Paisley in overdrive with "5th Gear"

NASHVILLE - Brad Paisley says he called his upcoming album "5th Gear" for a few reasons.

It's his fifth album, and a half-dozen of the songs mention some sort of vehicle. And, he adds, the June 19 Arista release is "an aggressive-sounding album ... everything about it feels a little bit more intense than my previous albums."

The title -- and that growing intensity -- just as well describe what's happening with Paisley's career and life right now.

Case in point? After several nominations, Paisley just picked up his first top male vocalist trophy at the Academy of Country Music Awards. No small feat considering it's a field that includes such heavy hitters as Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and others. But Paisley is reaching the level of such superstars in more ways than one.

His last album, "Time Well Wasted," has been certified double-platinum and won album of the year honors last year from the Country Music Assn. and the ACM. He's burning up the road on his Hershey-sponsored Bonfires and Amplifiers tour with Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler and Jack Ingram.

And radio is mirroring his touring success. His latest single, "Ticks," is one of the fastest-climbing tunes of his career, and sits at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

UPPER ECHELON

Last year was a breakout year, with Paisley among the top 25 touring artists for the first time, ranking No. 23 among all acts in all genres. He grossed $28 million with total attendance slightly less than 700,000 from 97 shows. And according to the William Morris Agency, the current tour's numbers so far are 50 percent to 60 percent higher than those for 2006.

"We're traveling and touring in a way that I'd never dreamed possible," Paisley says. "That you could do it with this much fun and be out here with these kinds of bells and whistles blows my mind every night."

Paisley has earned a reputation for having one of the industry's most innovative road shows. His performances incorporate animated videos, which he creates himself, and he uses cutting-edge technology. "There's this unique moment where we've got Allison (Krauss) appearing, and the way we do it now is you'll think she's there," Paisley says of the performance of "Whiskey Lullaby," his hit duet with Krauss. "It's like a hologram. It's really, really weird how she just walks out and starts singing."

Paisley says he can see the growth at his gigs. "That's really obvious as we look out (from the stage)," he says. "A guy that sells our merchandise out on the road says just in the first three weeks of this tour we're selling 40 percent more merchandise than we did last year. That's exciting because that's a combination selling a few more tickets and at the same time people want to buy the stuff even more. I definitely feel like we have momentum on our side and things are going up."

He adds, "It's a fun time to be me."

LOOKING BACK

The singer, who has a baby boy with his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, says being a new father influenced the record and created a somewhat nostalgic feel.

"'Letter to Me,' was written to myself at 17 years old," he says. "I realized later that -- even though that was written in January before we knew whether the baby was a boy or a girl -- it was written for my kid as much as it is for me because I think children are the closest thing we get to a second chance at things."

Paisley wrote the song alone and admits it's very autobiographical. Aunt Rita, who is mentioned in the song, was a favorite aunt who died of cancer. "So much of it is absolutely true," the West Virginia native says. "Mrs. Brinkman was my speech teacher and when I started speech class as a sophomore, I was petrified to get up in front of the class and talk. I couldn't do it, and she encouraged me."

The new album features a duet with Carrie Underwood on the song "Oh Love." Underwood toured with Paisley last year, when the two would sing "Whiskey Lullaby." When he needed a female voice for the new duet, Underwood was a natural choice. "I'm a huge fan of her singing. She's just tremendous and deserving of everything she's getting," he says. "When I heard that song, it flipped me out, (especially the line) 'Strong like a mother holds her child.' If that doesn't appeal to me at this point, I don't know what does."

Fans will get a preview of the new album on Father's Day weekend when GAC (Great American Country) airs a 90-minute special, "Brad Paisley 5th Gear." The program will include interviews and special segments taped at his farm as well as a recent concert filmed at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis.

As he did on his previous album, Paisley designed the cover. "As I look at the songs on this record, many are retrospective," he says. "There is a lot of looking back at high school and mistakes and things that I've done as a kid. That's what the album cover represents. You have the one photo staring in one direction and the other sort of walking off in the distance the other way backwards. Somehow it looked right."