Songfacts®:

• Dierks Bentley's "Something Real" serves as a powerful testament, reiterating the paramount importance of upholding integrity and staying true to oneself amid the relentless pressures of the world.
• Contrary to assumptions, Bentley's passion for the stage and love for the crowd doesn't consume him entirely. Instead, he finds profound joy in solitude, immersing himself in the beauty of nature. Whether embarking on a bike ride or conquering challenging heights, these solitary moments fuel his spirit. However, when the time comes for him to step onto the stage, a remarkable transformation occurs. He assumes a character, embracing a role that brings him immense fulfillment. The electric connection with the audience becomes a source of genuine enjoyment, allowing him to fully embody the present moment.
  
  "Being present, it's not really a popular theme on country radio," he told Apple Music. "We're always talking about going somewhere or memories of somewhere we grew up on a dirt road somewhere. So, some things you want to talk about necessarily aren't the most popular things to sing about."
• Dierks Bentley joined forces with his friends Luke Dick, Ashley Gorley, Hardy and Ross Copperman to create "Something Real." Nestled among the awe-inspiring landscapes of Colorado, a place where Bentley goes to recharge, the creative journey unfolded.
  
  Inspired by the profound connection he feels to nature, Bentley presented his idea to his songwriting colleagues and they seized the concept, infusing it with their own unique perspectives.
• Bentley recorded "Something Real" for his 10th album, Gravel & Gold. He released it as the record's second single on June 26, 2023. "It's such a personal song talking about how sometimes the things I feel aren't things that I think would help to sell tickets, or... in that way," he said. "It's more of a personal song, but I found in the past that songs like 'I Hold On' that are extremely personal have always been the ones that resonate most with fans."
• Bentley, Dick, Gorley, Hardy and Copperman originally wrote "Something Real" in the early winter of 2018. Bentley tried three times to get the recording right - he finally succeeded at Addiction Studios in Berry Hill, Tennessee, with a rock sound propelled by Jedd Hughes' electric guitar and a delay pedal that added some complexity.
• The track features five guitar players, including Dan Dugmore, who usually plays steel guitar.
  
  "One of my favorite things to do with Dan when we're in the studio is to ask him to play electric," producer-engineer F. Reid Shippen told Billboard. "He's fantastic at it. He plays rock electric like a super-enthusiastic 14-year-old who just doesn't make mistakes."
• Jon Randall joined Bentley, Copperman and Shippen as the fourth producer of the song when it was almost done. He said his job was to "sprinkle the Americana, or the hippie-trippy stuff, or the ear candy."
  
  Randall worked mainly on the bridge, where the song reveals its core message - "I'm just looking for some truth" - and reaches its climax. "More than anything, I think I really just came up with some ideas to build that bridge, so the bridge would be really, really huge and hit hard," Randall said. "There's some guitars, percussion things, building to this moment."