Mitchell Tenpenny Releases New Album ‘This Is The Heavy’ & Can’t Wait To Hear What Fans Think About It

Singer/songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny has a strong and interactive relationship with his fans. Even before he released his new album last Friday, he already had a No. 1 hit on his hands with “Truth About You.” He credits the success of the song to the response it got on Tiktok.

“It just makes sense to me to test out demos and ask fans,” he says. “These are the people who are giving you this life. And that’s one of the good things about Tiktok. It chose ‘Truth About You.” I didn’t think that song was even going to make this record, let alone become a single. But they let me know it needs to be on the album and I’m glad they did. That song is changing our lives.”

The song made chart history. It’s the shortest span between #1 songs in the modern chart era, topping the charts just three weeks after his duet “At the End of the Bar” with Chris Young – also reached No. 1.

It’s one in a steady stream of successes for Tenpenny since his first album in 2018 which featured his break-out debut single “Drunk Me.” He has steadily released new music, even throughout the COVID pandemic, continuing to build a devoted fanbase. He recently celebrated surpassing the One Billion streams threshold for “Drunk Me.” It continues to climb and at last check had reached 1-point-3 billion.

His new album This Is The Heavy is an ambitious project featuring a record 20 songs.

“You know, it was tough,” he explains. “My first record was four years ago, so a lot of songs have been written between then and now and I just didn’t feel right to put out 11 songs for our fans that have been waiting so long. I also wanted people to be able to find ‘their song’ on the album. I wanted a variety of different vibes and moods and contexts.”

He co-wrote all 20 songs (with a talented group of fellow Nashville songwriters) and says people will hear a number of different musical influences throughout the new record.

“I mean from John Mayer to Michael Jackson to Brooks and Dunn, I’m all over the place. And even some hard rock bands I grew up listening to. I love finding new ways to say the same thing. There’s only so much that can be written, so I tried to find new ways to write this music.”

He also wanted to try some new sounds and new approaches in terms of the music itself.

“We kind of tested the boundaries with the production on this record,” he explains. “I wanted to make it heavier, that’s why I called it This Is The Heavy. I love heavy drums, I love heavy guitars, and heavy lyrics. So, I really wanted to try and do that with this album. To make it a little different, but at the same time stay true to my roots which is songwriting.”

Tenpenny, who grew up in Nashville, discovered songwriting early on, through his late grandmother. Donna Hilley served as President and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing in the late 90s and early 2000s.

“I got to meet some of the best songwriters in the world,” he recalls, “and kind of fell in love with it there. I remember going up to her office and she was like, ‘Hey Mitchell, this is Bobby Braddock, he wrote “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” I think that was the first time it really clicked with me what she did and that songwriters were a thing. I just always assumed artists wrote their own music. From that day on I thought songwriters were the coolest people in the world and I want to be like them.”

His insight into the industry not only gave him a good foundation for songwriting, but to the music business overall. In addition to building his own career, Tenpenny co-founded his own record label, Riser House Records, and is helping other artists, as well.

“I’ve seen a lot of bad ways to do business in this town and I just wanted to do it a little differently. I wanted it to be artist-friendly and songwriter friendly because that’s where the true inspiration comes.”

This Is The Heavy is a joint venture with Riser House and Sony. He says now that it’s out, he’s looking forward to hearing what people think about the different songs.

“This is the part of the business I love the most, the making of music and seeing what happens when it comes out.”

Tenpenny has a lot going on, he’s currently on tour with Luke Bryan and will appear on the Grand Ole Opry Wednesday night. And in January kicks off his own headline tour.

“It’s a rollercoaster,” he admits. “I’m in a great place right now. It’ll come again where it goes back down, I know it will, and we’ll work our way back up. But right now, we’re at the high part of the rollercoaster and I’m loving every second of it. And I’m not taking any of it for granted.”