In the vein of good old country music, Diplo under the name Thomas Wesley has released a new track, “Heartless” with country artist, Morgan Wallen. The new video shows Diplo and Wallen hitch-hiking on the side of a forest highway, carrying cardboard signs which also display the lyrics of the song. With lyrics, “Say you’re going out late. I count down till you call me. It’s just one of those things. That you do when you’re lonely. And you’re all about the chase. But you won’t ever let me catch you. And I wish I was the same. But I know I’m gunna let you in again and when I do. Its gunna hurt like hell and you don’t mean to. That’s what I tell myself.”
The song definitely has a strong country feel with Wallen’s voice lending against the pop beat. The intro breaks through with the intensity behind his vocals with a unique depth, set apart from traditional country songs, with it’s pop, electronic harmonies brushed against the vocals. At one point in the video, Diplo reaches out to the cactus plant in an effort to show how painful the hurt is with unrequited love. This pain runs parallel to the lyrics in the song.
Diplo has worked with artists like Beyoncé, Bad Bunny and Turnstile. He is a member of Major Lazer, LSD with Sia and Labrinth and Silk City with Mark Ronson. Wallen delivered multiple Platinum-certified #1’s and Gold-certified singles, plus a nomination for the CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year. He has also co-penned hits for Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Dustin Lynch and more. He is currently on tour with Florida Georgia Line and will join Luke Combs on tour this fall.
The song, “Heartless” follows Diplo’s “So Long” featuring Cam. Recently, Diplo welcomed Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus for the live debut of “Old Town Road” at Stagecoach Late Nights. He also landed at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course for a performance ahead of the 144th Preakness Stakes.
Diplo announced that Major Lazer would be wrapping up their final album, so he could focus on more projects. He said, “I don’t want to force it anymore. And I’m into leaving on a high note. We did our show in Cuba, we did the cartoon, and everything else. And we’re making a really awesome record, the best we’ve ever done, right now. It’s diverse as hell. But I don’t want to just keep touring it until people don’t want to listen to dancehall and reggae anymore. So I think I want to concentrate on something new, whether it’s Silk City or my new Diplo pop project, or country music. That’s what motivates me: starting from scratch to try and build something.”
UPDATE (9/5): Diplo’s Thomas Wesley project has released a video for the song “Heartless.” The video features Diplo and the guest singer Morgan Wallen performing the song at a carnival. Watch the clip below.
Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi