Kelly Lang has a gift for finding a song in an unexpected place. The Nashville-based singer, songwriter, producer, and author has released “I Reach For Red,” the first single from her upcoming album ‘Jealous Green Eyes’, arriving later this summer. A modern track with a clear nod to the 1980s sounds of artists like K.T. Oslin, the song turns a glass of red wine into something both playful and deeply relatable.
Lang wrote the track years ago in a hotel room in Jackson, Tennessee, the whole thing coming together in about thirty minutes. “It was inspired by a woman I knew who loved her red wine, and I figured there were probably plenty of others who could relate to the story in the lyrics,” she explains. “I’m not much of a drinker myself, but I do enjoy singing a fun song for those who are.” That kind of self-aware wit runs through the track and makes it land.
‘Jealous Green Eyes’ marks Lang’s first album made up entirely of songs she wrote or co-wrote since 2017, an eleven-track set that covers life, love, heartbreak, and divorce with her signature storytelling style. The album may also include a surprise answer song to one of country music’s most iconic hits by a legendary artist she just happens to be married to, making this one of the more intriguing releases on the country calendar this summer.
Lang’s catalog runs deep. Her songs have been recorded by Ricky Skaggs, Lorrie Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Crystal Gayle, George Jones, and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others. She has recorded duets with Barry Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, and Paul Shaffer, made her solo debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage in 2023, and had “Under a Tennessee Moon” named an official state song of Tennessee. She is also a member of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and a 20-year breast cancer survivor whose story informs everything she creates.
Additional singles from ‘Jealous Green Eyes’ will roll out through spring and summer, with the official release date to be announced soon.