In a town built on songs that cut deep and say something real, Corey Kent just proved he knows exactly how to read the room.
After a teaser for his new track “Empty Words” exploded past 20 million views across social platforms, the multi-platinum hitmaker made a decisive move — fast-tracking the release to meet overwhelming fan demand. In Nashville, that kind of organic heat doesn’t go unnoticed.
Written by Kent alongside Austin Goodloe, Lydia Vaughan, Matt Roy and Joybeth Taylor, “Empty Words” is a masterclass in economy; a simple phrase loaded with emotional consequence. It’s the kind of hook Music Row appreciates: conversational, direct, but layered enough to linger. “As a songwriter, it feels like catching lightning in a bottle when you find that line or double entendre that carries more weight than expected,” Kent shared. “‘Empty Words’ says something heavy yet simply. When fans reacted the way they did, we didn’t want to make them wait.”
The lyric cuts straight to the aftermath of love unraveled:
She’s over empty words
Half-heart apologies
My broken promises
My don’t give up on me’s…
It’s not over-produced drama — it’s restraint. Stark honesty. The quiet devastation of realizing too late that talk without action costs you everything.
The release follows Kent’s current chart-climber “Rocky Mountain Low” with Koe Wetzel and marks the first taste of new music since his 2025 EP Poster Child. For an artist who’s already surpassed one billion career streams, the momentum is unmistakable.
Kent’s second No. 1, “This Heart,” earned GOLD certification, while “Something’s Gonna Kill Me” is closing in on PLATINUM — both joining the TRIPLE-PLATINUM No. 1 breakthrough “Wild As Her,” the song that shifted him from promising Red Dirt contender to mainstream force. But what makes Kent resonate in this city isn’t just the numbers — it’s the narrative.
Photo: Dayna White
Long before he was touring with Morgan Wallen, Jon Pardi, Jason Aldean and Parker McCollum, the Oklahoma native weathered setbacks that would have sidelined many artists. After losing his first publishing deal during the pandemic, he moved to Texas and worked on a paving crew to pay the bills, never letting go of the songs. Honky-tonks and dancehalls became his proving ground, sharpening both his pen and his perspective.
That resilience fueled his major-label debut Blacktop and the critically praised Black Bandana, positioning Kent as one of the most authentic voices bridging Red Dirt roots and modern country-rock polish. Recognition from Rolling Stone, CMT and the Opry Next Stage program only underscored what Nashville was already beginning to see: this wasn’t a moment, it was a trajectory.
With international tour dates ahead and another Stagecoach return on the calendar, Kent is clearly stepping into a new chapter. But “Empty Words” reminds the industry why he broke through in the first place. It starts with a line that means something. And in Nashville, that still matters most.