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31 Days of Women: Jesslee

Credit: Dieter Spears

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

During a year of much uncertainty, Jesslee turned to music. Her 21 Jump Start EP, out today, has the Florida native covering uplifting songs by Miley Cyrus (“The Climb”), Rachel Platten (“Fight Song”) and Katy Perry (“Rise)” as a way to give hope to listeners.

“Although making music is an outlet for me as a human being, this record is not about me,” she says. “It is about YOU, it is about anyone that needs a little kick in the pants to know that no matter what we face as human beings we have the power to rise and overcome. We are stronger than we think and sometimes just need a little motivation and love to see exactly how strong we are.”

21 Jump Start has Jesslee showcasing her vocal prowess, further demonstrating why Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson both turned their chairs for the singer when she competed on Season 14 of “The Voice.” While the project has Jesslee reinventing several pop hits, she manages to put a unique spin on each while her vocal runs impress.

In addition to three cover songs, Jesslee offers a powerful original with opening track “Strong.” On “Strong,” Jesslee urges listeners not to compete with others and instead to embrace their uniqueness. “You know you don’t need their approval to be who you want to be,” she sings.

The track embodies the message of her 501C, The S.T.R.O.N.G. Program, which teaches children throughout their teens to be confident in mind, body and spirit. An anthem for women everywhere, especially during Women’s History Month, “Strong” has Jesslee sharing her light with others.

Listen to 21 Jump Start on Spotify below. 21 Jump Start is available on all streaming platforms here.

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31 Days of Women: Brandi Carlile

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Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

Brandi Carlile has had a successful career as a solo artist, songwriter and producer. Whether she’s taking the stage with her name on the bill or sharing the spotlight with The Highwomen, throughout her career she’s always made a point to lift up the women around her.

On Sunday, Carlile won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song for “Crowded Table” performed by The Highwomen. She penned the song with Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna and during her acceptance speech praised her co-writers as “my heroes.”

“We just wanted to see women in country music embraced,” she said during her virtual acceptance speech. “We’re seeing that more and more.”

During the pre-show event on Grammy.com Carlile spoke of receiving recognition from the Recording Academy and her peers. “Nothing feels better than getting recognized by other people that you admire and getting to show other people that you admire that you’re recognizing their work in any given year,” she said.

I interviewed Carlile 11 years ago ahead of her performance in New Jersey. During our chat, she discussed how Lilith Fair shaped her life musically and socially, her songwriting process and advice on achieving success. 

“Women’s music is not a genre. It’s equivalent in every way to men’s music and it has a place,” she said at the time. “The strongest thing that you can do is to form a community around you. A community of musicians, artists, writers, free thinkers, activists. That will elevate you. You can always succeed with a community around you.”

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31 Days of Women: Mickey Guyton

Credit: Phylicia J.L. Munn

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

Mickey Guyton made her Grammy debut at tonight’s Grammy Awards. The singer earned a nod for Best Country Solo Performance for “Black Like Me,” making Guyton the first solo Black woman nominated in any country category. While she ultimately lost to Vince Gill and his song, “When My Amy Prays,” the singer won over the audience with a powerful performance of “Black Like Me.”

During a set that highlighted the women of country music, Guyton commanded the stage with the stirring and autobiographical song as backing singers gave the feel of a gospel choir. Donning a floor-length gold gown, Guyton captivated with emotive vocals alongside delicate piano, wavering pedal steel and string accompaniment. Fellow Grammy nominees Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris looked on before they followed with their respective one-song sets.

Ahead of the broadcast, Guyton said in an interview with Grammy.com that she wrote “Black Like Me” nearly three years ago. She penned the song after news broke about the murder of Botham Jean in his home in Dallas, Texas.

“I was so affected by that and when I wrote this song I never thought that it would see the light of day,” she said. “I wrote a song being like, ‘Life may be easy for some people but there’s other people it’s not.’ I wrote this song based off of the book Black Like Me that I read in college. It’s about a white man who darkened his skin to make him look like a Black man in the 1960s and went to the deep South to see what it was like to be Black in America.

“I was just writing a song from my heart and my own experience and it turns out to be so many people’s experiences and it’s not just Black people,” she continued. “I’m thinking of all the people that I know have had a difficult time. My husband has experienced police brutality and I saw it for myself. In thinking about my son, I want life to be easier for him than it was for me. Just like what my parents did for me so I’m going to channel that in this performance.”

“Black Like Me” is featured on Guyton’s 2020 Bridges EP. Listen to the project below on Spotify or on your preferred platform.

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31 Days of Women: Miranda Lambert

Credit: Ben Tusi

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

Miranda Lambert is nominated for three Grammy Awards tomorrow evening for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Bluebird” and Best Country Album for Wildcard. She’ll also be performing during the broadcast, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

I interviewed Lambert in 2019 ahead of the release of “It All Comes Out In the Wash,” the first single off her Grammy-nominated album Wildcard. Lambert wrote “It All Comes Out in the Wash” with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose, a songwriter collective known as the Love Junkies who have penned hits like Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty,” among others. Below is an excerpt from our chat.

“It All Comes Out in the Wash” is your first new single in 15 months. What was it about the song that lent itself to be the lead track of your next album?

I think it was just kind of classic me. I think that it’s got some sarcasm to it, but it’s very honest. I haven’t had a single out in a long time, and I’m just ready to have new music. I’m in a new phase of my life and ready to have new music out there that represents that. This one just felt perfect as far as the vibe of it. It’s fun and lighthearted and I’m really excited about it.

How did the song come to be? Was there a certain lyric you had that kicked off the track?

I actually had the title for a while, and I took it to the Love Junkies. They’re some of my favorite people to write with and one day I walked in and I was like, “You know what? Everything’s fine. No matter what happens, it all comes out in the wash,” which is something my mom and grandma always would say — and it’s true. Everything finds a resolve, and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. My last record went through a lot of the trials to tribulations I had been going through personally, and I feel like I’m kind of over the hump and this song represents that in a really great way.

Is there one line you’re especially proud of?

I kind of love “The Tide stick will get it.” [Laughs] That’s one of my favorites. I remember we were writing the song and just having fun writing it. Really, we were just talking about scenarios that had either happened to us as a group or someone we know, and the Tide stick came up and we all cracked up. The funny part is, I remember being at Target the next week and finding a whole bin of Tide sticks. I was like, “Yup, gonna have to need one of those.”

Is there a specific lyric that comes from your own personal experience?

Not really. I think every girl has been through moments [in the song]. Staining something important or calling someone you shouldn’t, all of it. There’s little things in life that you do that you go, “Ah, I probably shouldn’t have done that,” and it’s fine. Everybody gets past it.

What was it like writing with the Love Junkies?

It’s fun. We always have fun. It’s a bunch of girls that are willing to get in a room and be honest and it just feels like that. It feels very exciting and fun. Everybody lets their guard down, and I think that’s important: When you’re going to a songwriting session to come in and be open-minded and open-hearted and be ready to lay your shit out.

For more of my interview with Miranda Lambert, visit Billboard.

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31 Days of Women: Tiera

Credit: Kamren Kennedy

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

Independent singer-songwriter Tiera released her self-titled debut EP today. The Alabama native’s new project showcases her unique brand of country music and memorable storytelling.

The five-track EP was all co-written by Tiera, who is signed to Nicolle Galyon’s female-focused publishing company Songs & Daughters. Tiera’s warm vocals combined with R&B, pop and country elements have the singer leaving her distinct mark on the music scene.

Tiera kicks off with the sultry “Found It In You” and has the singer belting of a powerful kind of love that gives her confidence and happiness. Soaring electric guitar parts, slick beats and an infectious chorus make “Found It In You” an obvious radio hit.

The sassy “Not Your Girl” follows “Found It In You” and has Tiera boldly saying she doesn’t fit the mold and won’t change for any man. “Laid Back,” the most stripped down track on the release, highlights Tiera’s versatility as a singer alongside delicate strums of an acoustic guitar and a soft R&B beat while “Shut It Down” ups the ante with club-ready beats bound to liven up any party.

“Miles” featuring Breland is a feel-good ballad of a growing love that only gets better with time. With a throwback Motown feel, “Miles” has Tiera transporting the listener back in time with her soulful vocals and gospel-like backing choir. Breland’s rapid-fire singing swiftly brings the song back to the present while his vocals complement Tiera for a standout collaboration.

“When I put out ‘Found It In You’ I hadn’t planned to release a full EP, but as my fans grasped onto the single I decided to release this whole collection of songs,” Tiera says in a release. “It was really important for me to release my first full project independently because I wanted to make my stamp on country music in my own way.

“This is my way of introducing everyone to who I am as an artist,” she continues. “I wrote all of the songs with my friends and favorite collaborators; it is 100% true to me and I hope people have just as much fun listening to these songs as we did writing them.” 

Tiera’s EP is available now. For more, stream it below on Spotify or choose your preferred service to listen.

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31 Days of Women: Robyn Ottolini

Credit: Matt Stride

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

“If you wanted somebody to write a good song about you, treat them well,” Robyn Ottolini tells me over the phone from her home in Canada. Days away from releasing her major label debut “F-150” to radio, Ottolini reflects on the ex who inspired the song. “He has heard the song. I don’t know what he thinks about it.”

Ottolini initially wrote “F-150” alone after an ex of three years dumped her. He drove a Ford F-150 truck and whenever she spotted one in her small town her stomach would drop thinking it was his.

“I did not want to see him as you don’t want to see your exes,” she says. “It brings back all these memories.”

She finally had enough and pulled over to the side of the road and sang into her voice memo, “When I see an F-150.” She then drove home and finished writing the song in her bathroom. While she loved the song immediately, it took six months and some convincing to release it. As she explains, managers Mark Schroor and Erik Fintelman from Workshop Music Group said the song was too sad and she’s a happy person.

“They’re like, ‘We should rewrite the last chorus to be strong and independent, just like you,’” she recalls. “So that’s why we rewrote that chorus to give it that hope that I usually have in my music.”

The song was written and produced by Schroor and Fintelman and released February 2020 independently. It’s included on her independently released The I’m Not Always Hilarious EP.

Ottolini embraced TikTok when quarantine hit and shared the song there in August. In September, she posted it as a trend video, and “F-150” went from 100,000 streams to 1 million overnight. She met with several labels in October before signing with Warner Music Nashville. “F-150” has over 9 million streams on Spotify while its music video has amassed nearly 2 million views.

“I had almost no marketing budget back then,” she says of releasing the song independently. “It was all utilizing social media and trying to show people my following. This is something I never, ever imagined ever.”

For more of my interview with Robyn Ottolini, visit Country Insider.

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31 Days of Women: Ingrid Andress

Credit: Lauren Dunn

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

Rising singer-songwriter Ingrid Andress has made a name for herself within the country genre over the past several years. Following the success of her No. 1 debut single “More Hearts Than Mine,” Andress is nominated for three Grammy Awards at this Sunday’s ceremony for Best New Artist, Best Country Song for “More Hearts Than Mine” and Best Country Album for her 2020 major label debut Lady Like.

Today, Andress released the music video for her latest single and title track of her 2020 album “Lady Like.” The empowering female anthem is set to a stunning backdrop as her powerful words come to life on screen. The video and an excerpt of my Chartbreaker feature from Billboards Dec. 14, 2019 issue is below.

Growing up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Ingrid Andress treated music as a hobby instead of a potential career; she and her siblings would perform impromptu at-home musicals for their parents (to rave reviews, of course).

Then in 2007, when Andress was 16, her family was in Boston — her father, a major league baseball trainer, was coaching the Colorado Rockies, who were playing the Red Sox in the World Series. While on her way to Fenway Park one day, Andress passed Berklee College of Music. “I had never heard of it before,” she recalls. “We went in and I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s a college for music? I have to go here!’”

After graduating from Berklee in 2013, her songwriting professor, songwriter Kara DioGuardi (Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away,” Carrie Underwood’s “Undo It”), urged Andress to move to Nashville. “At the time, I wasn’t ready to be an artist,” Andress tells me. “When you’re in your early twenties, you’re still figuring things out.”

