Dillon Carmichael may have initially written "Dancing Away with My Heart" as a breakup song, but it took a little outside perspective from ace producer Dave Cobb to help the country up-and-comer finalize the song into its more fitting incarnation as a love ballad. Read on to learn about the process of writing "Dancing Away with My Heart," as well as the surprising pop legend who provided Carmichael additional lyrical inspiration.

["Dancing Away With My Heart"] was a breakup song, originally. [Producer] Dave Cobb said, "This feels like a love song. I love the melody, but it feels more like a love song." And he wanted me to re-write it. So I got all the RCA Studio A vibes going over the chorus, sitting there on the couch, and I wrote a love song.

It was very conversational. [Cobb] wanted me to listen to "Your Song" by Elton John. I'd never listened to Elton John before, and it kind of opened my mind to a song that speaks to the lover in a very conversational way, versus trying to be clever with lyrics or trying to write a super clever hook with wordplay and all that. I just thought, "What would I say to this person if they were sitting across from me?" It was kind of my idea of who my wife might be in the future, and I just wrote her a love song, whoever she is. It ended up being special.

Honestly, it's difficult for me to write something that doesn't speak to me. But in that moment, a love song spoke to me. When I wrote it originally as a breakup song, that spoke to me too, but Dave was right. He knew what the song needed, and what the song wanted to be. And I probably moved on from that breakup because I re-wrote the song, you know? I think it had that effect.

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