Nelly Talks Upcoming Country-Influenced Album ‘Heartland’

The St. Lunatic says he’s doing something from his heart.

Nelly burst onto the music scene in the year 2000 with his debut album Country Grammar. The St. Louis, Missouri native later connected with Country singer Tim McGraw for the Platinum-certified single “Over and Over.”

It appears Cornell Haynes Jr. is ready to go deeper into his Country music bag for his next album. On the Tuesday episode of The Tamron Hall Show, Nelly discussed putting together a project tentatively titled Heartland.

“I don’t call it a Country album. I call it Country-influenced because I definitely want to respect all those whose Country is their field, this is what they do. So, I just don’t think that Nelly’s going to wake up one day and make a Country album and even though the Country community has embraced me so much, even starting with the Tim McGraw [song] when a lot of people thought I was crazy when I say that that’s what I wanted to do,” said Nelly.

The Dancing with the Stars contestant added, “Even moving on with FGL and Kane Brown and Jimmy Allen and a host of other people that I’ve been very fortunate to work with in that field. But I think it’s one of those albums where I have so much love in that field that I’m doing something from my heart, that we call from the heartland, and it’s basically Country-influenced though. I like to say that.”