'OTH' Stars Bethany Joy Lenz and Tyler Hilton Admit Their Connection Is So 'Rare' as They Dish on Their 'Special' New Album 'Well Well Well'

Bethany Joy Lenz, who played Haley James Scott on One Tree Hill, and Tyler Hilton, who played Chris Keller, are forever bonded after appearing on the CW show in the '00s.

After playing love interests on the series, which ended in 2012, for a short stint, the two are back together, as they released a joint album called Well Well Well in November, featuring covers of iconic songs from the show like "I Don't Want to Be," "When the Stars Go Blue" and "Halo," available on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

"We get to see each other all the time at these One Tree Hill conventions, and it's so fun. Every time we sing together, we always do, 'When the Stars Go Blue.' It's hard to find time to put together a set list because we're so busy, but it always feels so good," Lenz, 44, exclusively tells OK!, referring to the duo's hit song from the series.

"We're never in the same place unless someone's paying us to be in the same place," Hilton, 42, quips. "I was ending a tour in Kentucky, and Joy lives in Nashville, and I was like, 'I am flying to Nashville!' We recorded a song, and then I was like, 'Should we record more?' I just kept extending my trip. I was there for 10 days or something, and we recorded a whole album. We were like, 'Let's take advantage of this and record everything we want to,' and we did! The whole time, I was like, 'Something is going to go wrong, or someone is going to pull us away, and it didn't.' It was meant to be. It's crazy!"

It's not lost on both of them how apparent their connection is. "It's so rare, especially in this industry. If you're lucky, you're on a show, or something runs for a long time, and you get to build relationships — but that's rare. Usually, once it's over, everybody's still an actor. We're all in this circus, and we have to move on to the next thing. You have all this love in your heart for the people you've encountered and worked with, but very rarely do you get to spend time together again. It feels really special that we get to do this and continue to support each other. There's something so magical when we get into the studio. I don't know what happens, but there's an ease that really helps," Lenz explains. "We've known each other for so long, we get each other's personalities and the way we think about music is very similar."

On One Tree Hill, Chris was the first to take notice of Haley's musical talent and helped her at the start of her career. He later caused interference in Nathan (James Lafferty) and Haley's marriage. The two later performed "When the Stars Go Blue," which became a hit for them within the show and showcased their musical storyline.

"We were friends and started doing music together off-camera before it was written onto the show. I really liked Joy's music when she showed it to me initially. When they allowed us to go into the studio, which I think is funny because we were so young, there was no oversight. They put us into a studio and we were able to do whatever version of this song we wanted. We tried different version, and it was so natural," the "When It Comes" crooner explains. "I love what we ended up doing, and then when we were on tour together, we would work on different songs to do live. I never take it for granted how easy it was."

On one of the songs, "You'll Ask for Me," Hilton was doing it the way he always had been on tour, but Joy stepped in and said, "'Would you try this weird thing? Would you lower it a key and slow it down?'"

"Her ideas aren't things I think of — they are weird in a good way! She has great ideas," the artist gushes over his pal.

For Hilton, he enjoyed working on "You'll Ask for Me" because it "made that song new for me" and "We Belong."

"I love that song. That is my favorite on the record. I love that song so much," he continues of the latter. "The way Joy sings it."

For her part, Lenz is "really proud" of how they mixed Gavin DeGraw's hit song — and OTH theme song — "I Don't Want to Be."

"We both love Gavin, and we love the song. When you redo it, you have to do something different with it, so we were trying to figure out where we'd land, and I think we really figured it out," she says. "At first, we were like, 'Let's not touch it, it's a good song.' As we kept singing it, it became a whole different thing. I guess Gavin likes it too, so it's cool!"

As for what the future looks like, the stars are hoping to continue working together. "We already have a lot of songs we want to cover next," Lenz says, adding that teaming up has been an opportunity for them to bond more. "It's been really nice."

"That's one of the great surprises about life and this industry! You never know when somebody's going to come back around, and you get to spend time with people that you love and get along with," the California native shares.

Though the CW series has been off the air for quite some time, fans can't get enough of the tight-knit cast, which is why they are constantly attending One Tree Hill conventions all over the world.

"The fact that we've had so many consistent crossovers over the years, between Hallmark and Lifetime and conventions and music, it's a gift that keeps on giving," the Snowed-Inn Christmas star raves about her costars.

"When we first got on One Tree Hill, the industry was full of film, TV and commercial actors. Within the TV sector, there were shows that people considered more for teens. Now, those different sectors are all merged. I know a lot of us felt anxiety when getting off the show and not wanting to stay associated with this one character, but as times have changed, we've all embraced it! We're so grateful to have this place of nostalgia that people keep wanting to come to," she adds.

The two are "in the dark" about the new One Tree Hill sequel series, but they're looking forward to others learning about the small, fictional town in North Carolina.

After starting up his tour with OTH costar Kate Voegele, Hilton notices the kids getting younger and younger due to the show being available on streamers. "It's just wild! It's really cool to see," he exclaims.

"I'm excited for anybody that's making art that is meaningful and helpful and touches your heart," the Dinner for Vampires author adds. "And if there's a way to figure out how to bring a new life to Tree Hill that's authentic, then that's beautiful."

The pair's album is out now.