Darius Rucker Is Collaborating With Chapel Hart on New Album
Darius Rucker has a new album on the way, and, as the singer revealed this week, it will feature country harmony group Chapel Hart.
Rucker announced the news in a short tweet following Chapel Hart's successful audition on America's Got Talent, which aired Tuesday (July 19) on NBC. Rucker initially took to social media to praise the trio for their performance of their original song, "You Can Have Him, Jolene," which presents a modern-day response to Dolly Parton's classic tune, "Jolene."
"Hell yes!!! Go y’all!!," Darius wrote in a tweet alongside the video of their performance.
The performance impressed the show's judges Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel, and they handed the trio the prized Golden Buzzer. Chapel Hart's energetic audition also fired up fans at the show and at home, and one fan called on Rucker to help the band "break some more barriers" in Nashville. Rucker responded, "Already put them on my next record."
Upon seeing Rucker's announcement of the news, Chapel Hart enthusiastically replied, sharing their excitement for the collaboration.
"We’re SO glad you said it cause we’ve been STRUUUUUGGLING to keep it to ourselves!!" they wrote. "I don’t know if the world is ready for this one!"
Chapel Hart is a trio from Mississippi, composed of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their first cousin, Trea Swindle. The group's audition also garnered a response from Parton herself, who called the song a "fun take" on "Jolene."
As if two responses from country stars weren't enough, Loretta Lynn also entered the mix by reposting the video and challenging the group to write a response to one of her songs.
Other than teasing the potential collaboration with Chapel Hart, Rucker has been tight-lipped about details of his upcoming new album. He shared with Taste of Country in November of 2021 that he was still working on the project and that many of the tunes were inspired by the pandemic. The yet-to-be-announced album will follow his 2017 project, When Was the Last Time.