Lady Antebellum is comprised of singers Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley and multi-instrumentalist Dave Haywood. Kelley and Haywood were classmates at the University of Georgia, studying finance, when they started writing songs together. In time, they decided to move to Nashville to pursue music careers. Hillary Scott, the daughter of country singer Linda Davis and musician Lang Scott, once had major label interest as a solo artist; however, the deal fell through. In 2006, she introduced herself to Kelley (whose brother, Josh Kelley, is also a musician) after recognizing him from his MySpace profile. When all three members started writing and performing together, Nashville noticed. They began opening shows for big country artists, as well as earning high-profile gigs in the clubs around town. With a successful first single ("Love Don't Live Here"), Capitol Nashville released their debut album in 2008.
Lady Antebellum wrapped up 2009 with a five-week No. 1 hit, "Need You Now," an emotionally vulnerable ballad about on-again/off-again relationships. But before the single ever shipped to country radio, the ensemble wasn't sure if it was actually the right choice to introduce a new album.
They thought the first single should be an up-tempo song, but executives at their label, Capitol Nashville, were convinced that "Need You Now" was the perfect choice.
"Everyone heard that song and just flipped out," says Charles Kelley, who co-founded the band with childhood friend Dave Haywood and Nashville native Hillary Scott. "We were thinking from a live show perspective because we were like, 'Well, we had "Run to You," which is kind of a mid-tempo, so we need something fun!' They said, 'Guys, I'm telling you, this is the one.' We put our trust in them and, sure enough, they were right."
With their second album, Need You Now, set for release on Tuesday (Jan. 26), the energetic trio visited with CMT Insider's Allison DeMarcus about living up to high expectations, building their fan base gradually and writing hits in the middle of the night.
DeMarcus: "Need You Now" was a No. 1 hit for five weeks, and that's how you guys are kicking off this new album. How excited are you about that?
Kelley: It's huge, honestly. We keep saying it was very unexpected and just a huge confirmation that this record is hopefully going to be a kind of life-changer for us. Doing the second album is a lot of pressure, and having the first single do so well hopefully takes a little bit of the pressure off. But on the flipside, it's a double-edged sword because now the rest of the record has to live up to the first single. (laughs)
