Listen: Kaylee Bell joins TheWesternGuide for powerful new duet 'Truth I Keep'

TheWesternGuide and Kaylee Bell have teamed up for one of the most exciting Kiwi country collaborations of the year!

TheWesternGuide has enlisted fellow Kiwi country star Kaylee Bell for Truth I Keep, a heartfelt duet exploring the complicated question of whether we should share every part of our past with the people we love.

Speaking with Georgia, TheWesternGuide revealed the song came from reflecting on past experiences and how they can shape future relationships.

"I wanted to write a song that spoke to just, do you be honest with your past and tell someone you love the honest truth, or do you just keep that because there probably mightn't do much good?" he explained.

Interestingly, the song sat unfinished for around a year before TheWesternGuide found the perfect collaborator.

"I actually just had it sitting there empty for about a year. Every time I listened to it, I was like, I just don't know who to put there," he said, before eventually reaching out to Kaylee after touring with her last year.

For Kaylee, the decision was an easy one. After first discovering his music and becoming a fan, she said the song immediately grabbed her attention when it landed in her inbox.

He knows I'm the biggest fan of him and his voice and his music, and the song just instantly was like, I wanted to listen again. And that is always the test for me," Kaylee said. "If I wanted to listen again straight away, it's something I want to be part of.

The duet works so naturally because both artists brought their own perspective to the story. Kaylee joined TheWesternGuide in the studio to write and record part of the track, with the second verse deliberately left open for her contribution.

"We had a day in studio, which was really cool," she explained. "That verse can then be from the female perspective, which is I think why it works so well as a duo."

The pair's vocal chemistry is undeniable, something they both noticed the moment Bell recorded her first lines.

"It was so cool," TheWesternGuide recalled. "I think you did your first line and we heard it back and were like, 'Whoa'."

Alongside the single, we can also look forward to an accompanying music video. The pair filmed scenes in the rain, drawing inspiration from dramatic 1990s R&B-style videos, although the weather made for some freezing conditions.

"It was freezing," they laughed, with TheWesternGuide joking that at least his boots passed the test. "My socks are dry."

Truth I Keep arrives ahead of TheWesternGuide's upcoming debut album Poviboy, due out next month.

Catch the full interview with TheWesternGuide and Kaylee Bell above, or listen on our Essential Interviews podcast - out now on iHeart or wherever you podcast.

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Hear TheWesternGuide, Kaylee Bell and more of your favourite country artists on iHeartCountry NZ by using the player below.