Exclusive Premiere: Country Singer Stu Basham’s ‘If You Want’

Stu Basham is an aspiring country singer based out of NYC. He’s releasing his new single,” If You Want,” and sharing it exclusively with Nashville Noise.

Nashville Noise: We’re so excited to do this premiere and introduce you to our readers. Can you tell us the story behind “If You Want”?
Stu Basham: First off, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity and sharing the music with the world. It’s amazing websites like yours that allow the new faces in country music to share their songs and ideas with the community.

This song starts off in a weird way, but our dog Gizmo woke me up in the middle of the night. I let him out but I couldn’t go back to sleep. I was just laying in bed and the phrase “If You Want” just appeared in my mind. It’s one of those moments that songwriters talk about when they receive almost a divine download of a song idea.

So I went to my piano and began playing with some ideas around that phrase. What came out of this session was a song talking about meeting a girl in a bar and just taking it slow. She just got out of a relationship and may not want to start anything. So in the lyrics, it’s all about making her feel comfortable. We can take it slow, she can go home by herself, we can stay up talking, I can drive her home… It’s whatever she wants as I just want to spend time with her.

You’ve got kind of a pop-country vibe. What artists inspire you and your sound right now?
SB: The vibe of this song was actually inspired by Chris Lane’s “I Don’t Know About You” but I really enjoy Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Zac Brown Band, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban — all the big guns. Lately, I’ve been listening to a ton on Spotify’s New Boots playlist… [And I’m] inspired by the next up and coming artists.

You live in NYC but you’re thinking of making the move to Nashville. What do you like about the music community here in Music City?
SB: My time in NYC has been very inspiring. I originally moved there thinking I would be an artist manager but I got bit by the songwriting bug again. Ever since then, I have been inspired to write by so many different things. It wasn’t until recently that I began writing country music. I never thought I could actually do it but then I really started listening to the lyrics and discovered all the talent that is out there. It inspired me and gave me new ideas for my own songwriting. There are some of the most incredible writers in Nashville and it blows my mind how they come up with new, interesting stories every single time.

What I like most about the Music City is the culture and how it revolves around music and specifically country music. Everyone seems so supportive of each other and wants to help each artist grow. They seem to enjoy the challenge of creating the next best song or coming up with a lyric that has everyone saying, “Dang, I wish I wrote that.” It’s also full of warm, centered people that have values and stick to their beliefs. Everyone has a different opinion but I get the sense that there’s so much love in Nashville and I can’t wait to be a part of it. I’ve never lived in a place like Nashville and for me to live in a city that revolves around music and songwriters would be like paradise for me. I couldn’t ask for a better environment.

What are your biggest music goals for this year?
SB: My goal for this year is to keep writing and producing as many songs as I can. I’d like to write at least 30 songs this year and promote them out to blogs and websites and get the music into the hands of new fans. I’d like to be able to sign a publishing deal this year and be able to write full-time with some talented songwriters. If that leads me to a record deal I would love that, but if it leads me to stay independent I’m fine with that too. As long as I get to keep writing. You can’t control what others think and you can only control your actions and your thoughts, so I’m just going to focus on my own actions like writing and reaching out to build connections and hopefully, the rest falls into place.

Check out “If You Want” below and stay tuned for more from Basham!