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Arts & Entertainment

Cas Haley thought he'd never sing again, but he's back with new album and new attitude

It took near catastrophe for Cas Haley to realize he'd been missing out on the most important aspects of his life.

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In 2014, the Paris, Texas singer, who stole hearts across country during his runner-up season on America's Got Talent, lost his voice. This wasn't a sip-tea-and-wait-it-out situation -- Haley suffered nerve and muscle damage in his neck while skiing (or as he tells it, wiping out while skiing) earlier in the year. As he cancelled tours and scheduled doctor appointment after doctor appointment, he feared he may never be able to sing again.

"I sort of lost my mind and lost what I thought was my purpose," Haley says. His voice was "the key to opening the world of possibilities for me. I felt for a minute that maybe I'd be shut out from all those blessings that really I'd taken for granted."

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Haley took an eight-month journey full of vocal and physical therapy and acupuncture to find his voice again, but he admits he found a lot more along the way. His new album, More Music More Family, out Nov. 6, is testament to that -- inspiration for it came from the days he spent with his wife and two kids recovering and redefining his life's purpose, instead of on the road touring, he says.

It opened Haley's eyes to the happiness his family provided, and that renewed sense of joy produced an album's worth of jubilant reggae-leaning tunes.

"You could look at it like an accident, but you can also look at it like, this is meant to be," he says. "It was a complete transformation psychologically."

Haley recorded More Music More Family in Hawaii with help from fellow musician Tubby Love. Three of its 12 songs were also recorded from the comfort of Haley's own home, as part of a video series debuting today on GuideLive. The tunes are stripped down versions of the studio recordings and, in a way, symbolize Haley letting listeners in to his home and his struggles over the last couple years. This is the first time any but the title track have been released.

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"Before it's Too Late"

What it's about: "Making sure that we make love a priority," Haley says.

"More Music More Family"

What it's about: "Me re-finding my purpose with my family in the center, instead of a selfish pursuit of music."

"Whole"

What it's about: "Thinking about being a kid and how kids feel so content in the present moment. Wanting to be present."

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More Music More Family drops Nov. 6 on Jimmy Buffett's Mailboat Records. Grab it online via iTunes and the label's site. Haley will perform in Dallas at the Kessler Theater on Thursday, Dec. 17.