After making waves in the alternative folk scene with the release of Stick Season in 2022, Noah Kahan has been slowly inching his way into the country scene.
Between releasing a Spotify-exclusive version of Jason Isbell‘s If We Were Vampires and collaborating with Zach Bryan on Sarah’s Place, Kahan has slowly introduced himself as a country collaboration regular.
Today, however, it’s Kacey Musgraves who is crossing over into Kahan’s alternative folk world. Kahan took to TikTok on Sept. 30 to tease the version without name-dropping Musgraves. However, fans of the artist quickly picked up on the fact that she was, in fact, in this new version. He quickly made the formal announcement of the song’s release on Oct. 3.
She Calls Me Back was released back in 2022 on Stick Season, providing a much-needed spark to the slow, introspective record. It joins Dial Drunk (featuring Post Malone) and I’ll Call Your Mom (featuring Lizzy McAlpine) as the third re-released song from the album and its deluxe edition.
Like Dial Drunk, She Calls Me Back features a brand new verse this time from Musgraves, written independently by Kahan. With her patented snark, she delivers some biting lines in response to Kahan’s desperate lyrics.
“You love me and I don’t know why
I only call you once a week”
In an Instagram post announcing the release, Kahan expressed his appreciation for Musgraves, noting how he wanted her on the track the moment he recorded it.
“Kacey Musgraves is the coolest person ever. Not exaggerating when I say that during the stick season album process we would finish a song and I’d listen back and be like “can you imagine kacey on this??”.
Having her sing on she calls me back is incredible, and being able to have her continue telling the story adds a whole new dimension to the song and what it means. I’m so grateful and honored, continually humbled that artists of this level have lent their voice to this album. Kacey is cool as hell, brilliantly talented, and represents everything I love about music. She is a true artist and I can’t thank her enough for being a part of this song”
Listen to it here: