David Nail Exits Longtime Label Deal With MCA Nashville
David Nail has split with his record label, MCA Nashville.
A representative from MCA Nashville’s parent company, Universal Music Group Nashville, confirmed the news of Nail's departure to Sounds Like Nashville on Tuesday (Feb. 14), but provided no further details regarding the timeline or reasons behind the split.
Nail signed with MCA Nashville in 2007 and released his debut album, I’m About to Come Alive, in 2009, followed by The Sound of a Million Dreams in 2011, the 1979 EP in 2012 and I’m a Fire in 2014.
2016 saw the release of his most recent album, Fighter, as well as an EP titled Uncovered. Fighter was a very personal album that was inspired in part by Nail and his wife's difficulty in conceiving. One song, "Babies," directly addresses the joy of finally overcoming that struggle. The couple welcomed twins in December of 2015.
“I think when you’re in the thick of it and you’re getting setback after setback after setback, it’s really hard to find any positive,” Nail told the Tennessean. “But looking back, there was positive all over the place. I used to tell her the good Lord will bless us to be parents when we’re ready to be parents, and there was a good chunk of that time I wasn’t ready to be a parent. I think he wanted to make sure that we got on top of that.”
Nail placed seven singles in the Top 40 during his run on MCA Nashville, including two No. 1 hits, “Let It Rain” and “Whatever She’s Got."
The first single from Fighter, "Night's on Fire," peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's Hot Country Airplay chart in July of 2016. Nail’s most recent single is “Good at Tonight,” which features Brothers Osborne. John and TJ Osborne wrote the song with Troy Verges and Barry Dean. That song peaked at No. 52.
It's unclear what Nail's next plans are in terms of recording, but has his live calendar still shows some tour dates for 2017. Nail has not commented publicly on his departure from MCA.
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