ERNEST, 34, is speaking candidly about the personal reckoning that led him to step away from Ella Langley's The Dandelion Tour, where he had been serving as opening act, before departing in August.
In a carousel post shared to Instagram on Monday, Sept. 7, the singer offered fans a raw update on where he stands. "Bottom line is I was LOST… i recon I still am … but the search is on …. And that's new to me," he wrote in the caption. He went on to describe reconnecting with his faith after growing distant from it. "If anything, through this time, I am really starting to touch back in with my relationship with God… growing up in the church / Christian school, I would say I got a bit burnt out on it all," he wrote.
The post featured a video of a rainbow stretched across a wilderness landscape, along with photos of wildflowers, deer and turkeys, and an image of ERNEST seated in a chair on a deck while smoking a cigarette.
He continued by acknowledging his own missteps. "[I] have spent far too long relying on my own (dumbass) way and thinking I can outsmart my better judgement…. That's not the case…. I don't have many answers at all…. But I do know where it's starting…. A dialogue with something greater than ME," he wrote, adding, "I just know that I have a beautiful life, family and friends that deserve me at my best. I deserve that for me too…. I'm not preaching by any means…. But I just wanted to let yall know I'm taking this time to dig and discover."
He closed the post with a message to fans: "I love yall… and I love country music… Il be back to both soon!"
The update follows ERNEST's Aug. 28 Instagram Stories announcement that he was exiting Langley's tour. At the time, he cited the physical and emotional strain of life on the road. "Hey y'all. The road has been dragging me down in a bad way. From mental to physical health," he wrote, noting he intended to take only a short break to concentrate on "myself and my priorities." He also thanked Langley directly, writing, "I want to thank Ella for having me out on tour and wishing her the BEST in Auburn tonight and the rest of the tour. I look forward to coming back better and stronger. I owe it to myself and those affected by my actions. That starts now. Love y'all."
ERNEST currently has four songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Beyond his touring role, he holds songwriting credits on Langley's "Loving Life Again," featured on her album Dandelion, and on her recent collaboration with Koe Wetzel, "Jaded."
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
