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Darius Rucker teamed up with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles on a reimagined duet version of his Carolyn’s Boy track “Never Been Over,” the South Carolina-born country star confirmed on Thursday (April 25).
“I wrote it with John Osborne and Lee Miller, and we cut it,” Rucker said of “Never Been Over,” via his record label. “We talked about doing a duet, talked about a doing a duet. We just got deep in the record and never did it. It was the first song that I ever went to the label and said, ‘Will you make this a single?’ And they said yeah, and I wanted to make it a duet so bad. And we talked about folks and talked about it, and somebody said Jennifer, I think my manager said, ‘How about Jennifer Nettles?’ And I instantly I went, ‘Absolutely,’ because ever since ‘Stay,’ I’ve wanted to sing with her, and I’m so glad I finally got to.”
Rucker released his 14-track album, titled as a tribute to his late mother, in October 2023. Carolyn’s Boy is his seventh full-length studio album and his first solo project in six years. Rucker co-wrote 10 of the tracks, teaming up with powerhouse songwriters like Ed Sheeran, HARDY, John Osborne, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne, Lady A’s Charles Kelley and others, his record label noted when Carolyn’s Boy made its debut. Rucker also collaborated with “You Can Have Him, Jolene” trio Chapel Hart on the gospel-inspired “Ol’ Church Hymn.” Other highlights on the album include “Beers And Sunshine,” “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” “Same Beer Different Problem” and more.
The collaboration with Nettles — which Rucker also teased on his social media pages on Wednesday (April 24) — arrives shortly after Sugarland performed their new song with Little Big Town on the 2024 CMT Music Awards stage. Nettles and duo partner Kristian Bush will hit the road with the quartet ( Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook) on the co-headlining “Take Me Home Tour” later this year.
Rucker is “getting back on the road” with Hootie & the Blowfish this year with special guests Collective Soul and Edwin McCain. The “Summer Camp With Trucks Tour” kicks off on May 30 in Dallas, Texas. Stops include Ohio, New York, Colorado, Arizona, Nashville, Illinois, South Carolina, Virginia and other destinations before coming to an end on September 28 in West Palm Beach, Florida. See the full list of tour dates below.
“Just when I thought I loved this song, here comes Jennifer taking it over the top!!” Rucker said on Thursday as he announced his duet with Nettles. The new version of “Never Been Over” arrives on Friday (April 26). Until then, listen to the original version here:
5/30 — Dallas, TX
5/31 — Rogers, AR
6/1 — St. Louis, MO
6/6 — Detroit, MI
6/7 — Cincinnati, OH
6/8 — Indianapolis, IN
6/13 — Gilford, NH
6/14 — Bangor, ME
6/15 — Sarasota Springs, NY
6/21 — Boston, MA
6/27 — Bethel, NY
6/28 — Hershey, PA
6/29 — Burgettstown, PA
7/10 — Denver, CO
7/11 — Salt Lake City, UT
7/13 — Phoenix, AZ
7/16 — Anaheim, CA
7/17 — Mountain View, CA
7/19 — Portland, OR
7/20 — Seattle, WA
7/26 — Birmingham, AL
7/27 — Nashville, TN
8/1 — Hartford, CT
8/2 — Holmdel, NJ
8/3 — Columbia, MD
8/8 — Somerset, WI
8/9 — Chicago, IL
8/10 — East Troy, WI
8/15 — Cleveland, OH
8/16 — Philadelphia, PA
8/17 — Bristow, VA
8/29 — Columbia, SC
9/5 — Wantagh, NY
9/6 — Syracuse, NY
9/7 — Toronto, ON
9/12 — Knoxville, TN
9/13 — Raleigh, NC
9/14 — Virginia Beach, VA
9/19 — Charlotte, NC
9/20 — Alpharetta, GA
9/26 — Tampa, FL
9/27 — Jacksonville, FL
9/8 — West Palm Beach, FL