McGraw wipes social media channels clean as film is released

Tim McGraw has contributed a new original song, “Gravity,” for National Geographic Documentary Films’ Free Solo. From award-winning documentary filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi and world-renowned photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin (Meru), the highly anticipated film documents “one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind ever” (The New York Times) and made its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and was released in theaters on Friday, September 28th. McGraw Music LLC/Columbia Nashville will release the singer digitally later this year.

Performed by McGraw, the song was co-written by McGraw and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Lori McKenna (“Humble and Kind”, “Girl Crush”), and complements the intensely intimate, personal story of climber Alex Honnold in Free Solo.

“There are few people who pursue their passion with the fearlessness of Alex Honnold. It’s both terrifying and exhilarating to be on that journey with him when you watch Free Solo. Lori McKenna and I wanted the lyric of ‘Gravity’ to be a reminder that fear is a battle fought on a variety of planes, from mental to spiritual to physical,” McGraw states. “We tend to think ‘fearlessness’ is synonymous with big bold gestures, but there’s also a fragility inherent in risk — and we wanted that to come through. In the studio, Byron Gallimore and I wanted a track that sonically resonated with Marco Beltrami’s score and felt as big as El Capitan.”

“It was an honor to work with Tim McGraw and he truly delivered a stunning song with ‘Gravity,’” says the film’s Music Supervisor Tracy McKnight. “The song perfectly captures the heart and soul of this remarkable film and Alex Honnold’s extraordinary achievement.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with two of the most phenomenally talented artists in the world — music superstar Tim McGraw and top-tier songwriter Lori McKenna,” says Ashley Winton, vice president, music, National Geographic Partners. “Their genuine passion and honesty shines through in the track, ‘Gravity,’ further connecting audiences to the profoundly aspirational story told in Free Solo.”

Free Solo is a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock … the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park … without a rope. The edge-of-your seat thriller is an inspiring portrait of an athlete who challenges both his body and his beliefs on a quest to triumph over the impossible, revealing the personal toll of excellence.

The film’s release comes as McGraw wipes his social media channels clean as of September 28th. On Friday, the singer posted one mysterious tweet at 2:36 am, stating, “I need Jesus or I need whiskey,” leaving fans wondering if McGraw is about to release new music. On Monday (Oct 1st), the account shared a Nashville phone number saying “I’ll text you back.” We did and received an invite to add ourselves to McGraw’s phone (and his to ours).

“Hey it’s Tim. This is an autotext to let you know I got your text, everything else will be coming directly from me or my team,” the message states. “I’ve got some pretty cool things happening this week, so make sure you add yourself to my phone to stay in touch!”

The singer has confirmed new things are on the horizon. It appears a new single, “Neon Church,” is heading to radio later this week. McGraw is one of several artists who have gone dark on social media surrounding the release of new tunes, which has become a common thing as of late. Taylor Swift deleted her entire social media history before announcing her latest album, Reputation, last year. The Band Perry has also gone dark four times as new music looms, including their latest, Coordinates EP, released on September 21st via their own label.

If McGraw is announcing new music, it will be his first new solo work since 2015’s Damn Country Music. McGraw and wife Faith Hill released their first-ever duets album, The Rest Of Our Life, in 2017. The pair recently wrapped their two year Soul2Soul II World Tour that ran from 2017 into 2018.