With its horse-trot rhythm and a hefty dose of steel guitar, Butts’ version arrives as cowboy country is on the rise
Kaitlin Butts wraps her Tulsa, Oklahoma, voice around Kesha’s “Hunt You Down” to create a version of the song that’s even more country-sounding than the original. Written by Kesha and Rick Nowels, “Hunt You Down” first appeared on Kesha’s 2017 album Rainbow. Butts’ interpretation arrives as a standalone single during a moment when cowboy music and culture is having a revival, thanks to artists like Charley Crockett, Luke Grimes, and even Beyoncé.
“The first time I heard ‘Hunt You Down,’ I quickly identified with it,” Butts said in a statement. “It’s a love song about making sure that someone is committed to you, but also threatening a little murder too. I think most folks would agree that’s very on-brand for me. As I move into the next chapter of my music, and coming off my more serious previous record, I wanted to make an impact with a song that makes you laugh, have fun, but also comes with a thinly veiled threat.”
That “little murder” alludes to the narrator’s not-so-subtle threat to her lover: “Just know that if you fuck around/Boy, I’ll hunt you down,” Butts sings.
“Hunt You Down” follows Butts’ 2022 album What Else Can She Do and presages more new music from the songwriter, who revels in variety. “There’s a part of me that adores pop music and musical theater, and adores American and country music and the history behind that,” she told Rolling Stone last year. “If I can’t have fun doing my job and going down these little trails of things that feel fun to me — freedom of expression — I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Butts is set to open shows for Dierks Bentley on his summertime Gravel & Gold Tour, and also make a number of festival appearances. Earlier this month, she surprised her husband, Flatland Cavalry singer Cleto Cordero, onstage at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to perform their duet “A Life Where We Work Out.”