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"His voice is just incredible...it's like caramel." Adele"REAL music fans already know. So, mainstream: Chris Stapleton. Remember that name..." Justin Timberlake"One of the best singers on the planet. It's ridiculous...so good. So good" Little Big Town"Stapleton's writing is masterful, but his huge country/blues voice think Gregg Allman by way of the Kentucky coal mines is what will really blow your hair back and make you literally feel every word he sings." Rolling Stone"Every once in a while you run into a singer here in Nashville who just blows you away, an artist who can create sound in an effortless manner and transport your soul out of this world. This morning that someone proved to be Chris Stapleton." Country WeeklyNashville, Tenn. Chris Stapleton's highly anticipated solo debut album, Traveller, will be released May 5 on Mercury Records Nashville. As a special preview, a behind-the-scenes album trailer can now be viewed here. Already a world-renowned songwriter, Stapleton has enjoyed five #1 hits including the five-week No. 1 "Never Wanted Nothing More" recorded by Kenny Chesney, George Strait's "Love's Gonna Make it Alright" and Luke Bryan's "Drink A Beer", which Stapleton recently performed with Lady Antebellum at the recent CMT Artists of the Year show (watch the performance here) . Recorded at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A (with additional production at The Castle and Blackbird Studio) , Traveller was produced by Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) and recorded by Vance Powell (Jack White) . In addition to renditions of Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove s Tennessee Whiskey and Don Sampson's Was It 26, the album features twelve original songs, including fan-favorite "Sometimes I Cry". Last night, during a special album reveal party, Stapleton returned to RCA Studio A to record a new version of "Sometimes I Cry" live-to-tape in front of an audience allowing a unique, once-in-a-lifetime glimpse inside the making of the album. The track is currently being mastered and will be added to the final track-listing very shortly. Of his inspiration behind the record, Stapleton comments, "This record was made standing on the shoulders of friends, family, and heroes. I hope people enjoy listening to it as much as I've enjoyed making it." Over the course of his acclaimed career, Stapleton has penned over 170 album cuts, including songs recorded by Adele, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley, and has such notable co-writers as Vince Gill, Peter Frampton and Sheryl Crow among others.Additionally, Stapleton has shared the stage with such respected artists as Gill, Alison Krauss, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris and more. As lead vocalist for critically acclaimed bluegrass band The SteelDrivers, Stapleton earned three Grammy nominations including Best Bluegrass Album, as well as an International Bluegrass Music Association Award for Emerging Artist of the Year. He's also won eight ASCAP Awards and has contributed to the soundtracks of several feature films including Cars 2 and Valentine s Day. In celebration of the release, Stapleton will join Little Big Town on their Pain Killer Tour in March followed by a series of The Outsiders World Tour shows with Eric Church in May. Chris Stapleton s Traveller to Be Released This SpringBy JON CARAMANICAFEB. 20, 2015At the 2013 CMA Awards, Luke Bryan performed Drink a Beer, probably the most melancholic number of his brawn-and-booze career. He sat on a stool, surrounded by smoke, in a noncommittal T-shirt and jeans and sang about losing a loved one with a tender, lovely flutter in his voice. He seemed like a man in pain. You wanted to give him a hug.Just before the first chorus, the camera panned back, revealing a man in a weathered leather cowboy hat and full, thick, long beard hovering in the background. Mr. Bryan began to set the table for the song s emotional reckoning: Don t feel like going home/So I m gonna ... And then came the ghost in the rear, singing in devastating harmony with Mr. Bryan loud to his soft, agitated to his wounded, twangy to his clean, scratchy to his smooth: ... sit right here/on the edge of this pier/and watch the sunset disappear. If you listened to Mr. Bryan sing that part alone, you d think that was a sad, lonely act. But listen to his background singer alone, and it would sound searching, frenzied, almost frightened.That was Chris Stapleton singing behind Mr. Bryan. Mr. Stapleton was one of the writers of that song, along with other songs that cut to the emotional quick sung by Josh Turner ( Your Man ) , Darius Rucker ( Come Back Song ) , Kenny Chesney ( Never Wanted Nothing More ) and more.And Mr. Stapleton has, for years, been a voice in search of a spotlight. Once the frontman of the bluegrass band the SteelDrivers Adele covered a SteelDrivers track, If It Hadn t Been For Love Mr. Stapleton has put in work in a rock band, the Jompson Brothers, and plenty of time in Nashville songwriting rooms.Now it s his turn. After a false start with What Are You Listening To?, a debut single that fizzled, Mr. Stapleton is arriving this spring (May 5) with his debut solo album, Traveller (Mercury Nashville) . On this howling, earthy, spacious album, Mr. Stapleton s voice is liquor-thick and three-drinks limber. That s not the modern country model of manliness, which is preening and glossy, but a reminder of the genre s haggard strain that long predates it. --NY Times