The Grammys

Dec 18, 2023

Photo: Andy Pollitt

interview

As Jelly Roll officially crosses into country territory with his latest LP, 'Whitsitt Chapel,' the rapper-turned-country star feels like a changed man — and aims to provide hope to those who feel lost.

When Jelly Roll first attended church with his daughter, Bailee, he wasn't looking for salvation. But while sitting in a church pew, he realized the story of his own relationship to redemption and religion was one he needed to share.

"Outside of religion, the idea of being able to be redeemed is just a great idea. The idea that who we were is not who we are is so powerful," Jelly Roll tells GRAMMY.com. "At that moment, I was like, 'I want to write a conceptual album, that kind of outlines my journey of religion, my journey of spirituality, my journey of redemption, my journey of wrongdoings.'"

Born Jason DeFord, Jelly Roll spent a decade in and out of federal prison, and was incarcerated when Bailee was born in 2008. Her birth was a turning point for the singer, who started his music career as a rapper in 2011. But the Antioch, Tennessee native always loved country music, and when he realized he could sing, he tried his hand at writing country songs.

What followed is Whitsitt Chapel, Jelly Roll's first full-length country album. Named after the church where he was baptized at 14 years old, the LP is a self-effacing, honest and gritty dissection — and at times, condemnation — of his own life story and complex relationship with religion. Whether he's imploring "somebody save me, me from myself," on "Save Me" or reflecting on what it means to show up, in "Hungover in a Church Pew," Jelly Roll's kind of religion is one of understanding, forgiveness and growth.

Expanding on the rawness of his previous LP, 2021's Ballads of the Broken — which earned Jelly Roll his first No. 1 hit with "Son of a Sinner" — Whitsitt Chapel introduces Jelly Roll as one of country music's most intriguing rising stars. His honest accounts of his struggles — backed by compelling, gritty vocals and driving country-trap beats — transform his live shows into gripping performances, creating an almost church-like atmosphere for fans and the singer himself.

Speaking to Grammy.com on the day Whitsitt Chapel came out, Jelly Roll discussed making his latest album, his hopes for justice system reform and his own journey to redemption.

Well, first off, happy album release day. How are you feeling today?

Oh, thank you. It's better than a birthday. It's like having a prom that you're the king of. I never went to a prom, but I'm assuming this is the feeling.

You sold out the Ryman Auditorium this week for your release show. And I've heard a couple of people describe that show as feeling like going to church. I'm curious what it felt like from your side of things.

You know, man, I love that people compare this to going to church. Because I feel like that's how we try to make all concerts. I always say my shows are a little bit of hip-hop, a little bit of rock, a lot of country, and a little bit of a back road tent revival.

We mix up all the old stuff and the new stuff. So by default, there's a lot of genre crossing. But the back road tent revival is just kind of the theme of the whole project. It's this old fashioned "let's go to church, let's get a little rowdy, let's get a little hellfire and brimstone in here." And any good Sunday sermon has highs and lows, moments you cry, moments you're happy, moments you're scared, moments you're excited, and we just try to recreate that in the show.

Did you feel as though you were up there preaching?

I think the music does the preaching, I just talk. You know what I mean? I think the music's the sermon, I'm just the deacon.

When did you actually start rapping and sharing it with people?

I probably wrote my first rap when I was 10, maybe 11 or 12. And I shared it with my family immediately. Like didn't hesitate. The first rap I wrote sucked really bad. And I ran downstairs with great pride, people gathered around the kitchen table, and I watched them act like it was decent.

As family does. So then, how did you make the switch to do country music?

I always wanted to do country music because I'm just such a country music fan. And I feel like "three chords and the truth" was always the premise of my music. I just didn't know I could sing. If somebody would have told me I had a cool singing voice when I was 20, I couldn't imagine where this thing would be at now. I was, like, in my mid-30s when I found out I could sing.

I was doing karaoke and we were doing Bob Seger, "Old Time Rock and Roll." I came off stage. And a producer was like, "Man, you got to do a song where you're singin'." And I was like, "I would have done that 20 years ago if I thought I could sing, I'm a bad singer." He's like, "Not what I just heard." I started working at it, and you can see that I've got this album Whitsitt Chapel is the first time you can hear how comfortable I am with my voice.

The songwriting and everything, the music evolved. The way I say it is, the music followed the man: the man changed and then the music changed, this big old lug of human ions has just been dragging the music along with me, wherever I've ended up at the mic.

After that moment doing karaoke, you put out "Save Me," which I think of as your bridge to country music.

That was the big bridge, that was 2020, and that was the moment it started coming together. But you want to talk about great links as a singer — I had to relearn how to sing "Save Me" this year. This is the first time I ever told this story. When I first learned how to sing "Save Me," it was as high a register as I could sing, I was reaching for every single note. Now I can sing octaves above that. Now that I'm singing higher, I had to learn how to settle back into what the actual key of the song was.

