Ty Herndon Inks Deal With Club44 Records, Pairs Up With LeAnn Rimes for Hit Song Remake
Ty Herndon, the GRAMMY-nominated country artist, has signed a three-album deal with Club44 Records, launching a new phase of his career with a powerful reimagining of his signature hit. The…
Ty Herndon, the GRAMMY-nominated country artist, has signed a three-album deal with Club44 Records, launching a new phase of his career with a powerful reimagining of his signature hit. The partnership begins with the release of a new duet version of "What Mattered Most," featuring fellow GRAMMY winner LeAnn Rimes. Originally released in 1995, the song topped the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, helping establish Herndon as a major force in the genre.
"Recording this song with LeAnn was nothing short of magical," says Herndon. "She and I go back three decades — we were touring together in the '90s when her career exploded, and she used to come out on stage and sing this song with me. So all these years later, re-recording it as a duet was a full-circle moment I'll never forget. Her voice brings depth and beauty to the song, which is breathtaking. We've both lived a lot of life since then, and I think you can hear that in every note."
The duet is the first single from Herndon's next album, Thirty, a celebration of his 30 years in country music. The album will include newly recorded versions of Herndon's greatest hits, collaborations with a variety of artists, and the themes of resilience, love, and personal growth.
From 1995 to 2002, Herndon tracked 17 singles, including the Top 10 hits "Living in a Moment" and "I Want My Goodbye Back," while being nominated as ACM's Top New Male Vocalist and receiving a GRAMMY nomination for his work. In 2015, Herndon became the first notable male country artist to come out as a gay man and is now an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility in the genre.
His 2022 album, JACOB, includes the indie hit, "Dents on a Chevy," which landed at the top of the independent country charts for seven weeks and was noted as the top indie country single in 2023. Club44 Records prides itself on promoting "the best vocalist in all musical genres" and championing authenticity for Herndon's voice and story as they grow their catalog.
