Fitting to the promises of its title, Braxton Keith’s debut album is, in fact, the “Real Damn Deal.”
The Midland, Texas native further cemented himself today, May 15, as a staple of the rising class of young artists bringing back the classic country sound with a modern twist. Following the viral success of the project’s second single, “I Own This Bar,” to its subsequent ballad “Don’t No More,” Keith set the precedent for a range of honky tonk earworms to heartache-heavy traditional sad songs.
While fans right now might be a little more familiar with the 26-year-old songwriter thanks to his trending TikTok catchphrase, “Drinks are on me, I’m Braxton Keith,” he says that, typically, he tends to lean towards the melancholy tracks. In a recent press session with Keith, he shared with me, “My biggest problem in general, according to my finance, is that I only write sad country songs.”
Taking the advice from his wife to be, Keith realized that for his first full-length project, he needed to amp up the energy and give fans a diverse mix of sounds, adding, “we knew we needed some upbeat country songs…especially coming out right before the summer, it needed to be something that was gonna kinda kick you in the teeth and get you drinkin.”
Sure enough, track number four aimed to do just that. What makes this addition even more impressive is the fact that “That’s How Hearts Get Broken” was written by none other than 12 time grammy award winner, Chris Stapleton, along with his wife, Morgane Stapleton, and Keith’s publisher, Liz Rose. Keith says Rose brought him two songs from Stapleton and his wife, which, in true Stapleton fashion, were “both really good, however, they were both really slow.”
Luckily, Keith and his producers were able to take this heartbreak anthem and still transform its drown-your-sorrows lyrics into something that you want to two-step to as soon as the chorus comes in. It’s also a great nugget of new music for Stapleton fans, given he’s recently teased that he’s nearing his retirement of putting out fresh material of his own, telling Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast earlier this year, “I don’t know when I’m gonna make another record or write another song… and that’s okay with me. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll even go play.”
Still, the track is an incredible addition to Keith’s 15-track album (10 of which he co-wrote himself), as he continues to stamp his mark on the country music scene with a number of songs influenced by the very ’80s-inspired sound of Ronnie Milsap and Eddie Rabbit. As he continues celebrating the new release and bringing his crowd-screaming hits to the stage, Keith will carry on with his 2026 This Ain’t My First Tour, which wraps up on June 26 in Ridgedale, Missouri, while also joining Riley Green on his Cowboy As It Gets Tour.