Jerrod niemann says he's 'finally in a good spot' nearly two years after divorce from ex morgan

Art imitates life on Jerrod Niemann's latest project, _LOST & FOUND_. Inspired by the "lost and found boxes we had at school growing up," the project — which is a

collection of ongoing music releases — serves as a representation of what the country singer-songwriter has been through in recent years and where he is now. "I thought it'd be a

cool name for a project, for all the things I've lost, tangibly and intangibly," Niemann, 41, tells PEOPLE. "And then all the things that I found by putting myself back

together again and putting on a new coat of paint." Newly divorced and newly independent after leaving his former record label, the "Lover, Lover" crooner admits the road here

hasn't been easy — but the music has helped him through. Written in the midst of his divorce from wife Morgan Petek in February 2019 after four years of marriage and 13 years as a

couple, Niemann's song "The Blame," released earlier this month, highlights the "lost" chapter in _LOST & FOUND_, as it finds him reflecting on a love gone

wrong. "When you get to that point of divorce, you're in a toxic cycle," he says. "You're reacting to each other's behavior and you play the blame game. The old

Einstein quote about how insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results — you get caught up in that. Some people stay together because of their children and

fight through it. We didn't have any kids, so luckily, for me, I just realized after the dust settled that from 2013 to 2018, deep down, I wasn't very happy. I think it just caused

a downhill spiral for me personally and professionally." "When you've been through four record deals, what goes up must come down," he adds. "At the end of the day,

I was glad to have been able to reflect and try to be a person that someone else deserves." Niemann similarly gets vulnerable on his song "It Won't Be Me," which was

released in tandem with "The Blame." "'The Blame' was right when I was going through my divorce, and then 'It Won't Be Me' is about when you realize

splitting up is inevitable and you're the one that's still holding on," he says. "It's the last-ditch effort of not wanting to turn the page, but it's already

been turned for you." Before "It Won't Be Me" and "The Blame," Niemann released his _LOST & FOUND_ songs "Tequila Kisses" — an a cappella track

which he recorded 50 vocal parts on — and "Ghost Rider," both created in his home studio, also known as the "Red Room." "When I moved into my house about 10 years

ago, the basement looked like it was from the set of _Saw_," he says. "It was pretty scary. My wife at the time was like, 'You can do whatever you want with this room, I

wouldn't even know where to start.' I wanted to do something a little crazy, so it has red carpet, red walls, a red ceiling, a red chandelier and red lights. It neutralizes the

outside world so no matter what's going on, I can get in my own headspace." Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Niemann found solace in his "Red Room," writing and

creating. "Before COVID, I hadn't been off the road for nearly a decade," he says. "So I hadn't written a whole lot of songs. I think I finally carved out my own

sound more than ever before." After leaving his record label, Niemann found he had boundless freedom to create like in the early days of his career. "My [2010] album _Judge Jerrod

& the Hung Jury _I made with some buddies in a similar fashion, and then Sony picked that up from me," he says. "Basically, there are two types of people in the country music

industry: suits and boots. If you're wearing the boots, you're a good hang. If you're wearing the suit, you're usually not. When you have 50 cooks in the kitchen

sometimes it's tough to stay true to yourself and your art and your music, but when it's just you and you're around people that are all positive and creative, it's just

so inspiring. I like the new venture and being able to do what I want to do." Now that he's "over the hump" of his divorce and "finally in a good spot," Niemann

says he's "laughing harder than I have in a long time." "I met somebody," he says. "So it's been nice to have somebody else in my life that's very

compatible. That's tough to find when you're younger because you just think someone's good looking and therefore you think that you're attracted to them. But there's

a lot more layers to the cake. You live and you learn." In addition to dropping new music from _LOST & FOUND_ every few weeks, Niemann recently released two Christmas songs,

"White Christmas in the Sand" and "There's No Need for Mistletoe," and plans to release two love songs for Valentine's Day 2021. Next spring, he'll also

put out a new EP called _Lake and Bake Music. _ "The love songs will represent the turning of the tide," he says. "And then _Lake and Bake_ will definitely be less vulnerable

and more hangover-esque, party songs."