Where We Started

This soulful R&B-inflected duet with Katy Perry finds Thomas Rhett reflecting on the romance between him and his wife, Lauren Akins. Rhett recalls the start of their relationship when he played covers on his guitar in an empty room before picking Lauren up from her shifts in his Chevrolet. Now he's making a living out of singing songs about her.

Rhett wrote "Where We Started" with the New York pop songwriter Jon Bellion (Maroon 5's "Memories," Justin Bieber's "Holy") and Nashville songsmiths Ashley Gorley and Jesse Frasure.

When Big Machine Label Group executive Allison Jones asked Rhett if he would mind if they sent over the song to Katy Perry's camp, he figured why not, not believing anything would come from it. After all, the California pop star probably gets sent dozens of songs a day and she's never done a country collaboration before. Within 24 hours Perry responded, saying she loved the song and wanted the files. A week later, Rhett was facetiming Perry in his kitchen. "I think people expected the song to be some crazy hype EDM version of something but it's a beautiful love song that Katy came in and just owned," Rhett told Billboard.