That sounds like a bit of a surprise.

It was interesting. I didn't realize how off I had gotten over the last year or two. But it's been fun. It's been cool. Because I'm learning, I'm still new to this. I think that's why I'm so excited too, is that I'm just really understanding a little more about the theory of music. I'm understanding chord structure better. I'm understanding keys, octave, pitch, control. These are things I had no clue of when I did "Save Me."

Are you studying music theory as part of this transition?

No, I'm just playing a little guitar when I can, doing a lot more acoustic stuff. My daughter plays a little piano, a little guitar. So I'm just trying to soak up everything I can.

I think religion can do a lot of different things. And it's pretty central to Whitsitt Chapel. Can you talk to me a little bit about your relationship with religion?

I'm really, really, really kind of against religion. I'm not very religious at all. But I definitely believe in spirituality. I had this thought, how I look at church and how I see church now is different than I ever seen it. I realized that it's a bunch of people going to a place as an attempt to build community, seek forgiveness and be better.

And when done right, I don't care what your thoughts are on Jesus, God, Allah, any of that stuff, this is an incredible concept, right? That people go here with the idea of doing better, being better, and community. And looking at that as an adult — because I had a long time I was mad at the church, I think they kind of depicted Jesus wrong at times — but understanding and going back to it, I see what the spirit of it is.

But then you also write lines, like "I only talk to God when I need a favor." Can you rectify for me the real tension in that line, with what you just told me?

Well, it was sitting in the back of a church one day and listening to worship music. And just not being able to relate with it and where I am with my walk and spirituality. And you look at it from that perspective, and you're like, "What is my connection, how would my song to God sound?"

And I feel like it's, "I only talking to God, when I need a favor. I only pray when I ain't got a prayer." The third line in ["Need a Favor"], to me, is the most powerful line, "So who the hell am I, who the hell am I to expect the saving?" Just think about the word "expect" in that line, the entitlement of that. It was just being honest about how I view the church, and then there's my personal walk with God, and they're definitely different. So to me, it was trying to create that music with that spirit.

So then how do you come to name this album for your childhood church?

Well, it started when I went with Bailee to her church. So Bailee's my daughter, she was 14, when she started going to the church, she had alluded to wanting to get baptized. [I thought], well, I should go see what kind of cult she's going to, because that's kind of how I looked at church at that time. And then I went, and I was reminded of the genuineness that can be in those walls, too. I was reminded of the humanity and the compassion and the forgiveness, the love and the community, more than anything watching her and all of her friends there.

And I had started thinking about where I was at when I was 14. I'm going to a little church, too, on a little back road on a hill, there's just these little parallels. Bailee experienced and dabbled in marijuana for the first time, I caught her recently. Around the same age, I was dabbling in marijuana and trouble. It was just reflective.

And then you start thinking about redemption. Outside of religion, the idea of being able to be redeemed is just a great idea. The idea that who we were is not who we are is so powerful. At that moment, I was like, "I want to write a conceptual album, that kind of outlines my journey of religion, my journey of spirituality, my journey of redemption, my journey of wrongdoings." [It's] my take on all these things from a 14-year-old kid getting baptized at Whitsitt Chapel to the 39-year-old man that just watched his 14-year-old get baptized.

And I think 14 was a pretty big year for you, at least a complicated year for you. Your daughter's 14, what impact did that have on you?

That's what made me want to jump to action. The same year that I got baptized, I got arrested, and that started what would be a 10 year cycle of incarceration in and out. And she's in a way better place. She's so much better than I could have ever been at that age, or probably will ever be. But that was what drug it up too, because I know these are the years. I talk to people all the time. They're like, "What do you think the most important years of parenting are?" I say "Every day. But if there's a window, it's 14 to 18."

And at the Ryman show you talked about going back to Whitsitt Chapel to talk to your pastor. What happened when you went back, and how do they feel about you naming the album after it?

It restored my faith in stuff. They pulled my records and sent a picture over of my handwriting, The 14-year-old Jason asking to be baptized — you have to fill out a card. And this church has kept that record for 24 years. Crazy, right? So at that point I'm like, I want to meet 'em, can we go love on them a little bit? I wanted to go sit down and meet with Pastor Ken, and meet with the rest of his staff.

I'm anxious to hear what they think of the whole album. I played them a few songs that they loved. Their exact words was "Man, we're just glad he's thinking of us. We're thinking of him, we love him. We're praying for him. We're proud of him."

My goal in the next couple of weeks is to surprise them, pop by on a Sunday. Maybe I should go this Sunday.

There is a certain something to that timing isn't there?

Yeah, there is something ironic about that.

Now that you've released a country album, do you fully see yourself as a country artist?

