Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Craig Wayne Boyd’s first album since The Voice will be out in October.

And, yep, you read that right: “Top Shelf,” due for release Oct. 27, is Craig’s first album since winning Season 7 of The Voice back in 2014.

That’s three years and five Voice winners ago, which is going to make it very interesting to see what type of reception the album gets upon its release.

Craig’s hinted that a new album was coming several times since taking the Voice crown in December 2014, but those plans always seemed to fizzle, as did his post-show deal with Dot Records, part of the Big Machine label group.

“Top Shelf” is being released under the Copperline Music Group banner. Craig launched a Pledge Music Drive last year to help fund the project.

Since the show, Craig, now 38, has released a pair of singles — “I’m Still Here” and the infectious “Stuck in My Head.”

The latter came out last summer and is also the lead track on “Top Shelf,” meaning it’s available as an immediate download for anyone pre-ordering the album.

“We did branch out and push the envelope a little bit,” Boyd told Taste of Country about the new music. “It’s an eclectic album, but also, I feel it’s cohesive because the one common denominator is the twang in my voice and the attitude of the complete album.”