HARDY’s Difftape Features Blake, Lainey And Many More

HARDY's Difftape version of his "HIXTAPE" music series is coming out tomorrow (3/29). According to his social media, the new project, which honors the music of the late 1990s country star Joe Diffie, features some big names in country music today.

HARDY posted a video clip talking about the project recently. He said in the clip, "'DIFFTAPE' is all Joe Diffie songs, and it's just a huge nod, tip of the hat, if you will, to the icon that is Joe Diffie."

HARDY continued, "Rest in peace. We all love you, and we all miss you. We just wanted to do something special, different, and cool. So this is the biggest 'Hixtape' ever, 30 of our best country friends and singers."

He concluded with an air of mystery, "You're not gonna believe all the people that are on this… I'm so proud of all the people that said yes to this."

HARDY's HIXTAPE Instagram account posted the collaborators on the project, which can be seen on the album cover in carton form. The artist featured on the album is a who's who of country music.

Photo Art - Big Loud Records 

Blake Shelton
Toby Keith
Lainey Wilson
Old Dominion
Jon Pardi
Luke Combs
Luke Bryan
Reba McEntire
Darius Rucker
Joe Diffie
Brooks & Dunn
Morgan Wallen
Post Malone
Parker Diffie (Joe Diffie's son)
Chris Young
Randy Houser
Hailey Whitters
Tracy Lawrence
Clint Black
Larry Fleet
Ernest
Aaron Tippin
Mark Wills
Nate Smith
Randall King
Sammy Kershaw
Jack Ingram
Koe Wetzel
Lauren Watkins
Kameron Marlowe

HARDY also shared a shot of a typed tracklist in the social media video clip with the names of those who sang on each song blacked out. He also blacked out what track ten would be.

1. "A Night To Remember"
2. "Bigger Than The Beatles"
3. "C-O-U-N-T-R-Y"
4. "Home"
5. "Honky Tonk Attitude"
6. "If The Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)"
7. "In Another World"
8. "Is It Cold In Here"
9. "John Deere Green" [Hardy, Morgan Wallen]
10. –
11. "New Way (To Light UpAn Old Flame)"
12. "Pickup Man" [Post Malone]
13. "Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)"
14. "Ships That Don't Come In"
15. "So Help Me Girl"
16. "Texas Size Heartache"
17. "Third Rock From the Sun"

HARDY told us in November (2023) when the DIFFTAPE project was announced, "I'm super excited about DIFFTAPE. I think it's a unique project, and we're the first people to do something like this. Especially having the original recordings and the fact that we have his family's blessing to do it, it's all really special."

He added, "Joe epitomized the '90s country voice – he was so good about hearing and cutting hits, recording amazing songs. On a personal level, I only got to meet Joe once, but he was extremely nice to me, and this was in my first year of being an artist when I was an absolute nobody. He was so, so kind to me, and that memory I have of him is truly special to me, too."

HARDY has been making a big splash in country music in the last couple of years. "Wait In The Truck," in particular, has become an huge hit and an award winner.

Last week, CMA nominations were announced for the 57th Annual CMA Awards, and HARDY landed four nominations this year with his hit collaboration "Wait In The Truck," which features fellow nominee Lainey Wilson. "Wait In The Truck" was co-produced and co-written by HARDY. Justin Clough directed the music video for the song. HARDY now has nine career nominations, three of which are for Song of the Year.

As he celebrates his 33rd birthday today (9/13), he is headlining his own "The Mockingbird & THE CROW Fall Tour" with his duet partner and friend Lainey Wilson as an opener. This week, the tour plays shows in Kentucky and Ohio.

In a recent interview, HARDY said his signature song, "Wait In The Truck," is based on something that happened one night with his then-girlfriend. He noted that the song came about fairly simply. He explained, "I was in Atlanta, and my girlfriend was at a party and said a guy made a pass at her." HARDY said he was "fired up about it" and thought if it had gotten any worse, he would have found out where he lived and told my girlfriend to "wait in the truck." Then he decided to write a story about it. He noted that "The song wrote itself."

HARDY added that the song got heavier than he originally intended. He said in the second verse when he murdered and "say how we did it," he didn't think he would do that at the start. By then, he knew he was going to cut the song. He said to himself, "'If I'm doin' it, we're killin' the guy.'"

As HARDY celebrates his 33rd year in this world today (9/13) with his wife Caleigh by his side, we share what we believe are four songs he released as an artist that made him a country music star.

HARDY said that "Give Heaven Some Hell" is a "stirring" tribute to anyone who has lost a loved one. He said it is one of his favorite songs that he has ever written. When he released it, he said, "I just hope this helps anyone that's ever suffered a loss of a loved one. I'm excited for this song to exist in the world." The chorus includes the lyrics, "I hope you hit those gold streets on two wheels / I hope your mansion in the sky's got a ten-acre field / With some mud and some hubs you can lock in / Make some thunder, make 'em wonder how you got in / Hide your beer, hide your clear from the man upstairs / Crank it loud, hold it down 'til I get there / And when I do, I hope you got some new stories to tell / 'Til then, give Heaven some hell."

"One Beer" tells a story about how just a single Bud Light led to an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and a shotgun marriage. Though the twist of fate resulted in the shelving of life plans, there is the ultimate blessing of a happy family of three. The song reached number one on the country charts, becoming HARDY's first number-one as an artist.

This was HARDY's very first single from his debut album. The music video was shot on a farm in Cottontown, Tennessee, and features some of HARDY's songwriting collaborators: Brett Tyler, Joe Clemmons, and Benjy Davis. The group was able to relax and have a fun day just being buddies and hanging out. Their day consisted of mudding, mattress surfing via his jacked-up 4x4, shooting catfish in a lake, paintballing, and shotgunning Busch Lights.

HARDY's biggest hit as an artist. This modern day murder ballad has been certified platinum, selling almost one million copies. The song's dramatic video won Collaborative Music Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Music Awards and was nominated for Video of the Year. The song and video won Musical Event and Video of the Year at the 2023 ACM Awards. The song depicts a man who, upon finding a battered woman on the side of the road, confronts her abuser in his trailer, shooting him when he reaches for his shotgun, killing the abuser. The video has been viewed on YouTube over 63 million times.