Mitchell Tenpenny would â99% guaranteeâ that one of his smash-hit singles wouldnât have its meteoric rise without TikTok.
The social media giant is âits own monster right now,â Tenpenny said. âAnd it's been an awesome way for me to get my music out there in a different way, especially during the pandemic. âŠI mean, it literally chose our single âTruth About You.â It would not have been a single on radio without TikTok. I will, you know, 99% guarantee that.â
Tenpenny uses the platform as a way to gather âinstant data,â garnering real-time reaction from TikTok users who share their responses to his music. That includes âdemos that probably would never see the light of day,â he recently told iHeartRadio, âand then maybe one of 'em hits and it's like, âoh man, we need to look at this,â and âmaybe this should make the record.ââ Itâs something that Tenpenny also appreciates as a fan of other artists, pointing out Charlie Puth as an example of a singer-songwriter who often finds compelling ways to share âthe inside processâ of the making of his music.
âTruth About Youâ was one of Tenpennyâs massive radio singles, and appeared on his 20-track âFarm Emoâ project, This Is The Heavy, in September 2022. That highly-anticipated album followed the country artistâs 2018 debut, Telling All My Secrets, and also delivered âGood Place,â âAlways Something With You,â âWe Got Historyâ â which recently got remixed versions with VAVO & DLAY and Syn Cole, and âwithout TikTok this probably wouldnât have happenedâ â and other highlights. Tenpenny co-wrote the tracks with Devin Dawson, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley, Laura Veltz and other powerhouse songwriters. He crafted the track list after spending âan enormous amount of timeâ writing music during the COVID-19 pandemic, turning to his fans on social media to take their feedback into account.
Tenpenny recently hosted a live TikTok concert, playing for both a live audience and a social media crowd simultaneously. The âBeat the Burnâ Prevacid event featured Tenpennyâs career-spanning anthems in a âreally uniqueâ show that engaged fans in different ways.
âI wanna engage,â the Nashville, Tennessee-born artist said. â(When) I'm on stage, that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to engage and make people have fun, so I just didn't wanna leave anybody out, so I was constantly moving around.â
Best Of Both Worlds: Balancing Life At Home Before Jason Aldean's 'Highway Desperado Tour' Kicks Off
The âDrunk Meâ hitmaker is switching gears from TikTok shows, however, with his summer tour plans. Jason Aldean secured Tenpenny as direct support on his âHighway Desperado Tour,â slated to kick off next month in Bethel, New York. Aldean announced dozens of tour dates earlier this year, confirming that Tenpenny, Corey Kent and Dee Jay Silver would join him on the nationwide trek. See the âHighway Desperado Tourâ dates here.
âThis is our first direct support tour and (itâs for) one of my favorite artists in country music from the beginning,â Tenpenny, who toured with Luke Bryan last year, told iHeartRadio as he spoke about tour rehearsals and building the set list as the first show approaches. âI love his rock side of his music. We tend to lean more rock, too. âŠWe're above the moon to do this with Jason and to have it, especially all summer long, all the way through, it's gonna be a lot of fun.
âHonestly, not cliche at all, it's the greatest feeling in the world when (fans are) singing these songs back,â he said earlier in the interview of his audiences. âIt's just so cool. It's the reason we do this. So, I've just been, you know, soaking it all in. It's been amazing. âŠI try to write lyrics about real things that happened in real life, and hopefully people can connect to it. Because I have those songs from other artists that do that for me. And so, âŠwhen I'm like in the room trying to write, I'm trying to write the feeling I felt then. Because I know someone's felt that some other time, and I think that's why those songs are worked for us for the while now.â
Before kicking off the tour, Tenpenny is finding balance with time to âchillâ at home with his wife, fellow singer-songwriter Meghan Patrick. The couple tied the knot in October 2022 in a gorgeous ceremony. They were engaged since the previous year, when Tenpenny popped the question at the same Nashville bar where they met, Loserâs Bar & Grill. Tenpenny and Patrick have struck a balance to enjoy their time at home when they have it and support one anotherâs busy schedules on the road.
âStuff's blowing up for her and I couldn't be more proud of her,â Tenpenny said, sharing that on the day he spoke with iHeartRadio, he and his wife would spend a low-key day at home doing yard work and cooking dinner together. âWhen I met Meghan, it was an easy conversation at the beginning. We both wanted each other to succeed in that initial dream. âŠThere's never a time I don't miss her, but there's never a time I'm like, âdon't go out there,â or vice versa. When she says she's got a show, I'm so pumped for her. I want her to be out there on stage, that's where she shines. And so, it's been a unique lesson we've learned over the years, but we've got it down now, and I love it.â
'I'm Pumped': Tenpenny Teases 'Cool Surprises' With His Next Record Underway
The âHighway Desperado Tourâ comes as Aldean works on his 11th studio album, following his massive double album that served as a tribute to his hometown. The first installment, MACON, released in November 2021, and GEORGIA followed in April 2022. Each album listed 15 tracks, including âTrouble With A Heartbreak,â âRock And Roll Cowboy,â âThatâs What Tequila Does,â âIf I Didnât Love Youâ (a power ballad featuring Carrie Underwood), and live renditions of previously-released anthems throughout Aldeanâs career.
Tenpenny confirmed that Aldean isnât the only one with new music in the works.
He beamed a big grin as he said that he's âalready in the studio,â and has a few collaborations on the way.
â(I) already started working on that next record, writing every day that I'm home,â Tenpenny said, âand there's some cool surprises, hopefully some guests, people on this next record that are gonna be a lot of fun as well. âŠit's been really fun to go ahead and start that process on this next record.â
It wasnât immediately clear as of publication time exactly when fans â and/or TikTok followers â will get to hear Tenpennyâs newest music. But itâll be âsoon.â
âWe are gonna continue to put (music) out. I don't know how long it'll be âtil a record is, but we will have songs coming out to a record for the rest of the year,â he said. âWorking on some collabs and stuff with other people as well. âŠI love doing collaborations with other artists and other genres and also even within our own, I just, I love doing that. It's fun to sing with other people. So, we got a lot of that coming out.Â
âThere's gonna be some cool stuff,â he said. âIâm pumped.â