Watch Chase Rice Toast His Late Father by Debuting 'For a Day' at Opry: 'As Raw as It Gets'

Chase Rice honored the memory of his late father with the live debut of his new song, "For a Day."

The track, which is slated to be released on his upcoming sixth studio album by early 2023, touches on Rice's wishes to see his father, Daniel, for one more day — as they drive his Ford F250, spend time at a show, and reminisce on family history.

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"This is as raw as it gets," Rice said of the new song, which he debuted this week at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. "I miss my dad every day, and if I could have one more with him here's just a couple things I'd do with him. My favorite part would be seeing him with my niece and two nephews. I did three takes on this, one for each one of them, and I couldn't hold it together for any of 'em."

Chase Rice/Youtube Chase Rice

Before performing the track about his father, who died in 2008 of a heart attack at age 57, Rice reflected on the first time he played the Opry with his mother sitting front row. Next to his mom was an empty seat, left vacant for his dad.

"I looked down that night, I saw her. She was by herself, she had an empty seat next to her. My dad passed away when I was 22 years old, and that's probably the biggest reason why I ended up moving to Nashville and doing this for a living," Rice said. "And to be honest with you guys, I think I've done a pretty bad job at showing you who I am through my music over the last 10 years. And you got bits and pieces of it, but this next record that we're about to put out is by far the best, most vulnerable, real music that I've ever done in my life."

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As he hit the Opry stage in promotion of his new song "Way Down Yonder," Rice explained to his fans that seeing his mother sitting next to an empty chair was the "start" of the other track, "For a Day." The song isn't the only emotional track on the new album, as Rice told PEOPLE that he "cried a lot" while writing another one about his late friend, but fans still got to hear "For a Day" for the "first time ever."

Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry Chase Rice

Rice has previously touched on the loss of his father through art, too. Even on his 2014 major label debut, Ignite the Night, he decided to mix party songs with other cuts that felt more serious to him, he told PEOPLE at the time, calling it a "tribute" to his father. Later in 2018, he released the music video for track "Amen," which follows Rice as he visits his father's grave in North Carolina.

"We recorded the video and all of the footage before I had ever even recorded the song," he said. "That's when you know something is pretty special when it falls into place like that. To me, it's a higher power that allows something like that to turn out so well. [This] was all for me to go home and see my dad."

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That particular video, directed by Cody Cannon, was recorded in one take and "100 percent real," as Rice didn't intend to fake cry for something so sentimental. So they grabbed a GoPro, took a road trip, and headed to Daniel's final resting place. While the video didn't "cure" Rice, he told PEOPLE that it helped him come to terms with things.

"It's still gonna hurt," he said. "But at least now I can move on with my life and live a life that he'd be proud of, as opposed to running."