A year after the move, though, Andress signed her first publishing deal with DioGuardi’s Arthouse Entertainment/Sea Gayle Music/Universal Music Publishing, through which she formed her circle of songwriting friends, including Michael Pollack (Maroon 5’s “Memories”). “I was sticking with people [on my level], instead of feeling like I had to write with Max Martin to get a hit,” says Andress. Soon she was flying out to Los Angeles for sessions, and expanding her roster of collaborators. “Even though Nashville is primarily country, it’s still a songwriting town,” she says. “Learning how to write here helped me to be able to go into a room with Akon, or a boy band, or anyone.”

Being a songwriting chameleon has benefitted Andress in more ways than one — she says that working with such a wide range of talent taught her the do’s and don’ts of being an artist herself. “There was a huge difference in working with artists who knew who they were, versus the ones who are told what to do,” she says. “That really helped me keep a north star in what I’m doing. I’d never want to be in a situation where I’m just like, ‘I don’t know who I am.’ I feel like a lot of artists have a tendency to get caught up and just say yes to anything their label wants, but there’s so much value in keeping your own perspective and being able to write about it.”

For more of my interview with Ingrid Andress, visit Billboard.

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31 Days of Women: Caylee Hammack

Credit: Joseph Llanes

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

I’ve interviewed and seen Caylee Hammack perform live several times over the years. My introduction to the country newcomer was during her standout performance at Country Radio Seminar in 2019 during the Universal Music Group Nashville “Team UMG” luncheon at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The way she commanded the stage for a jaw-dropping two-song set was unlike anything I’d seen from a new artist and it prompted me to pitch her for my feature on emerging country talent at Billboard at the time.

Below is an excerpt of our first chat. Hammack’s debut album, If It Wasn’t For You, was released last year. Her cover of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” dropped today.

Caylee Hammack has been singing in public since her early teens. At 13, a conversation with her father while the two were watching Elf sparked the idea to audition for a local talent show. She’d go on to perform around her home state of Georgia and Nashville’s Lower Broadway before signing a record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville in late 2018.

A dynamic singer and equally memorable songwriter, Hammack’s soulful vocals and descriptive lyrics shine on her debut single “Family Tree.”

“I’ve always had a pull for music,” she tells me over the phone during a recent radio tour. “Even when I tried to run from it because it’s a very big risk to follow a dream like this…every single time God seemed to pull me back to it.”

What was the first song you ever wrote? 

I had a medical scare at 16. They thought it was cancer and once they removed the tumor I was bed-bound for a few weeks. [My parents] gave me a computer and I sat with my little MacBook and started writing songs. I wrote a song called ‘Addictive’ about the pain pills I was on to get through the recovery and related it back to the little bit of love I knew at 16. Slowly but surely I kept writing. The tennis scholarships that were starting to line up for me my junior year were whisked away because of my inability to move from back surgery. The only thing I truly had left after that surgery was music.

What’s the story behind your debut single “Family Tree?”

The best way to introduce yourself is family. When I started making this record… I kept going to “Family Tree.” Out of the hundreds of songs I’ve written that was the one that felt the most uniquely me and personal. The inspiration behind it is my sister started smoking cigarettes. I went home and when I went to hug my sister Molly she smelled like cigarettes. In the next few days she’d sneak outside. One time I followed her, and she had a garden glove on her hand and she’s standing in front of the fan trying to blow the cigarette smoke away from her. We went to the gas station a few days after that and they didn’t have any Camel Crushes. I was like, “Dang Molly, you must’ve smoked them out in this county.” In my head that line, something about it felt good to say and it was honest.

I went into a [writing session] with Gordie Sampson and Troy Verges a few weeks after and I had that line written in a note and I said it to them. I was like, “Sister smoked all the Camels in the county last week/ She cleaned out the 7-Eleven sneaking in smelling like nicotine.” Gordie and Troy looked at me and they were like, “Wait, that’s kind of cool. Tell us about your family.” I started talking about all the things in my family that are their little quirks.

For more of my interview with Caylee Hammack, visit Billboard.

