Country singer Thomas Rhett says Niall Horan tour was the next step

Thomas Rhett's 25th No. 1 song came together in the Arkansas woods.

Next to fellow country singer Jordan Davis, the 36-year-old "Die a Happy Man" singer pressed play on a track, which he had written years earlier, while the two sat during a break from duck hunting. They were both dressed head to toe in camo gear, drinking coffee and eating bacon.

When the song ended, Davis didn't hesitate to ask about the song's future.

"That's an artist way of saying like, can I record it," Thomas Rhett said. "And I loved it so much that I was just like, well, you can't have it. But we should do it together."

That moment turned "Ain't A Bad Life" into a collaboration that would eventually top the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart and mark a milestone in Thomas Rhett's career.

The track, featuring Davis, joins "Beautiful As You" and "After All the Bars Are Closed" as the third No. 1 from his latest project, "About a Woman (Deluxe)," and adds to a run that includes hits like "Die a Happy Man," "Life Changes," "Craving You" and "What's Your Country Song."

"Just like so many of my collabs, they never were recorded to be singles," he said. "They never were recorded to be on the radio. They were recorded because it just organically happened that way."

From duck blinds to stadium stages, the singer from Valdosta, Georgia has made a habit of bringing other voices into his orbit. 

At this point, Thomas Rhett has become country music's king of collaborations.

From duck blind to blinding lights

Minutes before stepping to a microphone at GEODIS Park, the singer-songwriter sat in a tan vest and blue shirt overlooking the stadium. A steady breeze cut across the open space as he prepared for his first press conference, announcing a hometown stadium show with Niall Horan as part of a summer kickoff tied to the FIFA World Cup.

"I've known Niall for 10 years now," Rhett said. "We're golfing buddies and he's just one of my best buddies in the entertainment industry."

The friendship clicked almost immediately, built through mutual friends and years spent crossing paths in the music industry. In an exclusive statement to the USA TODAY Network, Horan said Rhett's success never changed the way he carried himself.

"My first impression of Thomas was just that he was a gent straight away," the former One Direction star said. "Such a nice, grounded man, especially considering the success he's had in country music, the amount of hit songs he's written, and the shows he's played."

The two had already teamed up on a revamped version of Rhett's song "Old Tricks," a track likely to make the setlist when they take the stage together for two stadium shows at GEODIS Park and Hersheypark Stadium.

"He'll do a set, I'll do a set, and then we'll come out and do like a really special 30 minute encore together," he said. "Half of the stadium is going to be Niall fans and half is going to be my fans."

The goal is to give each fan base its moment while building toward a finale that brings both audiences together. For an artist who moves easily between genres — collaborating with Marshmello, Maren Morris and Teddy Swims — the format feels like a natural extension of how he makes music, which is part of what excites Horan most.

"You don't really see a lot of crossover shows between country and pop music like this," Horan added. "I think the fans know Thomas and I are genuinely good mates. It's just gonna make for an unbelievable atmosphere."

That mindset has also been shaped by watching Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour."

"My favorite part about that show last year was that one song that she did in the middle of her show that no one thought she was going to play," Rhett said. "For the diehard fans that are there, the people that have seen you five times, 10 times, 15 times, you have to do something in your show that speaks directly to that one person."

The stadium dates are part of a packed year on the road. Thomas Rhett has already opened shows for Morgan Wallen and is set to join Luke Combs for three nights at Wembley Stadium in London, marking his return to the U.K. stage.

"So this is a stadium year for us," he said.

Five kids later

In late February, he and his wife Lauren Akins welcomed their boy, Brave Elijah Akins. He was born nearly two weeks early, weighing almost 10 pounds.

The couple is now raising five children: Willa Gray, Ada James, Lennon Love, Lillie Carolina and their newborn son.

The father of five knows how quickly that time moves.

"I have eight summers left with my oldest child, which is like so sad to think about, but also like might as well make the daggone best of it while she's under my roof," he said.

For an artist with a packed year of stadium shows, collaborations and new music, that perspective shapes everything. He tries to live in the moment, to be fully present. That, he says, is balance.

"I don't know that I believe in balance anymore," Rhett said. "I think that when you are at the thing that you're at, you got to be fully present there. That's my balance."

At home, those moments often turn into unexpected conversations about the future.

"They were like, because we want to be CEOs one day," Rhett said. "Willa Gray was like, I'm going to move to Paris and I'm going to own my own clothing line and I'm going to be a worldwide known designer."

All five are growing up around music, much like Rhett did as the son of Rhett Akins. He said each of them shows it in their own way, but one may already be finding her voice.

"Ada James, my eight-year-old, has already kind of voiced that she wants to do this. She's able to sit down and figure out what keys make sense on the piano or figure out what clever rhymes are when she's making up songs in the back of the car."

Life changes, still

The notes app in the prolific hitmaker's phone scrolls forever. Thousands of titles, fragments and lyrical ideas are stacked up. Some ideas sit for years. Others become hits. His career favorite is "Life Changes," a song that continues to embody every season he's in.

"I think when I'm like 65 years old, I'll be able to look back and be like, 'Man, that was a super pivotal moment for me, not only in my career, but in my life and in my family too.'"

He gravitates toward songs he's proud of, even those that may not be obvious radio singles. Ironically, that instinct is what has made him a hitmaker, writing from a personal place that resonates universally.

"I could sit there and overanalyze a song or overanalyze a second verse or overanalyze a bridge until I'm blue in the face," he said. "Sometimes I'll just work on it so hard that I end up just like hating the song. That's why I'm grateful for people in my life that kind of go, 'Buddy, this is good. It's done. It's finished."

And even with a career built on hits and collaborations, there is still one name on his list that would make him "die a happy man."

"Bruno Mars is it for me," Thomas Rhett said. "If we could do a song together, I would quit the next day."

Bryan West is a music reporter at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.