Brad Paisley is ready for something new.

After spending his career signed to Arista Nashville, Paisley is moving on to a new record deal with UMG Nashville. The move reunites him with UMG Chair and CEO Cindy Mabe, who led the marketing efforts for some of the most successful projects in Paisley’s career, “Mud on the Tires” and “Time Well Wasted.”

“There were two people that should get the credit that you even know my name - Mike Dungan and Cindy Mabe,” Paisley said in a statement. “I ran into Mike at the fishing department at Walmart after having met with several labels, and he talked me into signing my first deal with Arista. They assigned this woman named Cindy Mabe to me - we graduated the same day at Belmont. I got to work with her on my first few albums, and now I get to work with her at UMG.”

Paisley called Mabe a “genius” and a “terrific human being.”

“She heard what I was up to with the new music, and she pointed me further into the direction I was headed,” Paisley said. “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.”

Paisley has been a country music staple for more than two decades after breaking into the genre in 1999 with “He Didn’t Have to Be.” Since then, the West Virginia native has earned three GRAMMYs, two American Music Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 14 Country Music Association Awards. His hits include “Whiskey Lullaby,” “When I Get Where I’m Going,” “Mud on the Tires,” “Waiting on a Woman,” “Online” and more.

“Brad is a true creative,” Mabe said. “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 songwriting, his guitar playing, his entertaining, his music videos, his sense of humor and his heart. He has been a part of the country music duo with Carrie Underwood, which 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.”

Paisley will release his new song and his first on UMG, “Same Here,” on Friday. He penned the track with Lee Thomas Miller and Taylor Goldsmith, and Luke Wooten produced it. He’s in the process of finishing his next studio album, which will be released later this year.