Thomas Rhett Enlists Katy Perry for Hopeful ‘Where We Started’

When Thomas Rhett was putting together his latest album, Where We Started, there were no plans to make the title track a collaboration. It was a member of Rhett’s team who sent the song over to Katy Perry to see if she was interested.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, but they’re not gonna respond.’… And literally within 24 hours Katy responded and said, ‘I love this. I resonate with this so well,’” Rhett shares with Music Mayhem. “When she put her vocal on it, it took her, like, two weeks. She really put a lot of time and effort into this vocal… This reminded me of how amazing a vocalist she is, and I feel like it really came to life.”

The highly-anticipated collaboration is quite relatable in its message: Falling in love can be scary. Although forever is in your heart, life has a way of throwing curveballs. Rhett and co-writers Jon Bellion, Jesse Frasure, and Ashley Gorley remind all of us to look at how far we have already come. It’s a message that goes beyond a romantic relationship — it’s a message for life, and having Perry on the song brought it to where it needed to be.

“Having Katy Perry featured on this was mind-blowing to me,” Rhett reveals. “Alison Jones at the label sent it to her, and she was immediately like, ‘When do I put my vocal on it?’ I’m sitting there going, ‘Really?’ I’ve always been such a fan of hers. To have her on here really escalated the emotion of that track. It’s a song I think a lot of people are going to relate to and a lot of people are really going to enjoy.”

According to Rhett, “Where We Started” — like all 15 songs on the project — comes “from a place of severe honesty.” His songwriting appears on all but one of the tracks — “The Hill” — which Lori McKenna, Jordan Reynolds and Emily Weisband co-wrote.

The “Slow Down Summer” singer is set to hit the road this summer. Rhett’s Bring the Bar to You Tour will kick off on June 17 and run through Oct. 15. Supporting acts include Parker McCollum and Conner Smith.