I definitely consider myself a country artist. 100 percent. My wife once told me that even if I sing "Amazing Grace" anywhere north of Ohio, she said people would say I was country. She's like "You might not think that you sound country when you sing, but I'm from Las Vegas and you sound country. When you're singing songs around the house, like a Katy Perry song or something around the house being goofy you sound country." My wife's always picked on me about it.

Well the joke might be on her, if you're putting out a country album now.

Ain't that great? She loves it. My favorite thing she does is when she talks in my drawl, when she does her husband impression, it's the best.

Who did you write these songs for?

I wrote these songs for anybody that's dealing with the duality of life. Back to that Sunday service, I've went out and overserved myself, many a Saturday. Many a Sunday morning, I still woke up and showed up, and that's the duality of man.

It's kind of "Son of a Sinner" again. It's always about that somewhere between being right and wrong, because I think that's the exact place I live in. I know my heart's pure. I know my spirit's right. I also know that I make really politically incorrect jokes. And party sometimes, and I'm a little silly and outrageous. But I also know that my heart is to be a man of service and to help people. So I write for those kinds of people, the struggling poet of the broken man. Always trying to be the voice for the voiceless.

And you really end the album in that spot, "Hungover in a Church Pew," right?

Yes, that was important in the album that way, because I needed that. Because there's moments where it would sound like "The Lost": "I've been known to find my kind of people/ They ain't at home underneath church steeples." But even through this whole journey of this album, all "Hold on Me," my struggle with alcohol, my love song to my wife, "Save Me," "Need a Favor," "Dance with the Devil." Even after all that, I still found my way to that kind of upbeat, mid tempo, hungover "sunbeam down on that stained glass window, the preacher man preachin' that fire and brimstone." So to me, it was cool, because I was like, "I heard your fire and brimstone." I'm always looking for redemption.

And that middle of the road too, one foot in two places, right?

Exactly.

I'm curious about more of your backstory. You're really open about being a convict. And it's something that's central to your identity. I'm curious about the choice to keep that in the forefront of your identity.

Well, I'm reminded of it all the time. So I think that what my goal now is while I'm being constantly reminded that I want to remind people that you can change. I tried to buy a house four months ago, and I was turned down because of my felonies. I'm still dealing with it today.

I think it's more now about just trying to bring attention to the cause, to have some sort of justice reform. My felonies that are inexpugnable, that I got whenever I was 16 years old. You know, I wasn't thinking like a man that should have that held against it him for the last 20-some years.

So what do you want people to understand about that?

I think that we need to just re-examine the juvenile system, if we're focusing our efforts on discipline or rehabilitation. And I think that goes into the drug addiction pandemic in America, too. Are we properly focusing our attention on rehabilitation? Are we finding alternate means yet? Can we accept that the war on drugs was a war that we lost? My story is just an attempt to bring attention to those topics. And my thing is, I don't think it's a one-size-fits-all for everyone. Like, even down to my felony, I think that these things should be on a case by case basis.

You ended up donating your proceeds from your recent Bridgestone Arena show. Was that to a variety of youth programs or to the juvenile detention center where you were incarcerated?

We built a studio at the detention center where I was, we also granted some scholarships to some local high school students. I didn't want to limit the at risk youth to just incarcerated kids. Because I believe that there's kids that are at risk that haven't made that decision yet, but also don't know how they're gonna go to college. I want to help those problems as well.

What's your hope for what that money can do?

My hope is that it can create a safe space for kids to create music and express themselves. But this is bigger for me as far as like, I have a 10-year plan here that I want to change. I want to open group homes, eventually, I want to open aftercare programs, community centers. I want to bring other trade work into the juvenile facility that I was at. I started with music because it's what I know. But I'm hoping to bring barbering in and welding in, whatever I can bring in to help these kids realize that they might have another way to go about it.

Is that because of how far you've come?

I think it's because of how far I've came, and the ability to give back. I want to help. Who are you if your life has changed this dramatically, and don't try to help?

Do you feel like a different person than when you started making music?

I'm such a different person. You can hear it in the music. You can see it in the testimony. Hell, I'm proud to say I'm better today than I was a week ago. I've consciously made decisions and choices and realized things that I fell short on. I do self inventory every day.

It's just the idea that I learned through different programs, the concept of looking back at things and everyday doing a self inventory check: "Was I nice? Did I care? What did I do that didn't feel right? Did I say something I regret saying? Did I not call somebody? Did I not say something I should have said?" It'll keep you grateful. It'll also keep you humble. Because sometimes the inventory is just, "What am I grateful for? What's happened in the last 24 hours that I'm grateful for?"

Well these last 24 hours might have a few things for you to be grateful for.

Whooo, these last 24 hours are packed. It's going to carry me to the weekend. I'm now allowed a couple of f— ups. Nah, I'm kidding. It's that balance, right? "It's like okay, I've earned a night of recklessness."

Well, Sunday's coming, right?

Amen.

