With the buzz around 19 Recordings/BMG Nashville artist Colin Stough building, the singer-songwriter claims a place to make his creative stand with the new EP, Lookin’ For Home. Releasing July 12, fans can now pre-save/pre-add Lookin’ For Home and get a preview of the project with pensive track “Sober” Below.

“Each one of these songs is a piece of my heart, and they outline trials and tribulations that I’ve been through personally. They’ve made me into who I am today,” shares Stough. “The EP title Lookin’ For Home comes from that feeling that something is missing – that no matter where you are, who you’re with, or what you’re doing, you feel like you don’t belong, and there’s something just over the horizon that would make it better.”

Carving out a high-energy corner at the intersection of Country and Southern Rock, Lookin’ For Homefeatures six songs sharpening Stough’s hard-edged vision of musical honesty. The follow-up to his Promiseland EP debut, Lookin’ For Home burns with even more passion and raw vocal strength, presenting a full-spectrum view of a free spirit on the run, who’s painfully aware of life’s difficult contradictions. Dealing with everyday themes like work and weekends, and true love and the torment of heartbreak, the set never shies away from the messy truth – and with Stough featured as a writer on every track, that messy truth often grapples with the dividing line between right and wrong, tradition and ambition, the push and pull between small-town comfort, and the drive to leave his mark on the outside world.

Meanwhile, all throughout songs like the recently released “Makes Two of Us,” Stough wraps reflections on vulnerability, hope, belonging, and more, in an electrifying new sound, fusing the familiar crunch of Country Rock with a dark, gravelly take. Weaving it all together with a dynamic Mississippi rasp, he matches down-home tenderness with icy explosions of pure power in equal measure, as a burgeoning star rises firmly on his own.

Delivered today (5/24), he further captures the crippling torment of a bleeding heart in “Sober.” Built around the bitter sting of a breakup, the slow-burning ballad was co-written by Stough with Mason Thornley and Sam Martinez. All about missing someone so bad you can’t even numb the pain – “I could hang out all night / I could drink this bottle dry / Trying to get me gone and I ain't getting any closer / Without your love I’m sober” – a woozy mix from producer Martinez creates a tone that stands on the edgy fringe of Stough’s peers. Pairing down-tuned acoustic twang and a lonesome slide guitar, the track’s building blocks make for a weary ballad of emotional desperation. But when Stough’s powerful, bluesy vocal ruptures into the chorus, the true toll of finding no relief takes center stage.

Taking his new music on the road this summer, Stough’s stacking music festival dates like CMA Fest 2024 on June 8 on the Hard Rock Stage in Nashville, TN. Doubling up appearances, the Season 21 finalist on American Idol will also join a program at Fan Fair X inside Music City Center on the CMA Close Up Stage for “Idol Hour with Chayce Beckham, HunterGirl, Colin Stough and ‘American Idol’ Season 22 Runner Ups Jack Blocker and Will Moseley.” Find additional details here.

ABOUT COLIN STOUGH:
While Country Rock phenom and Gattman, Mississippi, native Colin Stough is only knocking on the door to his twenties, he has traversed a long journey in a few short years – starting with his debut EP Promiseland and follow-up EP Lookin’ For Home (expected July 12). After learning to play guitar at 8 years old, Stough first pursued his artistic dreams at 10, boldly trading childhood possessions for his first guitar at a local pawn shop – an instrument he still plays to this day. After graduating high school, the naturally gifted singer and self-taught songwriter began working full-time as an HVAC technician, before his mother convinced him to audition for American Idol. Impressing judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie, Stough stunned viewers and soon built a thriving fan base, finishing third on Season 21 of the show in 2023. He spent the ensuing months writing and recording original music, while also touring nationwide to put his blowtorch vocal and guitar-slinging edge on full display. After signing with 19 Recordings/BMG Nashville, his distinctive mix of Southern Rock distortion and pure-Country style has helped Stough’s music rack up more than 19.8 MILLION global on-demand streams. Stough has headlined across the country and opened for established artists like Chase Matthew, Kidd G, and Drake White.