Songfacts®:

• "Killed The Man" is about transformation, not violence. The song is a metaphor for shedding the old version of yourself and being reborn. Lee Brice described it to Audacy's Katie Neal as "killing the old man and arising as a new one."
• The song is a fitting evolution for a man who's spent much of his career balancing grit and grace. From the self-deprecating "Hard to Love" and the blue-collar anthem "Drinking Class," Brice has long specialized in songs about flawed men finding purpose.
• In "Killed the Man," the trigger is a woman - the embodiment of love, faith, and commitment - who changes his life in ways that can't be undone. "It made me look back at my own life," said Brice. "The man who I was isn't the man I am today."
• Lee Brice didn't write this song - the writers are Michael Whitworth, Jared Conrad, Troy Cartwright, and Chandler Baldwin. When Brice heard the demo, he felt an instant connection to the song's message. "For me, 'Killed The Man' feels like an evolution," he said. "Becoming who God intended me to be, leaning into family, faith, and something bigger than myself."
• Although he's a strong songwriter himself, many of Brice's biggest hits ("I Drive Your Truck," "Hard to Love," "Drinking Class") were written by others. He credits Garth Brooks - who didn't write "The Dance" or "Friends In Low Places" - as his inspiration to stay open to outside material.
• Brice produced the track with longtime collaborators Ben Glover and Jerrod Niemann, both of whom go back to his Hard 2 Love era.
• The music video, directed by Chase Lauer ("A Little More Love," "Cry"), plays mischievously with the song's title. It opens like a late-night news bulletin - grainy footage, solemn anchors, and hints of a crime story - before revealing that the "man killed" is, in fact, the old Lee Brice.