Meet Bailey Zimmerman, Country's Biggest New Star Who Still Can't Believe He's Famous

Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

feature

As 80,000 country music fans take over Nashville from June 8-11, genre legends, hitmakers and newcomers celebrate CMA Fest's 50th anniversary by revisiting their favorite moments from on and off stage.

​​It's where fans were once caught in the crossfire of a silly string war between Tracy Lawrence and Kenny Chesney. It's where Garth Brooks signed autographs continuously for 23 straight hours. It's where Craig Morgan first met Miranda Lambert when she was just a young fan, and where Patty Loveless stood in line to get an autograph from future collaborator Vince Gill. It's where Lainey Wilson realized country music is what she was born to do.

That place is CMA Music Fest, and this year "The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience" celebrates 50 years of bringing fans and artists together in the heart of country music, Nashville, Tennessee. Originally known as Fan Fair, the event was created by WSM radio and the Country Music Association to provide fans their own unique experience — though it was also a clever marketing ploy to keep fans from crashing the annual country music disc jockey convention, an industry-only annual event. Now, each year, more than 80,000 country music lovers from around the world ascend to Nashville to see their favorite stars.

The first Fan Fair in 1972 drew 5,000 country music lovers to Nashville's Municipal Auditorium, and by 1982, its growth warranted a move to the Nashville Fairgrounds, In 2001, it moved downtown, occupying numerous locations including Nissan Stadium, Riverfront Park and the Music City Center — officially becoming CMA Music Festival, and later CMA Fest.

"The secret to the success of CMA Fest is the preservation of the original Fan Fair," CMA CEO Sarah Trahern tells GRAMMY.com. "The tradition and unique connection between the fans and the artists is celebrated throughout our event, and it becomes a momentous part of an artist's career to be able to say, 'I played at the Riverfront Stage, or I played Nissan Stadium and was part of the television show.' The magic of what CMA Fest is today comes from the history and heart that was created five decades ago."

Trahern has seen firsthand how important CMA Fest is to the fans, and one of her personal highlights each year comes from surprise seat upgrades. "I specifically remember one year we had changed the configuration on the floor based on some sodding issues with the stadium, and one fan was particularly upset that we moved her seats even though we had moved her to a closer section," Trahern recalls. "We later found out that she had brought her husband's ashes and had placed some of them under her seat at the stadium because they used to come to Fan Fair together. It reiterated to me the power of our event to truly become a part of people's lives."

It becomes part of the fabric of country artists' careers, too. CMA Fest is where many artists are discovered, where they perform for the first time, where they celebrate milestone achievements, and where they make invaluable memories with fans. As Morgan puts it, "You know that when you're performing at CMA Fest, you're performing for those who love you the most."

Before CMA Fest kicked off its 50th iteration on June 8, some of country music's legends and newcomers shared their most cherished, hilarious and sometimes embarrassing memories from CMA Fest.

Graham DeLoach: Playing CMA Fest for the first time was gratifying, to say the least. We had really been honing our sound and figuring ourselves out as artists, both on the stage and making an album in the studio during months leading up to the show. I remember it almost getting rained out, but when the weather cleared and we finally got on the stage, we had a defining moment as a band. We had it dialed in more than ever and we're playing to a real crowd who came to listen to real music. It was a big change from the bar rooms that we had toured across America in the years prior. So, we mark our first CMA fest as a defining moment for A Thousand Horses.

Michael Hobby: My favorite memory takes me back to 2015. We were performing on the Chevy stage, right outside the Bridgestone arena in Nashville. It was super hot outside and the sun was beating down on everyone, but the atmosphere was still buzzing with the excitement from all the fans. It was a huge moment for us as a band. Our debut album Southernality was being introduced to the world, and our single "Smoke" had just gone No. 1. I'll never forget hearing the crowd singing the words to all our songs back to us, and the album had only been out a few days. That day had everything I love about music — its ability to move people, bring them together, and to create these unforgettable shared moments.

Bill Satcher: One year at a signing booth, a fan asked us to autograph and write our band name on her arm. Afterwards, she told us that she was going to go get it tattooed on her later that day. Sure enough, she came back to the same signing booth the next year and had our handwritten band name inked on her arm.

Fan Fair was always a special time for us early in our career. We'd be on the road playing shows and our mom, Frances, would load up our cousin Sylvia and my two oldest sons, Jesse and Noah, and make her way to Nashville to decorate our Fan Fair booth. We'd meet them there and spend the next few days meeting and greeting fans for hours at a time every day of the event.

We met so many artists that have remained friends to this day. We even met the Forester Sisters at Fan Fair and ended up recording a duet together, "Too Much Is Not Enough," that went No. 1.

When Fan Fair was over, we'd make our way on down to Alabama's June Jam in Ft Payne. We enjoy CMA Fest also but we're usually in Europe a lot during that time every year so we don't get there as much as we used to.

Our Mom used to live for that time of year. She loved putting our booth together and meeting all the artists new and old — in fact, I think she probably knew more artists than we did. We still run into people that knew our Mom from then.

