Dustin Lynch's newest single, "Thinking 'Bout You," may come from his January 2020 release, Tullahoma, but the singer says he's already looking ahead toward new music.

"I don't know if we'll get an album completed for this year. That is a goal of mine. I would love it, and I think we're getting closer, but as you guys know, I don't like to put the bow on top until it's perfect," Lynch cautioned during a recent virtual press event. "I'm working toward that goal, and I guess we'll have a crumb trail leading to it 'til then."

However, he is ready to share a few details about what fans can expect from his next project: He'll venture into some new territory, in terms of subject matter. In years past, the singer embarked on a daily vlogging practice, offering fans a look into almost everything about his everyday life — but he hasn't always shared all aspects of his life in his music.

"I would say that the [new] material shines light on a part of my life and my lifestyle that I haven't really [explored before]," he reflects. "I went through that grueling process of vlogging everyday, so I think people have seen a lot of what I do offstage, in my off-time. But we haven't done music that represents that side of my life. I would say some of that is what's coming."

He adds that one of the songs on his next album is pretty old — he wrote it back in 2012 or 2013.

"I kinda sent it to my producer as a joke, because I've always loved it, but I thought it would be something he wouldn't get, and he flipped over it," Lynch says of how the song came to be included on his next album. "It just shows you that timing is everything with music, even if you write a song and it doesn't happen, what is it — eight years later? And it makes sense for us to do it."

Plus, Lynch says he's been working on plenty of new music during the COVID-19 pandemic, too. At first, he was "really scared to try" writing over Zoom, but says his first attempt yielded surprisingly good results. "I was like, 'Let's just write a song.' And believe it or not, the first song I wrote over Zoom, another artist cut -- and I'm a fan of them!" he says. "So I found success early on with writing over Zoom."

So much so, in fact, that he's considering the benefits of continuing to schedule some of his writes virtually, even after the pandemic ends. "I think it's really showing us as touring acts that there's no excuse [to not write even when we're on the road] and also, we can save a bit of money on not having a bus out with writers," he points out.

"I think it's still important to have songwriters on the road, because it really allows them to remember why we do what we do. I think that's very important," Lynch adds, " ... but now I think we'll half and half it. I think I'll keep folks at home a little bit and do a little bit more virtually, once we get back to touring heavily."

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