Some of Dierks Bentley‘s most significant career moments are courtesy of putting a funny spin on a heartbreaking situation.
Where would he be without his jilted-groom, fan-favorite scream-along, “Drunk On a Plane”? Two years later, he followed up with “Somewhere on a Beach,” another head-bobbing rebound anthem about outrunning – and outdrinking – the crushing end of a relationship.
The songs have been undisputed fan favorites for years. This Valentine’s Day, Bentley added another laugh-until-you-cry or cry-until-you-laugh heart-punch up-tempo. “She Hates Me,” the first single from an upcoming project, is available now.
“This is one of those songs that was never meant to be written,” Bentley told American Songwriter. “It just fell out between two ‘real’ songs we were working on that day.”
Bentley was pouring himself another coffee when he heard one of his co-writers utter the phrase, “She hates me.” Then they all started laughing. He rushed back into the room to see what was happening.
“Writing songs with Ashley Gorley, Chase McGill, and Ross Copperman is like playing hockey with the All-Stars,” Bentley said of his co-writers. “These guys are the best of the best. When you are that good at what you do, the confidence allows you to be so down to earth and easygoing. I always enjoy the Nashville songwriters I get to write with because of this. The conversations before the pen even touches paper are worth the time alone.”
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Dierks Bentley Likens Co-writers to Playing Hockey with All-Stars
That’s how “She Hates Me” started, Bentley said. The men were just sitting around, trying to make each other laugh. There was no pressure.
“We were just having fun and writing for the love of writing,” he said. “We were goofing around with this idea before diving into our next ‘serious’ song. It just fell out, and I didn’t think much more about it after that.”
With producers Copperman, Jon Randall, and Mary Hilliard Harrington at the helm, “She Hates Me” came alive in the recording studio. Bentley’s three children started requesting the song, and then he started getting texts from his friends who had heard it.
“I started taking it more seriously,” Bentley said. “I love any opportunity to laugh at myself – especially my younger self. ‘She Hates Me’ definitely provides that. I can’t wait for my fans to see the music video!”
As with “Drunk on a Plane” and “Somewhere on a Beach,” the music video for “She Hates Me” is a lusty side-splitting mini flick that finds Bentley stuck in a loop obsessing over a woman as she destroys his life.
Bentley didn’t intend for “She Hates Me” to be the first single from his new project, explaining that he tends to lean toward his more meaningful songs. However, he stayed open to allowing the process to happen and paid attention to the feedback when his family, friends, and record label executives heard his new music.
Dierks Bentley Didn’t Mean for “She Hates Me” to Be First Single
“This song kept rising to the top as the best one for country radio,” he said. “The fact that the first Friday the label had open to release it was February 14th made it all seem meant to be.”
However, Bentley doesn’t want fans to think “She Hates Me” is an indication of other songs on his upcoming album. He called it “pretty unique” but does believe it will play an “important role” in attracting attention to other songs in the collection. He also thinks it will be a hugely popular song on tour.
“I was just in the studio with one of my favorite artists of all time, John Anderson,” Bentley said. “I had never really thought about his songs as being a ‘fun’ one or a ‘serious’ one. I just love his music. But he does have some really left-of-center fun/funny songs. I think I really connect with that part of letting your guard down occasionally and writing and singing some songs that hopefully make people smile and laugh.”
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