(L-R) Frances Bellamy and Loretta Lynn at Fan Fair. Photo: Courtesy of David Bellamy

The Oak Ridge Boys go way back to the very beginning of what was then called Fan Fair. My fondest memory of those days was performing in 1982 on the heels of "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue." It was amazing to see the crowds at the shows and the signing booth. I am thankful that from time to time we still take part even after all these years.

Ben Chism: This is our first year playing CMA Fest. It means the world to me, to Chris, to our families. When we got that email saying we were invited to play CMA Fest, I told my wife and she just jumped up and down. She's been waiting 10 years for this and so have I. Chris has too. We have family coming in from all over the country to watch this 25-minute set because it means as much to them as it does to us.

It's just an amazing feeling to go out there and meet the people at CMA Fest. That's the biggest thing me and Chris have always said is, "Don't ever be afraid to come up to us and talk to us. We'll go on a walk and talk to you all day long."

Chris Ramos: As a musician growing up, I always thought it would be the coolest thing ever to get to play CMA Fest. It's definitely a career defining moment. You have various people say, "My career defining moment was when I headlined Nissan Stadium." We get that, but along the way this is one of those things that when it happens, it's a bucket list item. I wanted to just take a minute and absorb the fact that we got invited by the CMA to play CMA Fest. Talk about career aspirations being fulfilled!

My first CMA Fest experience was very non-traditional, as last year was my very first year not just performing but attending as well. I had the privilege of getting to perform on the Chevy Riverfront Stage and with one of my favorite bands, Lady A, on the main stage. It was a crazy experience.

Something funny happened ahead of the Chevy Riverfront performance, too — I was about to walk on stage and broke my glasses. I didn't have a backup pair so I had to throw on my stylist's sunglasses for the performance. Such a great time regardless!

My favorite memory so far of CMA Fest is playing Ascend Amphitheater with my label mates. Warner Music Nashville put together an amazing lineup, and it's a show I'll never forget.CMA Fest is so unique because it brings together so many artists and so many fans in one place for the weekend. It's an amazing opportunity to be able to interact with fans and create memories you'll never forget. I love running into fans all over the country and hearing about how they discovered us at CMA Fest!

My first CMA Fest performance was in 2014 on the CMA Close Up Stage at the Music City Center, and it was amazing. As much as the show Nashville had been embraced by TV viewers and the city of Nashville itself, that performance was my first taste of how popular it had become with the group that mattered, perhaps, the most: country music fans. The place was packed, the fans were amazing, and I felt blessed to be there with them, playing my songs and Deacon's, too. I still smile just to think of it.

I can easily tell you my favorite moment. It was in 2016. I, like everyone else, had recently heard the bad news that Nashville, the show that had brought me to Nashville and had changed my life completely, was not being picked up by ABC for a fifth season. That was a hard pill to swallow — not just for those of us who worked on the show, but for the actual Nashvillians and the country music fans that had grown to love the show so much.

For me, it was no small consolation to be stepping out onto the Riverfront Stage that day to perform for CMA Fest. It was a hot but beautiful summer afternoon, and the riverbank was completely covered with amazing Nashville fans who, like me, seemed not quite ready to say goodbye. They poured out their love — even more so when I brought out my co-stars Clare Bowen and Chris Carmack to sing a couple songs. They cheered and sang along with us to their favorite songs from the show that they already missed so much. That was incredibly memorable.

But, what put it over the top — way over the top — was when CMT's Leslie Fram and Cody Alan joined me and my friends onstage for a surprise announcement that, actually, Nashville would NOT be ending. Not yet! CMT was picking it up for Season 5 [and eventually for Season 6]. The crowd went wild. And the show went on!

Jennifer and I got married June 11, so our anniversary would, more likely than not, land during Fan Fair/CMA Music Fest. One of our early, if not first anniversaries, I was at Fan Fair. Of course, Jennifer was with me. I'm working. It was at the Fairgrounds. We had just signed Juice Newton, and she found out it was our anniversary. She sang "The Sweetest Thing" and dedicated it to us. That was pretty cool, and very sweet of her.

I'll never forget the first night I landed in Nashville. It was the Tuesday of CMA Fest. I walked down to Broadway and it was like all my Aussie-Country boy musical dreams came true all at once!

I remember the first time I had a booth at Fan Fair. It was so exciting. That year Alabama was a huge success and the fans screamed for them. Soon after, my records hit the top of the charts, and I got booked to open all their concerts for a couple years. What a thrill and huge boost for me! So thankful!

A post shared by Vince Gill (@vincegillofficial)

Way back when Fan Fair was still at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, I was in the RCA Records booth signing autographs with some other artists. This woman came through the line, and I was signing something for her, and I think we got a picture together. Then she said to me, "We're gonna record together some day." And I thought "Well alright." Turns out that woman was Patty Loveless! We ended up singing on lots of each other's records including our first No. 1 hits. She sang harmonies on "When I Call Your Name" and I sang on her single "Timber I'm Falling in Love."

