With “Born to Die,” Shaboozey saddles for up for his outlaw era.
Ahead of his new album release The Outlaw Cheri Lee & Other Western Tales, due out July 31 via his record imprint American Dogwood in partnership with EMPIRE, Shaboozey fires off the first song from it.
“Born to Die” drops today, April 24, a thigh-slapping, country music party pressed into 2 minutes 45 seconds, and the first taste from his forthcoming concept project.
The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales is a portrait of the wild west, meshing country with Americana, hip-hop, and pop to “tell a tragic, mythic story of vengeance, love, and transformation,” reads a statement. It’s said to unfold like a Western film, told in chapters with narration, skits, and cinematic transitions.
The main character is Cheri Lee, a woman shaped by violence and driven by loss. On her travels, she falls for an outlaw, which provides her with entry into the world that she’s trying to destroy. It’s complicated, and the story takes a bloody turn, leaving our hero with some big calls to make.
Shaboozey will celebrate with a pop-up saloon experience on the grounds of Stagecoach, April 24-26, where fans can take a stroll inside a saloon that’s inspired by the album’s narrative.
The new album follows his 2024 breakthrough project Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, which featured his smash hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” a single that reigned over the Billboard Hot 100 for 19 weeks. Last year, following the release of the album’s expanded edition, he collected the Grammy Award for best country duo/group performance for “Amen” with Jelly Roll.
“Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going was a journal entry and an opportunity for the world to get to know more about me as a person,” Shaboozey comments in a statement. “That album changed my life. I never expected people to connect with the album and enjoy it the way they did. But now I want to show the world who I am as an artist and storyteller.”
The Outlaw Cherie Lee is a project that’s been several years in the making and has gone through many iterations, the Woodbridge, VA-born artist explains. “It’s a western about revenge told continuously through every song, centered on the character Cherie Lee. It explores so many themes, as many timeless westerns have: revenge, redemption, and romance, through the eyes of a protagonist looking to challenge everything she once thought true about her world.”
Shaboozey insists he has “poured all of myself into this and I hope people become as immersed in the world and the journey as I have. This album was a promise to myself and something, no matter what, I had to keep. It pushed my songwriting and storytelling to new heights, and I couldn’t be more proud to say it’s done and almost yours.”
On release day, he’ll perform live in New York City as part of the Citi Concert Series on TODAY.
Stream “Born To Die” below.
