Tim and Faith announce Soul2Soul World Tour 2017. Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Tim McGraw pulled Faith Hill into a quick hug and kissed her forehead as an audience of their peers and country music fans applauded their performance of their new single “The Rest of Our Life” at the 51st CMA Awards.
Wearing a romantic red gown and with her hair in loose waves, Hill leaned into her husband and waved before the couple took a bow.By noon the next day, McGraw had traded his black cowboy hat for a ballcap and Hill swapped her dress for a sweater and a pair of jeans, her hair pulled back under a well-worn hat, and the couple were excited and relieved their performance was such a hit.
“We were nervous,” McGraw admitted, explaining the title track from the couple’s new album is hard to sing and the awards show was the first time they had performed it live. “I was nervous when it started, and then Faith came out and we locked on to each other and we were in our own little world at that point.
“We were talking about it last night…what is it about these shows that makes you so unlike yourself?” Hill said. “We did the same thing yesterday morning, our routine. Then you’re driving to the CMAs and you feel yourself change.”
“It’s like you lose control of your body,” McGraw adds.
The CMA moment was more than one month in the making — and the song’s namesake album, “The Rest of Our Life,” took years. Available now, “The Rest of Our Life” is an 11-song duets album the two have dreamed of since their daughters were young.
The album’s accompanying “Soul2Soul” world tour sold out 80 shows in 2017 and more are booked in 2018. The tour marks the first time McGraw and Hill have toured together in a decade. Hill deliberately stopped touring to raise their three daughters. But now that their daughters are older, the timing felt right for the couple to move forward with their careers, side by side.“We both turned 50 in the year of the tour so we thought that was a great time to do it because when will we get to do it again after turning 50?” McGraw said with a laugh, Hill seated beside him in a Music Row studio, looking at him in mild disbelief. “We may never get the opportunity to do it again. We may not be able to do it again.”
“OK, stop,” she jumped in. “Are you serious? Look at you,” she said, referring to his highly toned frame.
The business piece of the puzzle fell into place when McGraw and Hill signed with Sony Music Nashville. Their new record deals mark the first time in their careers they are on the same label, which McGraw said significantly simplified the process of making their duets album.
“What I have found of both of them is that as iconic as they are and as accomplished as they are, they’re just great people,” said Sony Music Nashville chairman and CEO Randy Goodman. “This has been a labor of love project, and it’s great stuff.”
The couple worked together to decide on the 11 songs — McGraw said there were supposed to be only 10 tracks but that the couple added an extra to “shake it all out.” They didn’t want a classic duets album, but hoped to create a timeless collection of songs that still sounded “cool and fresh and interesting.”
“We didn’t want to get gimmicky with it,” McGraw said. “We wanted to find great songs and…songs that were told from different perspectives.”
“That’s kind of like a marriage is,” Hill added. “Life together is sometimes when your friend, your best friend, your husband or your wife is needing a little extra help and you help carry the weight. You just have to walk beside one…
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