Calvin Harris is Singing on… A Country Song?!

“Smoke The Pain Away” marks a bold departure for Calvin Harris, one that he calls a “celebration of artistic freedom.”

Is Calvin Harris having a midlife crisis? Last year, the decorated EDM hitmaker shared that he couldn’t see himself DJing longer than another decade. Now, he’s shared a clip of himself singing and playing guitar on a country music song titled “Smoke The Pain Away” slated for release on Friday, March 14.

Harris — who rose to fame during the EDM explosion of 2010-2015 for crossover hits like “We Found Love” featuring Rihanna and “Let’s Go” featuring Ne-Yo — shows a different side on “Smoke The Pain Away.” The Scottish producer shared a clip of himself performing the song on Instagram on Thursday, playing a twangy acoustic guitar melody while singing about the rigors of tour life. But longtime fans may find it difficult to shake the similarity of his vocals to those of his dance hits like “Feel So Close” and “Summer.”

In a subsequent Instagram post the following day, Harris announced the release date of the single. The audio synced to that post’s clip suggests that harmonica samples will also be incorporated into the final product.

By no means is Calvin Harris the first EDM artist to go country. One of the earliest was Rednex, who delivered the 1994 Eurodance hit “Cotton Eye Joe,” and the late Avicii famously turned heads when he debuted “Wake Me Up” featuring Aloe Blacc at Ultra Music Festival in 2013. Even Diplo started to dabble in the genre following the success of Lil Nas X’s hip-hop and country crossover, “Old Town Road.”

Pre-save “Smoke The Pain Away” by Calvin Harris via Sony Music, and look out for the full release of the single on Friday, March 14.

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