Silke Jasso
Rascal Flatts just released another new track, “I Know You Won’t,” as a teaser for their upcoming studio album. If you feel like the song is familiar, there’s a good chance you’ve heard it before. Carrie Underwood recorded it on her sophomore album, “Carnival Ride,” and Kelly Clarkson has included it in a few of her live shows over the years. Though everyone seems to love this song, it’s never been given a shot at becoming a hit on the radio.
Videos by Rare
Rascal Flatts hopes they’re the ones who can finally get “I Know You Won’t” the recognition it deserves. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve rescued a great song from obscurity. One of their signature songs, “Bless the Broken Road,” was recorded by at least two other artists before the Flatts put it out and took it to the top of the country charts.
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So, was Gary intimidated taking on a song that Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have slayed in the past? Not at all. He even admits to listening to their versions as he prepared to record “I Know You Won’t.” The songwriter, Wendell Mobley, had come up with a more stripped-down version for Gary to record, so those three performances were in his head when he went into the studio.
Gary tells Rare Country, “I just went in there and closed my eyes and tried to make it my own.”
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Gary’s bandmate, Jay DeMarcus, says of the song, “It needed to be done from a male perspective, and there was nobody better do that than Gary, in my opinion. It just seemed so vulnerable and so honest and so transparent.”
He adds, “You’ve gotta gut yourself when you sing that song.”
“You really do,” Gary says. “You’ve got to take down all your walls and just go, ‘I’m going to be completely honest with you in this song, and I’m just gonna tell you exactly how I feel. We’ve been through this before.’ I think having a guy’s point of view saying that cause we’re always so tough and that kind of stuff, so you just kind of break all your walls down and close your eyes and pour your heart out through a microphone.”
Take a listen and tell us what you think of Gary’s version of “I Know You Won’t.” You can hear the rest of Rascal Flatts’ new music when their album, “Back to Us,” drops on May 19. The project also features the Flatts’ latest hit, “Yours if You Want It,” which is climbing toward the top of the country chart now.