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31 Days of Women: Lily Rose

Credit: Anthony Stone

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

Lily Rose moved to Nashville four years ago to pursue an artist’s career. The self-taught drummer and guitarist began writing songs at 15 from her home in Atlanta. In December, Rose posted a clip of her song “Villain” on TikTok that went viral. “Villain” reached No. 1 on iTunes’ all-genre chart, besting Taylor Swift. Now she hopes to replicate that success at radio.

Rose grew up on Top 40 radio, initially planning to try her hand at contemporary pop. Not until relocating to Music City did she realize she most often fell in love with writing songs that were country. She says co-writing in Nashville elevated her songcraft.

“I’m getting set up on so many incredible writes with these legendary songwriters,” Rose tells me. “It’s humbling to even be in the room with them.”

Rose penned “Villain” in November 2019 with Kyle Clark and Mackenzie Carpenter. She had put the title idea in her phone after going through a breakup which she thought ended cordially only to find out her ex didn’t feel the same. In “Villain,” Rose sings, “Whatever helps you sleep at night/ You can make me the bad guy.”

“I’ve learned that you don’t have to live in a small town to have a small town,” she says. “Social media has turned into that for all of us. I expressed to Kyle and Mackenzie what I was going through [and that] I had to actively choose the high road every day because this person was making me look like a villain.”

Rose posted a clip of “Villain” to TikTok on Dec. 1 and due to an overwhelming response teamed with Back Blocks Music’s Rakiyah Marshall to release the song independently on Dec. 15. “Villain” held steady at No. 1 on the iTunes all-genre chart leading into Christmas and remained on the iTunes Top 30 for five consecutive weeks. The song’s success resulted in Rose signing a joint-venture record deal in January with Big Loud Records, Republic Records and Back Blocks Music. “Villain” is officially at country radio today.

For more of my interview with Lily Rose, visit Country Insider.

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31 Days of Women: Nicolle Galyon

Credit: Julia Cox

Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.

Nicolle Galyon is an in-demand songwriter who has penned countless radio hits and garnered two ACM Song of the Year wins with Miranda Lambert’s “Automatic” and Dan + Shay’s “Tequila.” But long before she was a mainstay on country radio, Galyon moved to Nashville with the dream of either being an artist manager or working at a record label. This dream came to fruition last July when Galyon launched Songs & Daughters, a female-focused imprint of independent record label Big Loud Records, which represents Madison Kozak and Hailey Whitters.

“My desire to be behind-the-scenes in the business is what got me here,” Galyon tell me over the phone. “But I never fully understood how that was all going to come into play until Songs & Daughters. This last year has been a lot of reminding myself what it was that made me want to move to Nashville in the first place.”

Galyon celebrated the one-year anniversary of Songs & Daughters on July 22 and says she feels like she’s just getting started. “Creating the company was a full-circle moment, but then it started a new race for me to run,” she says of Songs & Daughters, which recently added a publishing arm in partnership with Big Loud Publishing and Warner Chappell Music with the signing of songwriter Tiera.

“Writers need artists and artists need writers. My vision for Songs & Daughters is for it to be more of a music house. It’s not just a record label or a publishing company: it feels more like a home for female creatives,” she says. “It completely makes sense that the next evolution of Songs & Daughters would be a publishing company. That’s how I came to be in the business — through the publishing and the songwriting world — and so that feels very natural for everyone.”

While Kozak is the label’s flagship artist, Whitters was signed to Songs & Daughters in June. Previously collaborators in the writing room, Galyon says the signing of Whitters happened organically. “We’ve been writing for a few years now and we built trust and a mutual respect and comradery as creatives with each other,” she says of her relationship with Whitters. “It felt like we had a beautiful foundation to build upon on the label front too.”

Galyon says serving as the label head of Songs & Daughters has made her a student again. She’s been learning from the young artists and writers she signs, and in return, she hopes she is teaching each artist to trust herself.

“To me, it’s important not only for them to feel like they have someone giving them permission to be the artist and writer that they want to be, but it’s also important that I feed myself in that way. That’s the beauty of our business: it’s not just a one way street. You have to keep reinventing yourself and have to keep learning from everyone,” she says. “I never want to keep having success and keep rising to a point to where I am not feeding off of the young, new energy in Nashville.”

For more of my interview with Nicolle Galyon last year, visit Sounds Like Nashville.