Listen to Hunter Hayes

Not so long ago, Hunter Hayes let go. Of the expectations. Of the pressure. Of the necessity to follow a specific formula for his career. Following a decade of playing by the rules and sticking to country music conventions, the five-time GRAMMY-nominated multi-instrumentalist and youngest ever male act to top the Billboard Hot Country charts is doubling down on his ever-searching musical mindset. Or as Hayes puts it: “I’m creating my own rules to play by so I don’t have to play by anyone else’s.”

It’s this new no-holds-barred mindset that’s resulted in some of Hayes’ most inspired music yet. On his forthcoming album, Red Sky, the singer-songwriter is executing at the highest level of his musical career: crafting memorable melodies and instantly catchy hooks with a top-notch musician’s discerning ear. It shows in the boundary-pushing songs he’s set to release: from the upbeat pop of “Sober” to the harmony-drenched “Feelings” to the chant-along chorus on lead single “Missing You.”

This norm-defying mentality—of no longer sticking to the script and instead letting his musical sensibility guide him—explains why Hayes says he’s never been happier or more engaged with the music he’s creating.