Lady A released their eighth studio album, What A Song Can Do, on October 22, and the band joined iHeartRadio for an exclusive iHeartCountry Album Release Party. Featuring collaborations from the likes of Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, and Darius Rucker, Lady A's new album found the band returning to their roots as they went back to the drawing board when the pandemic put a hold on their tour. Hosted by iHeartRadio's Wayne D, the Album Release Party saw Lady A taking fans through their favorite songs from What A Song Can Do, as well as their biggest hits.

Lady A opened up their Album Release Party with a performance of their single, "Like A Lady," the band got the crowd grooving. Addressing the crowd, Hillary Scott reflected on how grateful the band was to be able to return to New York City and perform What A Song Can Do live. The group dove into "What If I Never Get Over You" for their second track, Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood all sang the chorus together as Kelley and Scott started into one another's eyes.

Lady A explained how they found their sound once again, with Kelley stating that they rediscovered their love as a band. Prompted by Wayne D, the band shared how they managed to return to their initial purpose. "We've always been a band that, we feel like we just want this to be a big old lovefest," Kelley said. "And we want our music to be like that."

"I think when we've all collectively gone through so much over the last year and a half, and for us, songwriting and eventually being able to record was a great way for us to process our emotions," Scott said. She explained that she, Kelley, and Haywood hoped fans would be able to put their own spin on what the record meant to them.

The record was first recorded over Zoom, with the band members deciding to dive into What A Song Can Do when the pandemic put their tour in promotion of Ocean on hold. Haywood shared that it happened organically, and the band was able to have less pressure because with the pandemic throwing all plans to the wayside, they could take their time. They also revealed that there were certain times where they couldn't get all three members into the studio, but one of the occasions led to Scott and Haywood coming up with the idea for "Worship What I Hate." While Kelley shared his disappointment that he couldn't be there while they wrote the song, he admitted that the session likely would have turned out a little differently.

What A Song Can Do features Haywood's first track as a lead vocalist, the artist explaining he wrote the song for his wife as a Mother's Day gift. "I didn't buy her anything, I just wrote her a song. Instead of going into a store, I just wrote her a song" Haywood joked as he explained how the song wound up on the album. He shared how Scott and Kelley had been supportive of the track, even though he felt as though he had been stepping out of his comfort zone and had been unsure.

Prior to diving into "Where Would I Be," Scott shared the backstory of how Lady A came to be a band. She took fans back to how they found each other's music on social media and met in a bar, hitting things off and going on to have a successful 16 years together as a band.

"It was so funny, Thomas Rhett and I, and Dave and Hillary, we kind of all have these vacation homes in Florida," Kelley said to the crowd. "There's so much songwriting going on down there. We wrote a lot of our Heartbreak record down there. TR and I were sitting there, our kids were running around playing, and we each had a beer in our hand, and, I don't know if TR said he wanted to write this, or threw up his beer, and said 'Friends don't let friends drink alone.' And we were like: 'Write that.' And literally, as we were sitting there for like thirty minutes, we're just kind of throwing out lines and he's like, 'Got a buddy living out in Jacksonville,' and we were like, 'Man, we gotta write all this down.' And so it really wrote itself really fast. And I was out on the golf course with Darius Rucker and I played it for him and I was like, 'Wouldn't it be cool if you were on this?' And then we said the same to Carly in the car like, 'Wouldn't this be cool if you were on this?'" as the band performed "Friends Don't Let Friends," they took on Darius Rucker, Thomas Rhett, and Carly Pearce's parts.

"Need You Now," "Friends Don't Let Friends," "Bartender," "Worship What I Hate," "Just A Kiss," "Fire," "Things They Handed Down," "Champagne Night," and "You Look Good" filled out Lady A's setlist, the trio delivering a heartfelt performance that showcased what the band is all about.

Todd Matthews

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