Joe Nichols Shares the Story Behind ‘Say La V’ and the Unexpected Prince Connection

Joe Nichols is celebrating the release of his latest single, “Say La V.” While co-hosting Backstage Country alongside Elaina Smith, the country veteran opened up about the track and the unexpected Prince connection.

Nichols admitted he had doubts about recording his latest single, “Say La V.” He said his initial thought upon hearing it was that it’s not for him. “My first thought was, no, it's too young.” He chuckled, “It's just a little too young sounding. And I was on a school trip with my daughter, my 14 year old daughter. We went to Washington with her school, and you know, in between looking at George Washington paintings, I got this song. And the writer, Jason Seller, is also the producer of this album. He said ‘So, man, we just wrote this one today and we think it's a banger, man. We're going to shop this to a few big artists...’ And I heard it over my phone. I'm like, ‘Ah, man, that's pretty, pops. Pretty young. I don't know. I don't think so. And I hung up.”

Nichols changed his mind about 20 minutes later. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God. I'm singing this song!’ So I called back or text back. I'm like, ‘Actually, no, I want to cut that song. Just hold it for me. Let me see if I can turn this into a Joe Nichols song.’ I hate the third person thing, but that's my thought. Like, maybe see if I can work with this song. I did the same with ‘Yeah’ and ‘Sunny and 75.’ And it gives me that same vibe, really fun, energetic vibe.”

Smith noted that one of the sounds that stood out on the track is the horns. The 49-year-old singer shared that one of them played for Prince. “I think his name is Roy Agee. He played for Prince, and I thought that was one of the cooler, fun facts of the day when we were tracking the horns. You know, guys are amazing, actual musicians. It’s funny, I'm a musician, and I can do a little bit of music. I'm a Nashville number system guy, and I hang with a lot of musicians and everything, but those guys were actual musicians, real dudes. They were something else, man. Yeah, the Prince connection really floored me.”

Listen to the track below.