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Dierks Bentley kicked off Valentine’s Day with a revenge-fueled breakup anthem.
Bentley teamed up with longtime collaborators Ashley Gorley, Ross Copperman and Chase McGill to write “She Hates Me.” The anthem is described as a track “somewhere between Whitley and Weezer,” telling “the tongue-twisting story of a girl who is no longer falling for (Bentley’s) country-boy charm,” reads a press release announcing the song’s debut on Friday (February 14). Copperman, Jon Randall and Mary Hilliard Harrington produced “She Hates Me.” Bentley also marked the release with a music video that captures the country star unable to escape his revenge-seeking ex-girlfriend.
“We were goofing around with this idea before diving into our next ‘serious’ song, really just trying to make each other laugh. It just fell out, and I didn’t think much more about it after that,” Bentley said in a statement. “But then it really came to life in the studio, and then my kids were requesting it and then I was getting texts from friends who had heard it, so I started taking it more seriously! I love any opportunity to laugh at myself – especially my younger self, and ‘She Hates Me’ definitely provides that. I can’t wait for my fans to see the music video!”
Bentley shared a sneak peek of “She Hates Me” in December. He said at that time, “if you’re seeing this video, you’re hearing one of my new songs before anyone else.” “She Hates Me” is Bentley’s latest song to release since his cover of “American Girl,” which was the first single to release on a historic, star-studded tribute album to late legend Tom Petty. Bentley’s latest full length studio album is Gravel & Gold, a 14-track project that arrived in February 2023. Watch the music video for Bentley’s newest breakup anthem here: