The highest-charting debut of both of their careers.
A little over a week ago, Koe Wetzel released another song from his forthcoming 9 Lives album called “High Road,” which features guest vocals from Columbia labelmate Jessie Murph.
While there were some people that were upset that it wasn’t a solo effort from Koe, it’s clear most fans are loving the duet, as the song debuted at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week (which encompasses all musical genres).
It’s also the highest-charting song either one of them have ever had beyond just debut week, according to Billboard:
.@KoeWetzel & @jessiemurphhh‘s “High Road” debuts at No. 29 on this week’s #Hot100.
It becomes the highest-charting song of both artists’ careers.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) June 17, 2024
“High Road” was written by Koe along with Amy Allen, Carrie Karpinen and producer Gabe Simon, and finds Koe taking the “high road” both literally and metaphorically, as he uses a different approach to a conflict in a rocky relationship, deciding not to fight back but rather take some time to cool off (which also includes getting stoned, if that wasn’t obvious).
Koe says the song shows off a different side of him, and is intended as another evolution in his music and sound:
“‘High Road’ is a good example of how this album shows a different side of me than people might expect. Every record’s almost turning a new leaf, always a left turn because of how honest I am.
But this? It’s what the people have been expecting from me, but we hadn’t gotten there yet. It’s a grown-up version of me.”
The production is definitely in line with what we heard on the previous release “Sweet Dreams,” with a lot of R&B flavor that I do think he pulls off with his rock-infused unique brand of Texas country.
At the end of May, Koe had his first-ever debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart when “Sweet Dreams” charted at #47 during its first week of being released.
All of this chart talk basically means that he’s carrying a ton of momentum into releasing this new project in July, reaching a much more mainstream audience that is clearly loving this version of his sound. We’ve already heard a decent amount of tunes “9 Lives (Black Cat),” “Damn Near Normal” and the aforementioned “Sweet Dreams,” and this is already leading up to be the biggest release of his career strictly from a numbers standpoint.
The album was produced predominantly by Gabe Simon (Noah Kahan’s Stick Season) alongside a lineup of trusted collaborators like Josh Serrato, Carrie K and Sam Harris (X Ambassadors).
9 Lives is due out everywhere on July 19th.
“High Road”
9 Lives tracklist:
“Continued” Skit
“9 Lives (Black Cat)” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon)
“Casamigos” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Sam Harris, Ben Burgess, Gabe Simon)
“Damn Near Normal” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon, Carrie Karpinen, Sam Harris)
“Leigh” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon)
“Twister” (Ropyr Wetzel, Steve Rusch, Ben Burgess, Josh Serrato)
“High Road” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon, Carrie Karpinen)
“Reconsider” (Charles John Brocco, Keith Quenton Gattis)
“Hatchet” (Gabe Simon, Mike Coogan)
“Sweet Dreams” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Josh Serrato, Gabe Simon, Sam Harris)
“Runnin’ Low” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Sam Harris, Gabe Simon, Ben Burgess)
“Bar Song” (Blake “Shy” Carter, Breyan Isaac, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, Dave Gibson)
“Last Outlaw Alive” (Josh Serrato, Ben Burgess, Sam Harris)
“Sweet Dreams”