Luke Grimes, the actor who plays John Dutton’s favorite son Kayce in the favorite TV show Yellowstonehe’s tapping into his inner cowboy again – but this time for his debut album.
On Friday, the singer and actor released his self-titled record. Speaking to PEOPLE about the project, Grimes, 40, revealed what inspired him to release the album after years of songwriting and how Yellowstone influenced its creation.
“Writing songs was kind of a hobby for me and something I would do in my spare time,” Grimes tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It just became something I would do for myself. I didn’t expect any of this.”
Grimes — who grew up as a drummer in a church band — says he got a call one day from his manager who told him he’d heard he was writing music.
“He said, ‘Is that something you’d really like to try?’ We talked for a couple of years before I really went for it and went ahead with my meeting and labels and all that,” he says. “I had so many reservations about, ‘Is this going to be weird? Should I do it? Is it something I’m going to look back on and be mad at myself for if I didn’t do it?’ And I felt I would.”
Luke Grimes.
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Adding: “I was just thinking, ‘Am I going to be really mad at myself in the future if I don’t take advantage of this opportunity?’ The answer was yes. I knew I would have regretted not at least trying, so that really kind of pushed it over the edge.”
It wasn’t an easy decision – but Grimes decided to face his fears and is “proud” he was able to do it.
“I was terrified to do it. If you had asked me three or four years ago, ‘Do you think you’ll have an album coming out in the near future?’ I would say absolutely not. It sounds scary,” he says.
The 13-song album follows Grimes’ EP Painkillers or Pews and serves as an introduction to who he really is. In the album, Grimes touches on personal topics such as meeting his wife, Brazilian model Bianca Rodrigues Grimes, and the death of his father.
“This is an introduction to who I am and what’s on my mind. I’ve been playing characters for a long time and I’ve been acting for 20 years, and that whole process is completely the opposite, where you’re trying to make someone believe you’re something or someone else,” he says.
“I feel like with this first album, the whole point was if I’m going to go in and do this music thing and try to do it right, then I’m going to have to start on the ground floor and tell you who I really am and where I’m really coming from and not try to act at all character,” he continues.
Grimes, who believes that good music is rooted in honesty, wanted to challenge himself to create something that fans could relate to.
“They say country music is three chords and the truth. I think country music, at its best, is just telling the truth and kind of letting go of the truth…but to a point where other people can relate to it,” he says. “That’s kind of the point. A bunch of people can hear the same country song and know they’ve all been through the same thing. It makes you feel closer to everybody else.”
Parallels between country music and Yellowstone it’s no coincidence, though, as Grimes says his acting roles have played a role in his songwriting.
“Through these characters, I can explore parts of life that I wouldn’t have before. Obviously in Yellowstone, exploring this western way of life that I had never experienced before. I was never a cowboy. I’ve never ridden horses. I’ve never lived in the west. I live in Montana now,” he says. “I mean, it really informs a lot of things about who I am, which then informs the music. So I think they’re connected in a pretty strong way.”
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Luke Grimes.
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About the future Yellowstoneexpected to wrap up with the second part of Season 5, Grimes says she “doesn’t know” how she’ll react when it’s “actually said and done,” but it’s been “a big part of my life.”
“We’ve been doing this for seven years, and we started in 2017. It’s crazy. This cast and crew, they’re like a second family, we spend a lot of time together,” Grimes says of the final season, which doesn’t have a release date yet. “It was one of the most intense experiences of my life. Also, one of the most rewarding. It changed my life in every possible way.”
He adds, “Nothing will ever be the same because of this show in so many ways, good and bad. I’m going to miss it terribly. I know that. I mean, I think I’m ready to know how it ends. I’m ready to tell the end of the story.”
Grimes moved to Montana to film the series. When the show ends, he plans to stay.
“My wife and I love it out there. I think it would be a great place to raise a family. You never know what the future holds,” he says. “Who knows where the next thing will be and how long I’ll have to be there. I’m always open to anything, but in due time I’ll be there. I’ve really fallen in love with it.”
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Source: HIS Education