Ronnie Dunn Talks New ‘Tattooed Heart’ Album, Las Vegas Residency

Ronnie Dunn will release his solo album Tattooed Heart on Friday (Nov. 11), and the singer recently sat down with Taste of Country Nights to discuss his daughter's influence on the title track, his Las Vegas residency with Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn and celebrating Jennifer Lopez's birthday in Sin City.

In addition to "Tattooed Heart," Dunn says "That's Why They Make Jack Daniels" is one of his favorite songs.

"It says it all," Dunn insists.

Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus produced Tattooed Heart, and Dunn says the country trio haven't changed much since the days they were opening for Brooks & Dunn all those years ago.

"They've gotten a lot richer over the years. They're the same guys. Same bunch. They're funny," Dunn explains. "Jay is one of the funniest guys I've ever been in the room with. He'll have you crying laughing."

Dunn says DeMarcus is so funny that he can't sing around him. Instead, he'll go to his barn in his studio and sing so he doesn't wind up laughing their entire studio session.

It turns out that Dunn's daughter has a great ear for music, too — she was the one who originally brought him Ariana Grande's song "Tattooed Heart."

"My daughter brought it in and she threw the CD on the table and said, 'Hey, go listen to that hotshot,'" he recalls. "She's always keeping my nose to the grindstone and challenging me with stuff. I loved it. After I heard the Sam Cooke era melody I really liked it."

Currently in the midst of his Las Vegas residency with Brooks and McEntire, Dunn says the three friends are having fun and making a point to take bus trips and enjoy Sin City as much as they can.

"Vegas is great ... We made a pact not to stay in our rooms and stay on the strip. We took in a bunch of shows. There's always crazy stuff going on. The new Jason Bourne movie, they did the premiere in Vegas at Caesars and we got invited to do that. We went to Jennifer Lopez's birthday party. There's always something going on," he says.

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 75 stations nationwide. Listen to highlights on iTunes or your Android device.

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