2014 CMA Festival - Day 1
Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images
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Today we turn our focus to an artist who went to Nashville, not to be a performer, but to be a songwriter. His main focus was to write for other artists, as he had no desires to be out in front of a band.

Brantley Gilbert was signed to Warner Chappell Publishing when he arrived in Nashville in 2005. He wrote songs for artists including Jason Aldean, happy and content as a songwriter. Then in 2009, Colt Ford convinced him to step in front of the mic, signing him to Ford's Average Joes Entertainment. He released 2 albums and three singles for the label, failing to chart. In 2011, Gilbert signed with Valory Music Company, who immediately re-released Halfway To Heaven, adding three new songs.

The first of the three new songs, "Country Must Be Country Wide" not only charted, but the song, one of the added tunes, hit #1. Gilbert followed it up with a second chart-topper, "You Don't Know Her Like I Do", which was also added by Valory. The third song, "More Than Miles" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Country singles chart.

2014 Stagecoach California's Country Music Festival - Day 1
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Stagecoach
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Gilbert followed up the re-released album up in 2014 with his first album completely of new music in four years. Just As I Am, featured two more #1 singles, "Bottoms Up" and "One Hell of An Amen", as well as the top-10 hit "Small Town Throwdown", which also featured his friends Thomas Rhett and Justin Moore, which peaked at #8. A "Platinum Edition" of the album featured a fourth single, the top-20 "Stone Cold Sober".

Gilbert is back in the studio, working on a new album for release either later this year, or early in 2017. We have the debut single from this, as yet unnamed project, is in our spotlight today. Brantley Gilbert and "The Weekend" is today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.

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