Marcus King Teams With ERNEST On ‘Blue’
The country-soul collaboration grew from a 2018 song ERNEST wrote with Jacob Durett.
Marcus King has released “Blue,” a new collaboration with ERNEST, via American Recordings/Republic Records. The track is out now following the May 2026 deluxe edition of King’s Darling Blue. “Blue” centers on a breakup, opening with an empty bed and a goodbye note before moving through the aftermath of a relationship that has ended. King and ERNEST trade vocals across the song.
Click to load video
The song was written by ERNEST and Jacob Durett in 2018, years before it reached King. King said ERNEST later sent him a demo with the message, “You need to cut this song,” but the idea was temporarily forgotten until their partners brought it up again. The pair then recorded the song together in the studio. ERNEST said the track had remained a personal favorite even though it had never found a place on one of his own projects, adding, “It’s like it was just waiting on him all along.”
Darling Blue / No Room For Blue, released in May, expanded King’s Darling Blue album. The original record reunited King with his longtime live band for their first recorded album together since 2018’s Carolina Confessions. Drawing on King’s South Carolina roots, the album combines country, folk, psychedelic rock and Motown-era R&B while also addressing his experiences with addiction and depression.
King and his band are continuing the Darling Blue Tour through the remainder of 2026. Upcoming appearances include Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in Austin and a New Year’s Eve performance at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. The Greenville, South Carolina-born, Nashville-based musician made his solo debut with El Dorado in 2020, produced by Dan Auerbach, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. He followed it with 2022’s Young Blood, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart, and Mood Swings, produced by Rick Rubin.
