John Morgan Hopes to Set Himself Apart from Country’s ‘Noise.’ Debut Album Carolina Blue May Do Just That (Exclusive)

• John Morgan’s debut album Carolina Blue dropped Friday
• “I just really wanted to showcase a lot of influences from home on the musical side of things,” he tells PEOPLE
• Morgan also hopes to “push the envelope” a bit in country music with his sound

There is much that ties John Morgan and Jason Aldean together. 

Not only did the two country music artists collaborate on their recent No. 1 hit “Friends Like That,” but Morgan has also served as a writer on some of Aldean’s biggest such as “Trouble with a Heartbreak,” “If I Didn’t Love You (featuring Carrie Underwood)” and “That’s What Tequila Does.”

And let us not forget — Jason Aldean is essentially John Morgan’s boss.

“I mean, he’s the guy that signed me,” laughs Morgan, 29, in a recent interview with PEOPLE about his slot on Aldean’s Night Train Records label. “We have a ton of similarities, and for the most part, they are all good — that’s for sure.”

But when it came time to release his debut album Carolina Blue, Morgan admits that he found himself actively looking for ways to step out a bit from under Aldean’s spotlight. “I definitely thought about it, not in the sense that I just wanted to be different to be different, but there has to be a separation,” he states. “Nobody wants another Aldean. There’s only one. And I’ve learned too that chasing never really pans out in the long-term.”

With that in mind, Morgan says he has learned in recent years how to chase his own dreams.

“Jason knows his songs and I’ve learned how to write a few of them, so it was just about finding that separation,” explains Morgan. “It boils down to this — Jason has his process and how he goes into cutting music and picking songs and whatever. Everybody has their own thing, right? But I think for this album, I was able to establish what that is for me.”

In fact, during the time Morgan was not only writing for Aldean, but for artists such as Jon Pardi, Dustin Lynch and Thomas Rhett, the accomplished singer/songwriter says he found himself instinctively knowing the changes he would make to a song, if he could make the song his. “I’d always be thinking to myself, ‘I would eliminate this, or I would cut that, all in preparation for this project.”

In many ways, the release of Carolina Blue serves as a brand-new creative chapter for the North Carolina native, while also giving him the chance to stand out a bit. “Hopefully this album will set me apart from all the other noise that’s getting released right now, while also staying in the country music lane,” says Morgan, who also serves as co-producer on Carolina Blue.

Beautifully weaved within the 12 tracks that make up Carolina Blue is a return to home in many ways for Morgan, who is dad to 7-week-old daughter Anita, 18-month-old son Corsey and 3-year-old daughter Willie with wife Hailey.

“Home has had such a big impact on my life that I still carry it with me,” says Morgan, who grew up in the “little quaint mountain town” of Sylva, North Carolina. “It was just a tight-knit community. Everybody knew each other.”

Having spent his high school years listening to artists such as Keith Whitley, Ronnie Milsap and John Mayer, Morgan says he found himself infusing Carolina Blue with those kind of music influences.

“Even in terms of picking the title track, ‘Carolina Blue,’ I just really wanted to showcase a lot of influences from home on the musical side of things,” he says. “Like, getting to showcase a little bit of my bluegrass side for example. Also, I love ’80s rock, so there’s some flair of that in this project too. I wanted each song to have its own lane.”

Certainly, it’s the sonic lane changes Morgan makes on songs such as “I Know Better” that are sure to keep things interesting for the listener for many years to come.

“I just love pushing the envelope while also realizing what my strong suit is and what got me here,” he concludes. “For me right now, I’m in the sweet spot where I’m getting to start these ideas in the writing room, and then I get to go in the studio and bring them to life, and then I get to go on the road and hear people singing them back to me. It’s a full circle thing.”