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After confirming the release date for their viral duet, ‘Happy Ever After You’, MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge have announced the name of their new project, Thelma & James.
Launching with its own Instagram page, the husband-and-wife team have unveiled Thelma & James through a wistful montage of Porter and Etheridge captured at the beach.
It's not yet clear whether ‘Thelma & James’ simply serves as the name of their duo, or whether we can look forward to a full-length record titled Thelma & James in the near future.
Either way, it's undoubtedly cause for celebration, as fans have been calling for MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge to join forces ever since their snippet of ‘Happy Ever After You’ spread like wildfire across TikTok in December, with Porter admitting the forlorn, intricate offering was the first song they'd penned together in ten years.
The title ‘Thelma & James’ is inspired by the duo's birth-names, with Porter's full name being MacKenzie Lea Thelma Porter and Etheridge's being James Calvin Etheridge.
‘Happy Ever After You’ drops on January 10th, and will be the first bold step in this new creative direction from MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge. Both artists have successful solo careers in their own right, with Porter leaning towards an energising, pop-country sound while Etheridge tends to prefer a folkier, sparser ambience.
What's particularly striking about ‘Happy Ever After You’ is that it feels like the perfect intersection between each artist’s stylistic tendencies, with the stripped-back track a happy marriage of country's incisive storytelling and folk's raw emotionality.
When MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge first teased ‘Happy Ever After You’ in December, a slew of fellow artists took to the comments to express their love of the song, including the likes of Luke Combs, ERNEST, Ashley Cooke, Ella Langley and various others.
It'll be fascinating to see what more is to come from Thelma & James - but judging by the compelling vulnerability and melodic lustre of ‘Happy Ever After You’, it's safe to say we can't wait to see what MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge have up their sleeves.
For more on MacKenzie Porter, see below:
