"We're just so thankful that Capitol loved the music and wanted to bring it with us," said singer/rhythm guitarist Phillip Sweet during an interview from Binghamton, NY. "We were able to add some new stuff to it. Just to see the light of day, we're just so thankful for that. We worked so hard on the music and we're really proud of the record. For it to have a second life, we're just so grateful."

Despite having a nonstop tour schedule, Little Big Town was able to squeeze in writing sessions for the new version of the album, which previously included the hits "I'm With the Band" and "Fine Line."

"We did a little writing out on the road because we were touring pretty much that whole time as well," Sweet said. "We'd go out on the road and come back home for a few days [and write]. We ended up finishing the mixes and the record. We mixed in September to get it out for this date."

One of the bonus tracks is a live rendition of The Dream Academy's hit "Life in a Northern Town" that the band did with Sugarland and Jake Owen to close out a CMT-sponsored tour. The song is nominated for a CMA award in the Musical Event of the Year category. The CMA awards, for which Little Big Town is also a contender in the Vocal Group of the Year category, will be handed out Nov. 12.

"That's one of those things that really took on a life of its own," Sweet said of the "Live in a Northern Town" collaboration. "Kristian [Bush of Sugarland] and Jennifer [Nettles of Sugarland] were doing the song at the end of the show every night and they wanted to do something with us. They said, 'Let's do something fun with a lot of vocals.'

"Kristian had the idea of that old Dream Academy song. It was really fun to get to work it up and put it in the show. We did it at the end of their set. The crowd just really responded to it. From there, it started growing. People wanted to hear it."

A videographer on the tour shot a video as a thank you to CMT for their support, and the cable station started playing it on their channel.

"That's how fans saw it in a big way," Sweet said. "It really kind of exploded from there. We never expected it. Radio started playing the live audio feed from that. It's just a really special thing because that's one you never would have expected to get so much attention. We just did it for the love of music and people responded to it."

Right now, the band--which also includes Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook--is on tour opening for Carrie Underwood. Sweet said fans can expect to see an energetic show when his group warms up the crowd for Underwood.

"If you're familiar with any of our music, you know there's a lot of harmony," Sweet said. "We have a good time playing together. We put a lot of energy into our show. We have some new production, all the lights and stuff that we never really had before being on this tour. It's exciting for us to be able to add new elements and surprises to our show. You're gonna have a good little 45-minute ride. That's what we're doing: 45 minutes before Carrie and she comes out and does her thing. It's just fun."

After the tour ends, the band will perform on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" on Dec. 18 and then sing the National Anthem before the Tennessee Titans-Pittsburgh Steelers game on Dec. 21.

"We love doing the anthem," Sweet explained. "We've done it a lot over the years. That's really fun for us. Afterward, we get to watch the game and kick back a little. We're big fans of the Titans, by the way. They're doing really good this year.

"It's a tough one to sing, but with four people, we worked with a vocal arrangement of it so it's fun for us to do together. The hardest part to do it is if you're in these large football fields and there's a delay in the audio and sometimes it can really mess you up. It's like a 10-second delay. I think we did it in the Minnesota Vikings dome and there was a 10-second delay. So you'd hear a word you said come back 10 seconds later. It can freak you out a little bit. But Nashville stadium hopefully won't be that way. We played there as a performance on the CMA Music Fest. It's a great stadium."