Tracy Byrd is ready to go Ten Rounds with anyone -- musically or physically.

"I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and I've dropped 25 lb.," says Byrd, whose new CD, Ten Rounds, hit the shelves last week.

"I was heavier than I ever was ... and it wasn't a healthy body. Through high school I was always an athlete, but I got to that time when your metabolism slows down but you keep eatin' the same."

Byrd works out with his bandmates and has also learned to enjoy running.

"I used to hate it, but now for some reason I'm enjoying it. Getting out on a run just frees me up a little bit and it gives me time to think."

Time to think about such things as how to make his Ten Rounds stand out from the rest of the country music offerings.

"These days you really have to shake things up a little to separate yourself from the pack.

"I wanted to cut a pretty driving record with a little attitude to it."

So far, his duet with friend Mark Chesnutt, Good Way to Get on My Bad Side, is proving to be just the attitude fans want.

"It was the easiest record either one of us have ever cut. It was easy and fun, but it went by too fast," says Byrd.

The song deals with the watering down of country music, something Byrd has avoided.

"There was probably a time somewhere in the middle of my career that I could have conformed a little bit and did a little better, but I have to sing these songs every night," says Byrd, who plays the Camrose Big Valley Jamboree Aug. 3.

And while some country artists are re-mixing songs for a more pop sound, Byrd has re-cut his hit Keeper of the Stars to have a "more country" sound.

"My voice has matured and changed. Vocally, it's better, but I can't fault the first cut -- we had tremendous success with it."

However, he did feel some pressure while recording it. "I thought, I damn well better do it better than I did the first time or it's going to be pretty embarrassing."