Thomas Rhett’s latest song, “Beer Can’t Fix,” is in the top ten and steadily moving up the chart, but he just released a new song last week called “Be A Light,” that he felt the world needed at this time. The song, which features Keith Urban, Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum, Reba and contemporary Christian singer Chris Tomlin, is not meant to be a radio single, but Thomas says, “I feel like now there is no better time to release a song like ‘Be A Light.’ … I am so proud of this song and really hope that this song can be an encouragement to people who are really going through kind of a tough time right now.”
Thomas was inspired to write “Be A Light” last year when he was witnessing a lot of hate and negativity on social media, and he says, “It drove me nuts. And I think at this point in time, I was like, man instead of like addressing the meanness and the negativity, why don’t we just address for people just to be kind, and that’s really where this inspiration of this song came from.”
Not only is “Be A Light” meant to be a source of hope and positivity for everyone, but Thomas and the other artists who participated on the song have pledged to donate the proceeds of the song to the Music Cares COVID-19 relief fund, which, he explains, “helps music industry professionals who’ve been financially affected by the shutdown of our touring industry, help get them some compensation. So, not only is this song kind of a light in a little bit of a dark time, but it’s also kinda helping the people that have been directly affected in my world.”
“Be A Light” has encouraged people to create some really awesome online videos, demonstrating how simple it can be to “Be A Light,” like this one, which was shared last week on The Today Show.
Thomas Rhett – Be A Light :31
“I wrote this song last year. I’d had this title written in my phone, ‘in a world full of hate the light,’ and I think it came a little bit from the Bible verse talking about ‘a lamp on a hill should not be hidden’ – just being a light in a dark place. And for some reason I just was looking at Instagram and Twitter and all this stuff, just seeing so much hatred and people commentin’ on people’s stuff, just being super negative, and it drove me nuts. And I think at this point in time, I was like, man instead of like addressing the meanness and the negativity, why don’t we just address for people just to be kind, and that’s really where this inspiration of this song came from.”
Thomas Rhett – why Be A Light now :37
“I’ve been wantin’ to release ‘Be A Light’ since the day that I wrote it, and when all this stuff happened – I mean from the tornadoes in Nashville now to the COVID-19 / coronavirus – I feel like now there is no better time to release a song like ‘Be A Light.’ I just feel like the world was in darkness for a minute, and so I think a song like this can be really encouraging for people. And then when I had asked some of my buddies to get on the song, it was an immediate yes, which was so cool – Reba, Keith Urban, Chris Tomlin and Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum. And when they jumped on the song, man, it just took it to a whole different level, and I am so proud of this song and really hope that this song can be an encouragement to people who are really going through kind of a tough time right now.”
Thomas Rhett – Be A Light proceeds :20
“One cool thing that we’re gonna do with this song, is that some of the proceeds are gonna go to the Music Cares COVID-19 relief fund, which is gonna help music industry professionals who’ve been financially affected by the shutdown of our touring industry, help get them some compensation. So, not only is this song kind of a light in a little bit of a dark time, but it’s also kinda helping the people that have been directly affected in my world.”