Brett Eldredge Gets Into the Glow World

The reason Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor are so good when they sing together is that they’re two old souls who are suckers for a throwback groove. They were raised on the greats — Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Mel Tormé and many more — making Trainor the obvious duet partner for Eldredge’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” The two were concert magic together when they performed the Christmas classic live on CMT Crossroads.

“I’ve known Meghan for a long time because she has Nashville roots,” Eldredge told CMT.com on Monday (Dec. 3). Both Trainor and Eldredge initially moved to the Tennessee capital to be songwriters, and Music Row was the first creative community to take a chance on their respective sounds.

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“We became friends back when we were People’s ‘Ones to Watch,’ and our careers were just starting to take off,” he said. “Then I started to find out how much she loved the big band sound and that she grew up on Sinatra and different big band artists. She has that old soul about her, and she was my No. 1 pick to be the female vocalist on this song. The next thing you know, I got my first No. 1 on the AC charts with this Christmas song, and we got to share it together.”

Eldredge originally recorded Glow in May 2016 in New York with acclaimed arranger Rob Mounsey, who is credited on Paul Simon’s Graceland, Steely Dan’s Gold, Diana Ross’ The Boss and many others. To get in the Christmas spirit in springtime, Eldredge wore a suit to the studio every day and made sure every session went down with some whiskey; just like his big band heroes.

“I went and lived the dream in New York City,” Eldredge recalled. “They had some lights up, and the magic took over. Once you’re in that place, you never want to leave the Glow world. Getting to hear the strings live was a religious experience. I stood in the room while they were recording it, and I’ll never feel that feeling quite like that again as when I heard it for the first time.”

The new Glow deluxe edition (available now) adds five new songs — “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” “Silver Bells,” “Sleigh Ride,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Christmas Time Is Here.”

Lauren Tingle is a Tennessean and storyteller who eats music for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When she’s not writing or rocking out, she enjoys yoga and getting lost in the great outdoors.