Lady Antebellum takes new route with ‘747’

June 20, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

Coming off its 2013 album “Golden,” the members of Lady Antebellum were feeling as though they had fully explored the extent of their vocal harmony sounds.

You can’t fault the country band for sticking with the successful recipe that includes more than 11 million albums sold, nine No. 1 hits, six platinum singles and “Vocal Group of the Year” honors from both the CMA and ACMs three years in a row.

However, singer Hillary Scott said after “Golden,” the outfit, which includes Charles Kelley (vocals) and Dave Haywood (guitar), wanted to change up its laid-back, easy and breezy style. She said the idea was to grow, admitting such a cliche is code for trying something different.

“It was one of those things we thought it was time to explore what else we could do,” said Scott, calling from Nashville. “With this album, we really wanted to bring the energy. We wanted to continue to improve our live show and a lot of that means those really high-energy fun moments.”

The result is “747,” Lady Antebellum’s fifth studio album. Among the songs that found Lady Antebellum coming out of its comfort zone are the quirky “Freestyle,” the adult-minded “Damn You Seventeen” and guitar-heavy “Sounded Good at the Time.”

As far as catering to the high-energy fun moments, Scott said the band achieved its goal with current hit, “Long Stretch of Love,” and No. 1 lead single “Bartender.” In fact, the latter track is something special for Scott, who said it’s a response to the bro country-heavy airplay currently heard at radio.

“When we were writing ‘Bartender,’ we were talking about how there are too many songs with men talking about [heartbreak], but how many songs are there with a female perspective?” Scott said. “This is a little bit more of a darker story where a girl had just gotten her heart broken and her girlfriends are coaxing her out of the house to just go make friends with a bartender to forget about the heartache for a night.

“I just love the fact that it was kind of flipping the norm on its head a little bit. It’s a really fun track, it moves and everybody dances. It’s the moment in the show where I feel like I get to have this girl-fest with the audience. I’m like, ‘We’ve all been there. This is awesome.’”

Shared awesome moments with fans are expected when Lady Antebellum comes through Northeast Ohio for a show tonight at Blossom Music Center.

Scott said she loves playing the area because the band is so well received. As far as Blossom Music Center, the vocalist pointed out its idyllic scenery. “There’s magic in that place,” Scott said. “The grounds are beautiful.”