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Koe Wetzel on the ‘Sweet’ Smell of Chart Success After Finally Earning First Hot 100 Entry: ‘The Timing Is Great’

Koe Wetzel talks about his "Sweet Dreams" breakthrough chart success and his upcoming '9 Lives' album.

Both are set to be included on the ascendant country-rocker’s upcoming album 9 Lives, due for a July 19 release on Columbia, which will be followed by the Damn Near Normal World Tour, taking Wetzel all over the U.S. and then through Europe this late summer and autumn. Below, Wetzel talks with Billboard about his breakout chart hit, the factors that led to his recent crossover success and the unexpected cover song he has planned for this album cycle. So we stepped back, like, “Do we want to go a different direction?” I wrote in my notes, probably two weeks prior, “It’s hard to have sweet dreams when I’m such a nightmare.” And we had a guitar lick that we had put together a couple days before on the road while touring.

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