Louisiana singer and American Idol champion Laine Hardy has issued a statement on a major change in his musical career. The 22-year-old Louisiana native burst onto the scene a few years ago when he tried out for the popular television show, but made even more waves in 2019 when he was asked to audition for the show again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVKMUOiS_fg

Hardy, who was only in the audition to play the guitar for a friend was asked to take the microphone and sing for the American Idol judges. They not only gave him a pass to Hollywood but Hardy wound up winning the competition.

Hardy used his success on the show to further his musical career and his brand. For a while, he was the "face" of Louisiana Tourism. He was featured in commercials and promotional announcements encouraging visitors to come to Louisiana and residents to get out and enjoy more of their home state.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdbJ7tG4kk

 

That all ended when Hardy was arrested earlier this year in Baton Rouge. Hardy was accused of putting an electronic listening device in the dorm room of a former girlfriend. Hardy addressed the charges and turned himself in.

Following that incident, Hardy excused himself from social media sites for a while but did return to Instagram over the summer sporting a totally different look and some brand-new music.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgc1hkSgI2K/

Laine has been featured on tours with the likes of Riley Green, Eddie Montgomery, and others but according to his website, he has no tour dates on the books for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps that's why Hardy made a startling announcement on his Instagram page late last night.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj6Z32JMsud/

Basically, Laine has announced he is parting ways with his longtime record label. Of course, this is a big deal in the career of any artist and we can only hope that Laine will find a new home for his unique sound.

In the meantime, keep your ears open for Laine to pop up at a fair or festival somewhere around Louisiana, he's been known to do that. And don't be surprised if you find him out on a lake or a bayou with a rod and reel in hand. Because you can take the boy of Louisiana but you can't take "the Louisiana" out of the boy.

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