Thomas Rhett's 2017 single "Craving You," a duet with Maren Morris, ultimately became the lead single from the country star's third album, Life Changes, as well as a chart-topping hit. However, it was almost never recorded at all.

In fact, "Craving You" might never have seen the light of day without the help of Julian Bunetta and Dave Barnes, the writers who created the song and offered Rhett the little extra push he needed to connect to it. Below, Rhett recounts how how the song was written and how it ended up as the first single off of Life Changes.

Julian [Bunetta] lives in LA, so he was in town for two weeks to write. I think we had written together once before this day that we had planned. I was supposed to be in the room that day; it was supposed to be me, Julian and Dave [Barnes]. But I got sick; I think I got a sinus infection or something, and I couldn't come in that day. That was the day they wrote "Craving You."

If I had been in the room, the song might have been different. We might have written "Craving Her," for example. It might not have been "Craving You." But all songs are written the way they're supposed to be written.

When I first heard the song, I liked it, but I didn't think I was going to record it. Maybe that was because I didn't have anything to do with the writing process. Sometimes, when I didn't write a song, I can't fully attach myself to it.

Julian was super persistent, though: He was like, "Dude, you need to play this song in your car. Play it at the gym. Play it before you go to bed. Play it on the bus. I really think this song is a hit for you." Maybe he was just very convincing, but he was right. We cut it, and it came out incredible.

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