The AMG’s Bill Simmons, left, and Kendal Marcy, join Cindy Mabe in getting Brad Paisley to take a break from his fantasy baseball draft where he’s predicting a big year for Noah Syndergaard.

Brad Paisley has been reunited with two executives who were key to his early success—Mike Dungan and Cindy Mabe—signing a deal with EMI Records Nashville.

His next studio album, the first for UMG Nashville, is expected later this year. On Friday (2/24), EMI Nashville will release the first single from the album, “Same Here.”

“Brad is a true creative. He has no boundaries to what he uses as his canvas. He has used his voice and his words as a gift to heal the world through his philanthropy, his song writing, his guitar playing, his entertaining, his music videos, his sense of humor and his heart,” said Mabe, who took over as Universal Music Group Nashville president in January.

“He has been a part of the country music duo with Carrie Underwood that helped define country music to the world. And getting to reunite with my friend and collaborator in his next creative adventure is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I cannot wait for him to share the music he has created with the world.”

UMGN Chairman and CEO Dungan signed Paisley to his first deal at Arista, and Mabe was Paisley’s marketing point person on many of his early albums including Mud on the Tires and Time Well Wasted.

“Cindy’s a genius and terrific human being,” Paisley said. “She heard what I was up to with the new music, and she pointed me further into the direction I was headed. I’ve never had this kind of enthusiasm and empowerment. She said, ‘Make music that matters.’ It’s an amazing thing to work with Mike and Cindy again. It’s great to know they believe in this music as much as I do.”