{"id":3386,"date":"2025-09-24T16:58:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/?p=3386"},"modified":"2025-09-24T16:58:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:58:19","slug":"josh-ross-on-cementing-whirlwind-year-with-debut-album-later-tonight-working-with-akon-prioritizing-health-for-a-long-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/?p=3386","title":{"rendered":"
Josh Ross on Cementing Whirlwind Year With Debut Album \u2018Later Tonight,\u2019 Working With Akon & Prioritizing Health for a \u2018Long\u00a0Career\u2019<\/div>"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tOntario, Canada native Josh Ross is riding a wave of considerable career acclaim as he releases his first full-length album, Later Tonight<\/em>, which dropped Sept. 19 via MCA\/ Mercury Nashville\/ Universal Music Canada and CORE Records. <\/p>\n

\n\tHis song \u201cSingle Again\u201d rose to the top 5 on the Billboard Canada Country Airplay chart and triumphed at the pinnacle of the Billboard Country Airplay chart, becoming his first U.S. country chart-topper.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe also just won<\/a> his second entertainer of the year trophy at the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards, while \u201cSingle Again\u201d was named single of the year. He also picked up awards for video of the year, top-selling Canadian single of the year (both for \u201cSingle Again\u201d) and top-selling Canadian album of the year (for his previous EP, Complicated<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s great to have the support and love from Canada, embracing me playing shows and also trying to be an international act \u2014 it\u2019s a time for me to reflect when I\u2019m there on the progress we\u2019ve made in the last year and all the things that have happened,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m happy and just appreciative of the awards and recognizing everybody involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 15-song new album, produced by Matt Geroux, offers up an array of sounds, all of them reflecting different facets of Ross\u2019s artistry. The set includes his latest release, \u201cHate How You Look,\u201d which debuted at No. 46 on the Canada Country Airplay chart, as well as his Akon collaboration \u201cDrunk Right Now (Na Na Na).\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt goes from rock to rap to country to piano, singer-songwriter. I think the coolest part is that it is cohesive with who I am as a person,\u201d Ross says. \u201cI very much listened to so many different styles of music. For me, that translates to, when I write a song, I write the song and let the musical parts find it after. And if it calls to be more rock or country, or whatever it may be, I just allow that freedom to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRoss has been pursuing a country music career for nearly a decade. His first independent EP, Do What You Love<\/em>, released in 2020 and he followed it with 2022\u2019s Live Sessions<\/em> and 2024\u2019s Complicated<\/em> EP. In 2023, he earned his first Canadian Country Airplay chart No. 1 with \u201cTrouble,\u201d and quickly followed with \u201cAin\u2019t Doin\u2019 Jack.\u201d He earned his first CCMA Awards win in 2023 for breakthrough artist or group of the year.<\/p>\n

\n\tRoss moved to Nashville seven years ago and has since toured with Bailey Zimmerman, Lee Brice, Nickelback and more. Earlier this year, he wrapped a stint of Canadian shows opening for Jelly Roll<\/a>\u2018s The Beautifully Broken Great Northern Tour. This year, he\u2019ll open shows for Dylan Scott, before headlining his own 17-show Later Tonight Tour next year in Canada.<\/p>\n

\n\tRoss spoke with Billboard<\/em> about the new album, touring with Jelly Roll, the importance of focusing on physical and emotional health, and more.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSingle Again,\u201d which you wrote with Brad Rempel (known for his work with High Valley) and Joe Fox, has been a huge hit for you. What is the backstory on that song?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI had the idea for almost three years and never wrote it. I told Joe and Brad this idea. I was at Losers Bar in Midtown here in Nashville, and there was a girl I had had a crush on throughout high school. I hadn\u2019t seen her in like eight years, and she happened to be in this Nashville bar. I brought her a drink and walked up to her, and found out she had a boyfriend. It was just casual conversation \u2014 and then I don\u2019t know if it was me having a couple of drinks that night or whatever, but I was like, \u201cHey, let me know if you\u2019re ever single again.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tI also thought it was a cool concept, and wrote it on my phone \u2014\u00a0and underneath that, I wrote, \u201cThe one that got away.\u201d I feel like everybody\u2019s had that situation where you both weren\u2019t single at the right time, or you just never get that chance with a person. I forgot about the idea and had it on my phone for a long time until it popped up that day in the writing room. Joe really helped with laying out the hook, and Brad definitely had that anthem chorus idea and the melody to help it all come together.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did the collaboration with Akon come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve always been a fan of Akon. I have a brother and sister that are 10, 12 years older than I, and they were listening to that music when they\u2019d be going out and partying and stuff. I would hear some of those songs as a kid, and they stuck with me. Melodically, he\u2019s just so incredible, and they are really catchy songs and I thought it would be cool to re-write one of his songs. One of the songs I love is [2008\u2019s] \u201cRight Now (Na Na Na).\u201d I thought, \u201cLet\u2019s make a fun, summertime country festival song like, \u201cDrunk Right Now.\u201d I walked into the writing room and we finished the idea. <\/p>\n