I vividly remember my very first Fan Fair in 1995 because the line was so long and I just could not believe it. I think we were there for eight hours signing autographs. I was amazed and just so thankful. I was still a very young, naive country boy, and I just remember my mind being absolutely blown that there were that many people standing there to meet me.

Country fans are the best! I remember one year I mentioned something about being gone so much on tour, I didn't have time to go home and wash my socks or something like that and then all of a sudden, I start getting underwear and socks at all the shows for a while. It was pretty funny.

I had been to CMA Fest — then called Fan Fair — many times before I signed my record deal, but 1995 was different. My first single "What Mattered Most" had just gone to No. 1, and when I looked out over that crowd of 60,000 people to perform it, I couldn't hold myself together. The tears started welling up, and was all I could do to get through the song. To hear folks singing my lyrics back to me, there's nothing like it, even today. Words cannot describe it.

HunterGirl (R) and her mom at CMA Fest 2022. Photo: Courtesy of HunterGirl

The funniest fan interaction last year was during the meet and greet at the signing booth. Someone came up and asked me to sign a picture, and I looked down and it was an old photo I used to promote my music in high school. Then, one after another people kept bringing the same photo to sign, and I asked, "Where did y'all get this?" They all go, "the lady in the back corner was passing them out." I looked over and it was my mom giving them to everyone she saw. It was like she was handing out mixtapes on Broadway. I have never laughed so hard. My mom is the best.

The first year I did the stadium was pretty awesome. Me and Hank Jr. did "Born To Boogie." It was me and him and Justin Moore. It was just great because I grew up listening to Hank Jr., and we had toured together so it was great comradery. Then I did "Buy Me A Boat" and it had just hit No. 1 so that was a great time.

I've had a lot of fun fan encounters. I'm pretty easy going, but people get so scared sometimes to say hello. Sometimes I'll notice it, so I'll just initiate the conversation because I can tell they want to say hello or want a picture or something. And I always think to myself, "Be Luke Bryan," because Luke is always very kind to people. So I've always tried to model myself after people like him. He's just a great template for that. Treat people how you want to be treated.

So if I notice somebody wanting to talk or they look like they might want a picture, but they are about to let me walk by because they don't want to bother me, I just tell them, "Hey listen, you ain't bothering me. We're all just putting our pants on the same way this morning and if you'd like a picture, you might as well get it now. This is perfect timing." I appreciate how respectful people are in 99 percent of the cases, but it also just cracks me up that just because I sing songs and have hits and I'm in the public eye doesn't mean I'm not a normal person. I'm probably more normal than most people I know so if you see me out there, come and say hey.

My favorite memory goes way back to when it was called Fan Fair and was held at the fairgrounds. All the artists would be assigned to a booth and we'd be there all day which consisted of signing for two to three hours plus appearances and performances. All the artists would try to outdo each other with our booth setup. We'd also do pranks on each other. One time Kenny Chesney and I had a silly string fight across from each other in our booths.

The first time I performed was at the Fairgrounds in 1992. They set up the main stage on the race track, and my producer, James Stroud, gave me a blue Harley Motorcycle to celebrate Sticks and Stones going Gold. So, it didn't suck.

Tracy Lawrence at Fan Fair 1992. Photo: Courtesy of Tracy Lawrence

I got to perform with Josh Turner on the stadium show the first time I did CMA Music Fest, which was a moment I'll never forget. Through the years, I've done a lot of different events at CMA Music Fest and it's always been fun. The fans who attend are amazing, and music is truly around every corner. I'm glad to be a part of CMA Music Festival's history. The event is truly legendary.

Fans love country music and are so devoted. What I remember best is sitting there at the Polygram/Mercury booth at Fan Fair and sitting there for about two hours and probably signing one autograph. One time mama was there with me, and I had my little Sharpies in front of me and my little stack of pictures and nobody was coming over. Finally, this man and woman looked up at my name over my head and looked at me and walked over to me and mama said, "Get ready! Get ready!" And they walked over to me. I said, "Can I help you?" and they said, "Do you know where the bathroom is?" That was my introduction to Fan Fair. [Laughs.]

Of all the genres that I've been a part of — Broadway, television, the movies and in the clothing line — everybody always says how nice the country folks are, and how appreciative the fans are, and the artists are of their fans. So coming back to CMA Fest just emphasizes how much the artists do appreciate their fans and the fans of country music appreciate the artists and entertainers. I am proud to be a part of country music and a part of a group that do appreciate each other, and they don't take each other for granted.

My favorite CMA Fest memories are the Fan Club parties that I used to do with my mother. She geared up for them months in advance and I got to see the fans bring her such joy with their love. Thank you for those memories. They meant so much to both of us.

