Testing ERNEST's Country Music Knowledge

Testing ERNEST's Country Music Knowledge

From The Track Star Podcast by Jack Coyne

April 22, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

Ernest discusses his career in country music and the influences that shaped his songwriting process.

This week on the Track Star Podcast, we’re joined by country singer-songwriter Ernest. Having collaborated with some of the biggest names in modern country music, including Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, and Morgan Wallen, Ernest sits down with Jack to discuss the legendary artists who have helped shape both his career and the genre itself. Ernest walks us through what it takes to produce a hit record. Breaking down the tools, techniques, and songwriting approaches he relies on, while also reflecting on how his process differs from some of his peers. Sometimes, through collaboration, it's the combination of methods that creates the most hard hitting and well received songs. We’ll listen to foundational country artists that Ernest grew up with such as George Strait, Merle Haggard, and Keith Whitley, as well as explore the contemporary artists that Ernest works closely with today like Tim McGraw, Megan Moroney and HARDY. We’ll even dip a toe into Ernest’s new album and if you stick around to the end of the episode, you’ll get to hear Ernest play one of his unreleased songs live on the podcast. The tracklist for this episode runs deep, but we promise for this one, it’s worth it.

People in this episode

Host: Jack Coyne

Guest: Ernest

Topics covered

  • country music
  • songwriting
  • collaboration
  • music production
  • artist influences

Keywords

  • country music
  • songwriting
  • hit records
  • collaboration
  • Ernest
  • music production
  • artists

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