Bentley goes dark on his new relationship record

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country star Dierks Bentley may be known for his boozy party songs like “Drunk on a Plane” or “5-1-5-0,” but as a singer, he loves going dark.

He’s even named his new album “Black.”

“Sad country music is way better than happy country music,” the Grammy-nominated Bentley said. “Happy country music is good for the live show. It’s good for driving your car to work. The greatest country music is the sad stuff. That’s where you learn stuff. That’s how you get through stuff.”

The 40-year-old singer named the album after his wife Cassidy’s maiden name, which he loved so much he tried to convince her to keep it.

“When we got married, I was like, ‘You should just keep the name Cassidy Black, it’s so cool,’ ” said Bentley, who often takes the stage in a plain black T-shirt. “I’ll change my name to Dierks Black. I just like the color black.”

The title track is one of Bentley’s sexiest songs of his career, a sultry bedroom ballad that allowed him to frame the entire album around the storylines of love, loss and heartache. He explores the self-doubt that comes while watching someone slip out of a relationship on “Why Do I Feel” and cheating lovers meeting in secret on a duet with Maren Morris on “I’ll Be the Moon.”

But Bentley also has learned from previous albums that fans, and radio stations, still want the fun Dierks, too. His first single, the summery “Somewhere on a Beach,” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot country chart, and his next single, “Different for Girls,” features pop-rocker Elle King.