One year I played the stadium with a cast on my leg. There's a picture of me somewhere, climbing the trusses with my broken leg hanging off the sides of the stadium.

One of the years I played CMA Fest back when I was younger, I remember a young lady asking me for an autograph. I signed something for her and we chatted for a few minutes. Years later, that young lady became a big star in country music: Miranda Lambert.

I am so excited to perform at CMA Fest again. Last year I was on the Spotlight Stage in Fan Fair X and it was one of the first times I heard fans singing my songs back to me. This year I get to play the Chevy Riverfront Stage & Nissan Stadium Platform Stage which is really exciting!

I can't think of another event where fans travel from all over the world to listen to live country music. It's pretty special to have people from different cultural and geographical locations come together to share their love for their favorite songs and artists. I can't wait to fully experience CMA Fest for the first time and put a little western into the lineup.

Read More: Ian Munsick Is Bringing The West To The World With 'White Buffalo'

My favorite was my first, which I believe was the first time it was downtown. I was 21 and on Mercury Records. I had a sleeveless Michael Jackson t-shirt on, which was borrowed from a friend back home. I was so nervous, but I remember it was really the first time I'd played in front of a crowd that size. I was high on adrenaline for days!

I have a long history with CMA Fest, going all the way back to the late '90s, like '96-'97. I had long hair and a cowboy hat. I was maybe 18 years old starting off my career. I had a booth. That's how you did it back then. You'd put these booths in these real hot buildings, and you'd sit there and sweat all day and say, "Please, look at me, look at me! Let me sign something for you that you don't care about!" [Laughs.]

Those are my original memories of Fan Fair, and as we've moved on through the years with CMA Fest, I've noticed there's a really different vibe around CMA Fest nowadays. It's a big show, a big stadium show that's always been one of my favorite things to play.

We debuted "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" in front of 40,000 people at the stadium at CMA Fest, sung it in the rain I believe. I have a lot of fond memories about CMA Fest performing on all the stages, Riverfront, Stadium Stage, CMT Stage in front of Bridgestone, and I've had a blast at all of them. That's what's wonderful about CMA Fest — you have so many fans there that are doing so many things, you're going to find a great crowd anywhere.

My favorite memory of CMA Fest is at Nissan Stadium. Luke Bryan and I actually got to co-host the broadcast, and it was such an amazing moment. We got to talk to so many artists that I hadn't really even got to meet before rehearsing that, and obviously being a co-host with Luke was so much fun.

Over the years, I've had a ton of funny interactions with fans. The most embarrassing one for me, though, happened when there was a guy who said, "Hey, can you come and sign this thing for me?" I thought that he was pointing at his motorcycle, so I got my sharpie and signed the bumper of his motorcycle. Then [my brothers] Reid and Neil pointed out to me that he was actually pointing to the T-shirt laying over his motorcycle. He actually did not see me do it in real time and I didn't know how to tell him, so I just sort of sheepishly crawled back on the tour bus because I didn't know what to do.

I got mistaken for Cody Johnson a couple years ago by a large crowd of fans. I just went along with it. [Laughs.]

As a fan, [I saw] Morgan Wallen perform in the rain on the Riverfront Stage and it was incredible. He only had "Up Down" as a hit at the time, and it always leaves me inspired to keep working and growing. You never know where a song or two will take you. As an artist, getting to play the stadium last year — my first CMA Fest invited to play as an artist— was so humbling and a massive check off of the bucket list.

I have so many fans always asking me to sign their arms and then they get it tattooed. It's a lot of pressure, but hilarious at the same time. Commitment is level 10, always!

One of my first memories of CMA Fest is seeing Keith Urban play the stadium when I was about 12. I was young but, by then, I already knew music was going to be my life, so I went with the intention of learning as much as I could from his live show.

I vividly remember how small he made that massive stadium feel. There aren't many artists who are such good entertainers that I forget to watch as an artist and naturally fall into watching as a fan, but he's one of them. He's so engaging. I remember hoping I'd have a chance to make that many people feel that way about my music one day.

The fans are what makes CMA Fest so special. They're so incredibly passionate about the music and the artists. There's nothing like it. They go above and beyond for you, so it makes you want to go above and beyond for them. One of the first CMA Fests I played, there was a guy who showed up to watch every one of my performances with a poop emoji hat on. You couldn't miss him. I remember not being able to hold it together every time he'd walk in. Just the most ridiculously hilarious thing and we connected over it. I still haven't forgotten it.

Jeannie Seely signing autographs at the first Fan Fair in 1972. Photo: Barry Amato

Thinking back on the first Fan Fair, I remember how excited I was to be entertaining so many wonderful fans all in one place! It was also exciting to be able to spend time with so many other artists, including some you didn't get to see very often, and some that I had not even met. I was in awe watching everyone else perform, and proud to be presenting our new package show with Jack Greene.

