‘Catch of the Day’ – Eric Church – “Mr. Misunderstood” [VIDEO]

Today's spotlight falls on an artist who not more than 6 months ago, told the country music world that he was going to relax and wouldn't be putting out a follow up to his latest album "for quite awhile".

Maybe we just "misunderstood".

If you watched the CMA awards last week, you were treated to a surprise performance from Eric Church, the debut of the title track of a new album which Church's fans, and country music fans in general were led to believe wouldn't be happening for some time. Coming off the success of Church's latest album, The Outsiders, Eric told his fans he had started "thinking about" a follow up to the multi-platinum album, but it was going to "take a while" to complete the album. Church said he wanted to take some time to decide on a new album's direction, and that  he was considering what boundaries to push and what directions to explore.

Apparently, in Granite Falls, NC, where Church was born and raised, "a while" is 8 months. But it makes good business sense to strike while the fire is hot, a lesson Church learned while studying at Appalachian State University, graduating with a degree in Business. Eric would move to Nashville after graduation in 1990, concentrating on song-writing. His first big break would be the Terri Clark hit, "The World Needs A Drink", which Church co-wrote with Clark. The song climbed to #18 on the Billboard country chart.

Church began recording demos with various producers in Nashville, but he couldn't catch any interest from record companies, one company telling him that his music wasn't "interesting enough". Attitudes changed quickly when he began working with producer Jay Joyce, and the pair produced the song "Lightening", a song Church wrote after seeing the movie The Green Mile. Sony music heard the song, and the sound of the song and the unique direction it took had the label hooked.

Joyce and Church have continued their partnership through four studio albums and one live disc. All four of the studio projects have been certified gold or greater, and the live album, Caught In The Act, released in 2013, is on the verge of gold. Church has released 16 top-20 singles from those albums, with 4 of those ("Drink In My Hand", "Springsteen", "Give Me Back My Home Town" and "Talladega"), climbing to #1; he has also had two #1's in pairings with Luke Bryan ("The Only Way I Know") and Keith Urban ("Raise 'EM Up).

Today we feature the lead single and title track from Church's upcoming album, the release only currently available through iTunes. Eric Church and "Mr. Misunderstood" is today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.