When it comes to opinions about which songs he should record on his albums, Thomas Rhett has no shortage of opinions in his household. Even though his two oldest daughters are still so young (4 and 2), he thinks it’s wild that they have opinions about which of his songs they like and which they don’t. “[It’s] crazy,” says Thomas. “Like, I was driving Willa and Ada out to the farm, and it’s about a 45-minute drive, and I keep going through, just, demos. You know, I’ve got ‘em on a playlist and my kids are about the best A&R [artist & repertoire – who help artists pick songs to record] team that I can have – my kids and my wife, because they’re for sure are gonna tell ya that that song is terrible or that song is good.”
Even if they don’t come right out and say, “I love this song,” Thomas knows when his kids love a song. For instance, he says, “[I]f Willa Gray wants to listen to a song six times in a row, maybe it should have a shot. Maybe a lot of other four-year-olds will want to listen to it six times in a row.”
Thomas’ wife, Lauren, is also not one to hold back. He says, “[M]y wife is the first one to be like, ‘That’s not my favorite,’ or ‘That’s one of my favorite songs you’ve ever written’,” like in the case of his latest song, “Beer Can’t Fix,” which she loves, because Thomas jokes that Lauren likes Jon Pardi more than she likes him.
Thomas admits that sometimes he has to disregard his family’s opinions and go with his gut. “There are some of the songs that neither of them like that I love too much to not cut,” he explains. “But for the most part, I do listen to a lot of opinions and then at the end of the day, I take all those opinions and I put ‘em in a pot and try to make a decision for myself. But my kids do have a huge role in picking a lot of songs, which is hilarious.”
Thomas and Lauren just added one more member to their kiddie A&R panel, with the birth of their daughter Lennon Love. But since she is only two weeks old, it will be a little while before Thomas has one more opinion about his music to consider.
Thomas Rhett – kids are great A&R :42
“[It’s} crazy. Like, I was driving Willa and Ada out to the farm, and it’s about a 45-minute drive, and I keep going through, just, demos. You know, I’ve got ‘em on a playlist and my kids are about the best A&R team that I can have – my kids and my wife, because they’re for sure are gonna tell ya that that song is terrible or that song is good. Like, if Willa Grey wants to listen to a song six times in a row, maybe it should have a shot. Maybe a lot of other four-year-old’s will want to listen to it six times in a row. And my wife is the first one to be like, ‘That’s not my favorite,’ or ‘That’s one of my favorite songs you’ve ever written.’ There are some of the songs that neither of them like that I love too much to not cut. But for the most part, I do listen to a lot of opinions and then at the end of the day, I take all those opinions and I put ‘em in a pot and try to make a decision for myself. But my kids do have a huge role in picking a lot of songs, which is hilarious.”