Country music fans: I’m sure you’ve already devoured Eric Church’s album Mr. Misunderstood, released earlier this month. If not, here’s a brief rundown of the talk of the country-music world.Church, one of country music’s biggest stars, surprised members of his fan club with a copy of his unannounced album at their doorsteps. It was the same day as the Country Music Association Awards show, in which he was nominated for five awards and won Musical Event of the Year with Keith Urban for their duet, “Raise ’Em Up.”
Also at the event, Church performed his first song on the album, titled “Mr. Misunderstood,” which hasn’t been released as a radio single yet.

If you follow Church, it’s clear to see his progression through his five released albums. With each, it seems his music is becoming more influenced by rock ’n’ roll. As with his last album, The Outsiders, which had five hit singles and featured darker tracks, many referencing marijuana and drinking.

A year ago, Church said musical genres are dead. In Mr. Misunderstood, he proves just that.

The title song references Elvis Costello, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Jeff Tweedy, all musicians who produced work in varying styles. The album itself has a mix of genres, such as the piano used in “Mixed Drinks About Feelings” and the Jimmy Buffet vibe of “Holdin’ My Own.”

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In the music industry, releasing a surprise album, without promotion and without hype from fans and the media, is sometimes referred to as “the Beyoncé approach” or “pulling a Beyoncé,” according to Billboard.

Why? Because since she released Beyoncé without preamble in 2013, other artists have used similar tactics to promote their music (U2, Kid Cudi, and Skrillex have all tried surprise releases).

That kind of stunt is made for the elite, someone who has years of sold-out touring, is the CEO of her or his brand, and has years of anticipation for the album, a major-label president told Billboard.

I’m not sure if Church would be considered “elite” for his musical sphere, but I do think his stunt will pay off, despite some dissatisfaction from sellers. (Church’s crew lied to retailers, saying there would be a surprise country Christmas album with various artists, when really it was Church’s album. In turn, stores didn’t order enough albums to sell, and they were not happy.)

There is a lot of business going into sales, such as which stores will partner with the artist, when to release on iTunes, where and when to place advertisements, and more jobs left for the professionals.

But if you look into character, you’ll see that Church did this for his fans.

Under Church’s management, his people let some indie retailers in on the secret. They were able to order the album both on CD and vinyl.

He had the album delivered to his loyal fans, those who pay for his Church Choir membership.

Though manager John Peets said they didn’t do this for the initial chart number and instead will worry about the sales numbers a year from now, the album was charted at No. 3 in its first week and No. 2 for the second week.