Jon Pardi‘s been hard at work on his Mr. Saturday Night follow-up, and it’s his first time enlisting hit producer Jay Joyce for his production prowess.

“I mean, I love a lot of producers in town, but Jay’s just got something special to him and he’s got that real rock ‘n’ roll rootsy, like, just rawness to him,” Jon tells ABC Audio of Jay, who’s worked with A-listers including Carrie Underwood, Lainey WilsonEric Church and Little Big Town.

“[Jay] cut some of the most traditional sound in country music he’s ever recorded with me,” says the “Last Night Lonely” singer. “We also did some rocking stuff. Two worlds came together and that’s how we kind of thought about the project. And it came out really good. We’re really excited.”

The lead single from Jon’s forthcoming new album, “Friday Night Heartbreaker,” is making its way up the country charts.

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