Gold Coast’s own, Matt Cornell, recently lit up his hometown twice at the Groundwater Country Music Festival, playing main stage with his band and also with the incomparable Lee Kernaghan. Now the singer-songwriter has unveiled his latest single, Where I Wanna Be.
The explosive new single is awash with Cornell’s chivalrous charm. “It ain’t that hard to see, you’re where I wanna be,” he declares, from a mountaintop of energising country rock.
The inspiration for Where I Wanna Be was as spontaneous as it was heartfelt. “My girlfriend Sam sent me a message while I was in the car that said – I don’t care where we are or what we’re doing, you’re where I wanna be,” recalls a smitten Cornell. “I had a lightbulb moment!”
As fate would have it, Cornell received the text on route to a writing session with collaborators, Jared Adlam and Nolan Wynne. “I told them the title, and that Sam and I met online, and mentioned how amazing the first date was. Hence the opening line, ‘I got there early, sat over by the window, thinking about your photo, waiting for you to show.’ Around three hours later, the song was written, and all three of us felt so good about the message, and how the song made us feel.”
Jared Adlam, the recent recipient of the Producer of the Year accolade at the GCMA‘s, was the natural choice for producing and mixing Where I Wanna Be. Having worked on Cornell’s previous two singles – Stick Around and Our Church (a duet with heavyweight, Adam Brand) – the two have dialled in
Cornell’s inspiring sound.
Both previous singles secured the #1 spot across Australia on the Country iTunes Singles chart. Moreover, Our Church graced the top positions on both KIX Country and CMT, whilst also reaching #12 on the Country Hot 50 national airplay charts.
When shooting the video for Where I Wanna Be, Cornell turned to Golden Guitar recipient, Jay Seeney (Blacklist Productions). He opted for fellow artist, Tori Darke and her newlywed husband to star in the clip. “When you see them on camera, you can clearly see they are head over heels in love with each other. I wanted this to come across in the video.”
As a testament to his musical prowess, Cornell boasts 5 x Golden Guitar nominations and has been at the forefront of some of the biggest music festivals. Gympie Muster, CMC Rocks, Deni Ute Muster, SXSW in Austin Texas – you name it! Now the vibrant singer/bass player has earned a spot in Lee Kernaghan’s band and will be opening shows for Lee throughout 2024.
Cornell’s 50th Birthday Cruise sets sail in November and his 6th annual Sydney Harbour Cruise follows in January. These popular cruise shows are hard evidence of his growing popularity, with a consistent track record of sold-out events.
Matt Cornell‘s Where I Wanna Be is an irresistibly catchy anthem about finding ‘the one’. The singer-songwriter effortlessly imbues his passion and energy into his work, bringing with it, a lovable authenticity.
TOUR DATES
Tickets are on sale now via http://www.mattcornellmusic.com.au/
Saturday 25th November – Matt’s 50th Birthday Bash – Brisbane River Cruise, Brisbane – QLD
Saturday 13th January – Matt Cornell’s Annual Twilight Sydney Harbour Cruise – Sydney, NSW
With thanks to Wildheart Publicity
