Although we are only four months into the new year, 2012 is already shaping up to be one heck of a year for Sunny Sweeney. In addition to going into the new year as a happy newlywed, the singer-songwriter is also gearing up to hit the road with several country hunks this summer — Gary Allan, Josh Thompson, Rodney Atkins, Justin Moore and Eric Paslay — on the 2012 Country Throwdown Tour. But that’s not where things stop for Sweeney. As she continues to criss-cross the country, she will also begin working on her sophomore album on Republic Nashville.

Sweeney says she and her team are in the “pre-production stages” of picking out songs for the new record, and she is looking forward to getting some new tunes out there for her fans. “We’re super excited about a couple of the songs that we already have for the album,” the blonde Texan tells Taste of Country, adding that her recent success with hits such as ‘From a Table Away’ and ‘Drink Myself Single Tonight’ have helped push her in the right direction of where she needs to be in her career.

“With our live show, it’s really high energy,” she explains. “I’ve been actually writing more songs like that. It’s going to be pretty cool. I think some of the songs we’ve picked out for the new stuff is pretty awesome.”

Since tying the knot in November, Sweeney’s head-space is much clearer now. So can we expect more lovey-dovey songs from her on the next project?

“Sort of, but not really,” she says with a smile. “I’ve had enough bad stuff happen to me that I can pull from way back. There are definitely different types of songs. They’re not all cheatin’, drinkin’ and stuff like that. There’s still a thread of that through everything. It’s just what country music is based around. I think that’s always going to be there. There’s definitely negative emotions coming up that bring up song ideas, but there’s love songs, too. It’s going to be a different record, for sure.”

Here’s to hoping that Sweeney will have enough material put together by May, when the Country Throwdown Tour kicks off, so we can hear some of the new tunes in her set! Click here to see a full list of Sweeney’s solo dates, as well as a list of stops where the Throwdown run will be throughout the summer.

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