Lady A's Kelley releases good bye to alcohol song

Kelley co-wrote the ballad after a public decision to stop drinking and begin addiction treatment. Kelley shared the track before Thanksgiving, posting an unfinished demo and now, just before Christmas, the fully-produced single.

"For me, the biggest word I've been holding onto is gratitude, not pride," Kelley said. "I'm grateful. I finally see the light and am connecting with what life is all about. Some days are hard, but the good outweighs those bad moments. There's some beauty in all this, and I've had time to reflect, time to get healthy, time to write. I've probably written 50 songs this fall, and I feel like all of it was leading to this one song."

Co-written and produced alongside Lady A bandmate Dave Haywood and Jimmy Robbins, the ballad recounts the steps along his path – both good and bad.

At one point, there was thought about putting the song out from Lady A. "We were almost afraid that if we put a bunch of vocals on it, that might take away from the pain and authenticity of that singular vocal," Kelley said. "Hillary (Scott) especially felt it was important for me to tell my story, kind of the same way she was able to do with 'Thy Will.' With their blessing, I'm putting this out, but it will live right alongside everything else we do."

As one-third of Lady A, Kelley is scheduled to return to the stage for the U.K.'s C2C Festival in March 2023. Lady A will then launch their anticipated Request Line Tour, starting with two nights at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium April 14-15. The tour hit cities from coast-to-coast through October.