\n\tWe live in such an interesting time of trying to figure out when to release music. I was talking to my team and was like, \u201cBefore we tease this song, is there any way to get it to his team?\u201d We sent it over, and within like a day he hit back and was like, \u201cI love this and would like to do something with it.\u201d That was so exciting, and he sent me a version where he wrote his own second verse. There was an original second verse that I had written and he re-wrote that. It had been just a party song\u00a0\u2014 but then once he did his part on it, it was like he\u2019s talking to me trying to help me through a breakup situation, and that just brought such a cool new aspect to the song. I\u2019m super thankful for it, and it feels really full-circle to me.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre there other artists you would love to collaborate with?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I think, a female in the pop world. Tate McRae already did the [collaboration \u201cWhat I Want\u201d] with Morgan [Wallen], but somebody in that lane. When it comes to sad songs on piano, I think Lewis Capaldi would be really cool.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother song on the new album, \u201cMad at Me\u201d has a pop\/R&B vibe to it and a bit of a lyrical edge. What did you think when you first heard it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI felt like it touched on a tone that I really had not gotten to do. We tried to record that song more rocking with real drums and stuff, and I was like, \u201cThere\u2019s something with attitude about it, kind of being more of a pop, R&B-style track with 808s.\u201d It just really fit the energy of it.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the most vulnerable songs on the project is \u201cScared of Getting Sober.\u201d What inspired you to write that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I think in a way we\u2019re lucky that I get to do a job where I can have drinks on a daily basis and have fun and party and that being kind of the norm. I was starting to get to a point where, if I was being honest with myself, there\u2019s times where it\u2019s difficult. You\u2019re really, really tired, and you\u2019re trying to balance fun with work. And then, also just the relationship side of it \u2014 you watch relationships sometimes kind of fizzle away. It reminded me of my song \u201cTrouble,\u201d that I felt really connected with people that kind of struggle with things like that. I just feel like it\u2019s a raw, emotional song that definitely will connect with certain people.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt feels like more artists are being open with struggles around alcohol, and trying to be healthier.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI kind of relate it in a weird way to sports. You think about sports back in the \u201960s to the \u201980s, people would get off the football field or off the hockey rink and they would have a bunch of beers or whatever. Those were professional athletes. I think now you\u2019re seeing artists starting to realize the benefits to being healthy. I think the second part for me that is the biggest part that plays into me being healthy is just the longevity of having a long career.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat has it been like touring with Jelly Roll?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tJust great. I mean, he\u2019s somebody that I say has turned maybe dark times for him into such a bright light for a lot of people. He\u2019s been able to influence so many people through the lessons that he\u2019s learned. Watching him do that every night, just the kindness. I\u2019d just be sitting in catering having lunch or dinner and he\u2019ll just come sit down and be like, \u201cHow are you? What\u2019s going on?\u201d Wanting to actually know about you. I think sometimes that\u2019s hard to receive from a headliner, just because they\u2019re so busy and they have to make time for what they can make time for. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Jelly Roll is one of those people that somehow finds time to look after everyone, including himself. I mean, you look at how much weight he\u2019s lost and he\u2019s really looking after himself. Again, that\u2019s inspiring me and even the younger generations to be healthy and maybe to not let things get carried away.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ontario, Canada native Josh Ross is riding a wave of considerable career acclaim as he releases his first<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[385],"class_list":["post-3386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musica-internacional","tag-internacional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3386\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clasicosnoticias.com.ar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}