Chris Lane‘s vision for his new song “Shooting Stars” comes from another era.
Heck, it comes from another genre!
The singer tells Taste of Country he wasn’t sure he’d ever release the new song, but four years after posting a sample to Instagram, fans kept asking about it. So, you’ll find it as track No. 7 on his new Shade Tree album.
- Shade Tree is Lane’s third studio album, first in seven years.
- The North Carolina native is best known for hits like “Fix,” “Take Back Home Girl” and “Big, Big Plans.”
- The full Taste of Country Nights: On Demand interview can be found below.
Related: The Top 10 Country Songs of 2025
It’s not officially a duet, but it’s pretty close. Lane tells Evan Paul that the arrangement was inspired by the music from his childhood.
“I grew up loving — outside of country music — I love all those Ja Rule and Ashanti songs with a female vocal on it. That was kind of my idea with this song.”
So, who is the Ashanti to Lane’s Ja Rule? We’ll share, but listen to see if you can figure it out. The voice really becomes prominent after the first chorus.
The woman singing with Lane on “Shootin’ Stars” is Sarah Buxton. She’s primarily a songwriter, but enjoyed a solo career 15 to 20 years ago. “Stupid Boy” (a favorite among Keith Urban fans) is her song. More recently she joined Dustin Lynch for “Ridin’ Roads.”
Lane and Buxton go way back, as she helped write his first hit “Fix” in 2015, and his second hit, “For Her.” He says he was on the fence about adding a female voice to this new song, but hit send on the ask and thinks the track is better with her joining him.
“Shootin’ Stars” is a pop-friendly, thinking-about-love song. The chorus goes:
“I’m out here shootin’ these stars, baby / Tryin’ to make one fall out the sky / On the hood of this car, baby / Wishin’ you were with me tonight / Wherever you are, I hope you look up / When you see it drop down, hope you think about us / You and me layin’ in the dark underneath / Shootin’ stars.”
Michael Lotten and Michael Whitworth joined Lane to write “Shootin’ Stars.” “If I Die Before You” is the featured song from Shade Tree, and Lane says another woman in his life had a big influence on that song.
Wife Lauren loves the song, even if the message is one she never wants to consider.
The Best Country Duets | 55 Country Music Hits, Ranked
Country is well known for duets, and there is no shortage of collaborations between men and women, women and women, or two men.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
