Silke Jasso
On April 28, country music rising star Dalton Domino should have been celebrating. He should have been rejoicing over the release of his new album, “Corners,” as well as bursting with pride upon the year anniversary of his journey to sobriety.
Videos by Rare
Yet, there was still disappointment in his voice.
“I’m taking it one day at a time,” Dalton told Rare Country during a recent interview. “I relapsed a bit in January, but I am back on track. I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m working on myself right now.”
RELATED: Country superstar Tim McGraw gets candid with Larry King about his sobriety
This brutal honesty and raw emotion is making the Texas-based artist a favorite of country fans across the country who have grown tired of the often formula-driven country music of today. “All I ever wanted was to make enough money off of music to keep food on the table and gas in my car and maybe pay my cell phone, which is pretty high,” he joked. “I had a whole other record in my mind that would have meant I would play it safe. But I decided to go the other way. And when I started writing this record, there [were] plenty of times where I thought, ‘This is kind of weird – should I even say it – should I even go this far?’”
But he did – which makes Dalton both intriguing and extremely real in a world often filled with fakes.
“To be honest, I’ve been tired and I’m tired of being tired,” he said in a slight gravelly voice. “I think the world is tired. I know that I am emotionally drained. Getting out these songs that I have recorded over the past year helps. It’s a full circle moment for me for sure. I changed this year and my relationships changed this year and I sit here today flabbergasted over how a year can change so much.”
RELATED: Nicole Kidman reveals just how tough it got before Keith Urban got sober
The songs included on “Corners” take fans on a journey inside Dalton’s personal struggle with sobriety, documenting his personal ups and the downs with both musical precision and downright sincerity. “These songs are a piece of me now,” he said. “They ended up being great therapy in the way it let me let go of some stuff that I absolutely had to get off of my shoulders. This isn’t a record of songs about picking up some chick on Friday night. This is as real as it gets.”
Since opening up about his journey, Dalton has been flooded with stories from fans going through similar situations. “Today I was driving to Austin and thinking about the balls it took to put my life on tape,” Dalton says. “But if it helps somebody, it seems all worth it.”
Craving to hear some Dalton? Check out the cut “Monsters” from his current album here.
