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Ryan Waters knows a thing or two about bars. He'd be playing in them for three a four hours a night after a day of teaching in Nashville. That's where he crafted his commercially viable brand of pop country laced with his distinctive baritone vocal. Of course, when you're singing in bars it's not all work, work, work. There's always time to unwind and let loose too.
We've all been there. When the firewater bypasses our brains and sends a message straight to our mouths without us seemingly being able to do anything about it. On Ryan Waters latest single, it's the whiskey that's doing all the talkin' on the amped up Friday night bar anthem for anyone who's ever lived by the motto, "Drink before you speak".
"It's never me, yeah that's the truth," he declares. "Last night was proof that it's the 80 proof."
It's been giving him a little liquid courage, buying drinks for everyone in the bar and generally making him run his mouth and getting him in trouble at every turn
“'Whiskey Talkin’ is an outrageously fun and energetic anthem that stays true to my roots," Ryan Waters told Holler. "While it may sound like just another country song about partying, it dives deeper into a real scenario many can relate to - whether literally or with a tinge of humor. So, if you find yourself in a situation you can’t quite explain, just remember: 'It wasn’t me, it was the Whiskey Talkin’!”
Born and raised in the small town of Luverne, Alabama, Ryan Waters had a typical southern childhood, where music was always in the mix among other pursuits. He moved to Nashville after he dropped out of college in his senior year, unsure of the direction his life was taking.
“My entire life, I was set on being a professional baseball player," Waters says. "Music was something I enjoyed, but it didn’t always occur to pursue it professionally.”
Waters learned quickly why Nashville’s been nicknmed the “ten year town.”
“I traveled back and forth a good bit between Troy and Nashville," he says, "ultimately finished my degree, and continued writing songs all along. I wasn’t sure if they were good, bad, whatever... I just wrote. I would teach during the week and play bars on the weekends. It was a grind.”
One day, at the advice of his sister, Waters tried his hand at TikTok, and the rest is history.
“When my sister first brought up TikTok, I said ‘there’s no way I’m going to film a video of myself and post it to social media.’ But one day, I’d just written a song with my producer called ‘Chevrolet You Down,’ and I don’t know what came over me, but I said ‘screw it’ - I got home, propped my phone on the tailgate of my truck, and lip synched to my song. I posted the video and captioned it ‘should I drop this or nah.’” The reaction to the post was beyond anything Waters could have imagined: the next morning, the video had over 1 million views, and 'Chevrolet You Down' itself (which Waters quickly released following his viral success) saw over 6,500 pre-saves, over 9 million streams on Spotify, and landed at #3 on the coveted iTunes chart - behind two Morgan Wallen tunes.
“That was the first time I caught myself thinking, ‘man - this could really be a career for me.’”
After putting out a string of singles this year, including 'Leavin' a Little,' 'Shadow of the Doubt,' 'Bloodstream' and the latest, 'Deer God,' Ryan Waters closes out the year with a double shot of two whiskey-themed songs, 'Whiskey Talkin'' and 'Whiskey on a Weekday,' as well as announcing his debut album for next January.
Listen to 'Whiskey Talkin'' exclusively on Holler below.
'Whiskey Talkin'' and 'Whiskey on a Weekday' are released on 25th October.