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Hunter Hayes Just Needed To 'Reset' To Write 'Encore' Tunes

'Wanted' singer will stream concert at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday on HunterHayes.MTV.com for MTV Artist to Watch LIVE.

With Hunter Hayes about to drop his new album, Encore, on Tuesday, fans might be wondering what inspired some of the album's newer cuts like "I Want Crazy" and "Light Me Up." Well, as it turns out, the road really amped up the 21-year-old to write the cuts that will keep his Hayniacs singing along all summer long.

"Nashville is awesome and I have loved getting to go into the studio and do my thing. My dad said 'When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,' and I agree with that," he says in the latest installment of Hunter's "For the Love of Music." The clip follows Hayes as he reminisces about work in the studio and later heads out on the road, explaining that touring fuels his music and vice versa. Encore is a deluxe re-release of his self-titled 2011 debut that includes several new songs.

"And for me going into the studio is not working, but it is kind of if anything for it is kind of a reset... kind of free your mind a little bit, I wouldn't have said I needed a reset after the tour finished but I'm glad we had one. I love Nashville. I love the studio thing but I live to go on the road and make music," he added. "But that feeds all the studio, the writing."

The "Wanted" singer will be back onstage [article id="1708857"]in New York City on release day[/article] at Webster Hall, with Striking Matches opening the June 18 MTV Artist to Watch LIVE show. He's headlining the gig as a part of MTV's Artist to Watch series, which will stream live on MTV.com and CMT.com at 6 p.m. ET.

Then, later this year, Hayes will headline the [article id="1708422"]12th annual CMT on Tour[/article], billed as the Let's Be Crazy Tour. It all kicks off October 10 in Knoxville, Tennessee, with dates slated through December. "It's gonna be a great summer, great fall. We've got a massive show planned for the fall. So, it's gonna be crazy, appropriately," he shared earlier this week about the jaunt.

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