Ernest Opens His Phone’s Voice Notes + Reveals New Song, ‘Hey Painkiller’ — Taste of Country Nights, On Demand

Evan Paul hosts Taste of Country Nights, On Demand, a weekly country music interview podcast that focuses on the music. Follow wherever podcasts are found, like Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave a rating and review. ​​​​​​​​​​​This show is part of the Townsquare Media On Demand network. 

Let's talk about a guy that has the music industry figured out. His name is Ernest. He has been behind the scenes writing some of country music's biggest hit songs ("Big, Big Plans," "One Mississippi," "More Than My Hometown"), and now that he has come out on his own as a singer-songwriter, and he stopped by Taste of Country Nights to talk to us.

Ernest has written songs for Morgan Wallen, Chris Lane, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt and more. Now he has his own huge hit song on his hands called "Flower Shops." If you haven't heard it yet, it's an amazing ballad of sorts that pays homage to how us guys always mess up in relationships, and head to the flower shop to try to make it right. He shared that this song is the centerpiece of his album — it's the point where the story he's telling pivots.

During this interview, we talked about everything from what it was like going from writing to singing, having a kid and being on the road, to his love for Eminem and sneakers. My favorite part of this interview comes around at about the 11-minute mark, when he opened up his voice notes and revealed a new song called "Hey Painkiller," and the original lyrics and hip-hop beat to one of his hits for Wallen. There are thousands of more notes like that in his phone, and I just thought it was so cool he was willing to share.

I also found myself curious if he has ever written a song that another artist recorded that he wishes he had kept to himself. He was telling me that that doesn't happen with him, because when he is writing with or for another artist, he super focuses on the task at hand and it's essentially a more custom song for that artist, and not him.

He looks more party than business, and sometimes people underestimate him for that, but his eyes are on the prize, taking over country music and having a successful career as a musician and songwriter. Get on in here and take a listen to Taste of Country Nights On Demand Episode 30: Ernest.