Easton Corbin Isn't Interested in Being a Flash in the Pan: 'It's Better to Be a Constant'
John Shearer Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin knows what you are thinking.
"Everyone asks where I've been, but I've been around," Corbin, 40, tells PEOPLE with a laugh during a recent interview. "I was still out there for sure. I've been touring all over the place and writing a ton. And then last year, I teamed up with Stone Country Records and finally found a home. And that's where I've been ever since."
His Southern drawl drips from every word Corbin speaks about his new record label, one that he says shows no signs of wanting to change him in any way.
"It's so important to find a home where people believe in not only your artistry, but you as a person and what you do," says the platinum-selling singer-songwriter. "I just wanted to take my time to find that. I had a few offers from some people, but I just didn't feel like it was the right place. Here [at Stone Country Records], there is no pressure. They just want me to make the music that I fell in love with — the reason I wanted to do this for a living."
John Shearer Easton Corbin
Indeed, the chart-topping recording artist has made quite a living in country music thanks to No. 1 singles such as "A Little More Country Than That" and "Roll with It," with his last charting single being "A Girl Like You" back in 2017.
"When I first moved to Nashville, I knew what I wanted to do," the Florida native explains. "I knew what kind of music spoke to me. And that's what I wanted to do. And I'm still that guy."
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In fact, as Corbin releases his first new album since 2015's About to Get Real, Corbin seems more than confident about his career going forward. And with the release of his latest full-length album Let's Do Country Right, the singer/songwriter more than proves he isn't going anywhere.
From the red dirt soul in "Somebody's Gotta Be Country" to his sentimental send-off on "Hey Merle," Corbin brings his tried-and-true country ideals to every note he sings. And while he wrote most of the songs on the new album, a couple of the outside cuts stand strong and true, such as the album's final song "In It."
"I actually cut that song on my last record that didn't come out," says Corbin of the song written by Jimmy Robbins, Josh Thompson and Laura Veltz. "There has always been something really special about that song. I love the feel of it. I love what it's saying."
Of course, the new album got its first hit of adrenaline last year, when Corbin's current single "Marry That Girl" was featured on an episode of FOX's reboot show Joe Millionaire.
"I've never been on a reality television show, so that was new," Corbin says with a laugh. "I do think that really helped that song because it got it out to a whole other demographic of people. But I also think that song is a universal song, and everybody can relate to it. If they haven't experienced that feeling at one time, they probably want to."
Granted, a multiyear break from the radio airwaves would be enough to get anyone artist second-guessing what they bring to the country music table, but not Corbin.
"The way I look at it, that's my strength," the country music traditionalist says proudly. "And there's nobody that really does that out there. I look at it as a positive. That lane's still open. And there are people out there that love that lane, and they have a hunger for it."
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John Shearer Easton Corbin
In fact, Corbin says he thinks that it's a hunger that hasn't necessarily been satisfied by today's current crop of country artists.
"There are some people out there that just follow whatever the genre does," states Corbin. "If it goes this way, they go that way. If it goes that way, they go this way. I just feel like it's better to be a constant. When I say being constant down the middle, I don't mean never evolving or changing. Sometimes, depending on the trend, you got to go a little bit right and just maybe a little bit left, but never so far where it's not you."
Corbin simply favors the road he has long traveled.
"As long as you are still you and you don't trail off too far — if you're constant about what you do and you're true to what you do, I think your fans will be true to you as well," he concludes. "It's also about knowing who you are and knowing who your fans are and what they expect of you — and you feeding them that."
