Lionel Richie has been dabbling in country music for a very long time, however many wonders why he never really made his own country album; but wonder no more because he just revealed that his first-ever country album is coming soon.
During his red-carpet appearance at the 2022 CMA Awards, one of the biggest nights for country artists and fans, Richie addressed the questions fans and other musicians have for him: is Lionel Richie going to release a country album? If so, when?
"[...] Probably the number one question is that," he began. "So the answer: soon."
"It has to be soon because later is not in the option right now," said the singer-songwriter, although he neglected to share exactly why it was not in the option.
"I am so vested in country music, you have no idea," he said then cited several of his works included in the genre.
Country Way
Richie is no stranger to country music, as he had contributed quite a lot of songs to the genre by writing songs for several prominent country artists throughout the years, reports say.
His 2012 album, "Tuskegee," saw a myriad of collaborative songs with country artists like Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts, and more.
"I've been here forever, it's just that I didn't put out the record myself," he told Billboard. However, he reassured fans that "it's coming."
Richie is a known singer-songwriter, whose main genres are soul, pop and R&B, however, it would come as no surprise to many if he would add country music to his discography.
After all, he wrote and produced Kenny Roger's massively successful single, "Lady." The song, released in 1980, was included in Roger's album, "Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits."
It was the song that boosted the country icon's career, and he comended Richie for his contribution to the song.
"The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I'd come from country, and we'd meet somewhere in pop," Rogers had said.
In the 2005 CMT Crossroads, Rogers and Richie teamed up and performed "Lady." In the video uploaded on YouTube.
Richie is a music icon at this point, and he will be honored with the Icon Award at the upcoming 2022 American Music Awards.
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