The series consists of four albums with 52 songs total that were written by Bush over the past two decades in the music industry.
Bush anticipated releasing the albums independently, but CEO of Big Machine Records Scott Borchetta supported the project.
52 | New Blue, the third album, released on September 30, 2022, and consists of music featuring a blend of genres, mainly alternative folk rock similar to the duo band Billy Pilgrim that Bush is a part of.
The fourth and final album, 52 | This Year, released on March 10, 2023, and consisted of themes about true love and a reflection of Bush's career in the music industry.
In the 1990s, country musician Kristian Bush released four albums with Andrew Hyra as the alternative folk rock band Billy Pilgrim.
[1][2] During the government mandated lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,[3] Bush continued to release undocumented and scrapped music from the 1990s up to his time in the band Sugarland.
"[1] Upon returning to his music career when COVID-19 restrictions subsided in 2022, Bush was encouraged to "reimagine setbacks as opportunities" and release 52 songs in one year in celebration of his 52nd birthday.
[4] He contacted Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Sugarland's label Big Machine Records, and explained the project to keep him updated with his plans.
[6] ATL x BNA is derived from music conceived from Bush's time in Nashville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.
[7][5] 9 of the 10 songs on the album were co-written with Nashville songwriters, including Brett James, Bob DiPiero, Liz Rose, Jeffrey East, JT Harding, and Bobby Pinson.
[8][7] The recording sessions were done with R&B musicians from Atlanta, including Jorel "J-Fly" Flynn, Jerry Freeman, The Black Bettys, and Lionel Richie.
[1][4] For a long time the two had a strained relationship as his father never believed his music career would be successful, and showed disinterest in him and his family when it did.
"[1] The day after the funeral he presented the voice memo to Rodney Clawson and Andrew DeRoberts, expanding on the original idea.
15 of the 16 songs on the album were co-written with others, including Lindsay Ell and Ellis Paul, Brett Eldredge, Coy Bowles of the Zac Brown Band, and JT Harding.
He featured Barron on the song "Sailing to Arizona", an anthem about taking chances, which Bush felt matched their style of music best.