished one episode, you’re like dying to get to the next one. So I’m filming, the next two songs are both part of this party pack and it’s going to be like basically one long video to two songs and then the second one is gonna start where the first kind of left off. So, we’re shooting that on Tuesday and [I’m] very, very, very excited. I’ve been waiting for this a really long time, so I’m glad it’s finally here.”
CSC: It sounds like this project really is like a whole story!
RB: “I lived it up and so, I definitely know my market of the fan that I want to at least try to relate to
and it’s, you know, girls either in college or just coming out of college that are becoming women and
adults and falling in and out of love and trying to find their person and there’s a lot of heartbreak that
goes along with that and a lot of wild nights, so a lot of hangovers,” Blair said. So, I just, I really think those are the people I’m trying to make music for because those are some of the years that just shaped who I am most.”
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CSC: And speaking of living it up, the single is going to come out Friday, August 27th. Will you be turning up the night to celebrate? How are you commemorating the release?
RB: “Well, Friday is my birthday. So I’m putting it out on my birthday because that’s just how much the song means to me. I think the best gift that I could give to myself is putting out like my favorite song, I’ve pretty much ever been a part of. Um, so I am going to visit my best friend in Pittsburgh and my God daughter. She had her first child, uh, right before the pandemic. So getting to go, I mean, I feel like I’m older now. I’m going to see my goddaughter. She’s three. So I’ll probably put her to bed and then have like way too many glasses of wine. But, um, we will have time. We will definitely be turning it up, but maybe not as wild as before.”
CSC: As the song might portray! That’s awesome though. Happy early birthday. What a great way to just like commemorate, not only the release of the song, but your special day and my last question for you – since we are Celebs Secrets, is there any behind the scenes secret from writing the song or plans for the music video that we won’t know from listening or just watching?
RB: “Hm. I mean, I guess the secret, I know you had mentioned this earlier that Kane brown was a co-writer on the song. You know, Kane gets a spotlight shined on him for many reasons, but, um, that might be something that people wouldn’t know just by listening to it or watching the video that Kane’s a writer for the song. Also [in] the cover art and the video I’ll be wearing, a Daniel Diamond custom piece. He just recently like outfitted Carrie Underwood and Kelsea Ballerini, Shania Twain, Gwen Stefani and I’ve grown really close with them. His name is Daniel Musto and so he’s helping me piece together all the wardrobe, which it’s the cover art is his jacket and then for the video as well.”
