Since his debut in 2009, David Nail has made a career of singing songs that few artists dare touch in contemporary country music: sad songs. He has had hits with singles about cheating (“Let It Rain”), breakups (“Red Light”) and failed dreams (“Turning Home”) and he has owned every one, singing as if from personal experience. David’s ability to make such tales of heartbreak and loss his own is what defines him as an artist—one capable of finding and recording songs that are deeply relatable to him and to listeners. And his cathartic new album continues that trend, albeit with a series of decidedly upbeat songs that reflects David’s own happiness. But the Grammy-nominated artist’s renewed personal life did not come easily. After scoring his first No. 1 single with “Let It Rain” from 2011’s critically lauded The Sound of a Million Dreams, the bourbon-smooth singer spent an inordinate amount of time on tour, giving his entire being to country fans. He nearly burned himself out in the process, landing in a funk from which he found it difficult to emerge. But David prevailed, and he credits his revitalization to his wife Catherine. “I have this newfound happiness, energy and enthusiasm about life,” he says. “And the sole inspiration for why I wanted to get better, to change and to be different was because of her.” Now, David has taken that refreshed mindset and used it to shape his trail-blazing third album. If 2009’s I’m About to Come Alive was a snapshot of David grasping for the stars and The Sound of a Million Dreams captured him struggling with success, then this new album reflects an artist in control of his craft, a man fulfilled. The album’s 11 tracks, four of which were written by the Missouri native, capture, for the first time, the energy of his live performance. “It is a much more upbeat album than I’ve done in the past,” he says. “Having spent so much time on the road, I think I have a better idea of the type of songs people gravitate toward in a live setting.” But turning in a more up-tempo album after a career of sober material is a challenge, as well as a departure that could take longtime fans by surprise.