In the early fall of 2010, Tim McGraw submitted his final version of a new record called ‘Emotional Traffic’ to Curb Records. The first single, ‘Felt Good on My Lips,’ dropped soon after, but no word came out about an album release date. Then, just hours after a court ruled this week (Nov. 30) that McGraw was free to sign with another label, Curb let the second single, ‘Better Than I Used to Be,’ hit the airwaves almost a year after the first single was released — and now they’ve announced a release date for the full album.

Today, country fans everywhere who have been awaiting ‘Emotional Traffic’ breathe a sigh of relief. According to Curb, McGraw’s new record will officially hit stores on Jan. 17, 2012. Though the country star is able to sign with another label now, ‘Emotional Traffic’ will still be released under his former label, and it will be his last with that company.

Described by McGraw as an “eclectic group of songs,’ ‘Emotional Traffic’ is rumored to include collaborations from R&B wonder Ne-Yo, wife Faith Hill and keyboardist Rami Jaffee, who has worked with the Foo Fighters and the Wallflowers.

Though the longtime country favorite can be pleased with the outcome of this week’s court decision, he hasn’t weathered the entire storm just yet. McGraw will have to return to court in July 2012, when it will be determined whether or not he was in breech of his contract with Curb when he turned in his new record earlier than agreed upon. According to Curb, his contract stipulates that every new record must be recorded “no earlier than 12 months and no later than 18 months” after the release of his previous album.

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