Dottie West and I had a great time posing as each other just to watch the puzzled expressions on folks faces as they tried to figure it out. We even did radio promos for some of the DJs as each other. There was such a closeness of the artists back then, and we had so much fun together. Fan Fair gave us that opportunity too. There were a lot of stories told, guitar pulling, clothes and jewelry sharing, and memories made. Sometimes I wonder if the fans had as good a time as we did!

My favorite memory of CMA Fest is getting to play the different stages. They're all cool in their own way. I started playing solo acoustic at Fest, which is fun because those fans typically come to hear artists and songs that are new to them. Now, we get to play the Chevy Riverfront Stage with a full band, and hopefully the crowd will be singing my songs with us, which is such a party!

One of our first times ever visiting Nashville was for CMA Fest. A friend of ours ended up having two extra tickets to the last day of the stadium shows, and it poured down rain. We were still so happy to be at Nissan Stadium with 60,000 other country music fans at the most magical festival ever. We couldn't believe how many people were there! We held trash bags over our heads and sang along to all the country songs we grew up on the entire night.

We recently played in London for the first time, and we had several people tell us that they can't wait to see us play over CMA Fest. It really put into perspective how global the event is!

Man, going from a nobody to somebody overnight was life-changing, and then going straight to CMA Fest right after winning American Idol. I was shocked how many people recognized me, stopped me in the street, and were singing along to my song! An incredible feeling that I will never forget.

My most memorable experience at CMA Fest was truly magical. Just moments before I was about to step on stage and perform in 2022, I received the call that my daughter was going into labor. It was an overwhelming rush of emotions, knowing that my family was expanding and that I was about to become a grandparent. That moment filled me with an incredible sense of joy, love, and anticipation. It reminded me of the power of music to bring people together and create cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

I went every year to CMA Fest from the time I was 14. My parents would take me there so literally I could go get inspired. They would make it like a family vacation really just for me. It felt like country music Christmas to me and my family.

When I finally got to play CMA Fest, it honestly felt like one of those out-of-body experiences because I'd dreamed about it for so long. Every summer we would go and I'd sit there. I wouldn't be jumping up and down with excitement, and my mama would look over at me and be like, "Are you having fun?" The truth is, I was just soaking it up. I was not whooping and hollering. I was just trying to learn and trying to watch the people on the Riverfront stage and on the Hard Rock stage, and then go over to the stadium that night and pick up little tips and tricks.' I was really educating myself, and I loved every single minute of it, so when I actually got the chance to do it myself I felt like, "Dang! We have arrived!" We have a long way to go, but we're heading in the right direction.

Country music brings people together. Of course, country music festivals are special anywhere you place those roots, but there is something so magical about playing for folks in a city where the music was made, and the team of people are there in that town that pushed that music, that played on that song. Everybody feels that when they roll into town for CMA Fest. You feel it to your core in a different kind of way.

I have too many favorite memories to count, but I'll have to go with the year we revived the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Midnite Jamboree, bringing Vince Gill, Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark, Eric Church and others down to the world's first country music record shop on lower Broadway. The crowd was crammed inside, where the air conditioning couldn't get us any cooler than 115 degrees. We had cops on horses out front as we shut down CMA Fest three nights in a row. I saw the sun come up that Saturday morning before going to bed! Finally, on Sunday morning, it was time for my Donuts and Jam fan party — and I barely made it in time, with my new puppy at the time, Peggy Sue.

One of my favorite stories to tell is the story of my first year at CMA Fest as a solo artist. I was a bit overconfident in my popularity, you see. A couple was approaching me on the sidewalk, pointing to their camera like they wanted a photo together. As I approached them to take a photo and sign autographs, they pointed to the Elvis impersonator behind me and asked, "Do you mind taking our photo with Elvis?" [Laughs.] A lesson in humility, I tell ya!

CMA Fest is unique because there's no other community quite like the country music community and no other place quite like Nashville. Our entire business is built on the close relationship between artists and fans, and CMA Fest is basically Nashville's annual open house. You can feel a spirit of gratitude and excitement and love in the air. As a singer, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to get to be in country music, and as a fan I'm reminded how lucky I am to have country music as the soundtrack to my life.

I didn't come to Nashville as a kid because I grew up in Southern California, so I found out about CMA Fest after I moved here. It was always very much a bucket list thing for me as an artist. The first year I got to perform, I got a call last minute that my second single "In Case You Didn't Know" was going No. 1 that week. I wasn't booked to perform at Nissan Stadium, but they were like, "We can't have the No. 1 song in the country not being performed." They said, "We know it's only two days away, but would Brett play the pop-up stage in the middle of Nissan Stadium for that one song?" I was in North Carolina at the time and the answer was obviously yes! We bussed back, I popped up on this little stage out in the middle of the field at Nissan Stadium, and got to play the No. 1 song in the country. It was really cool.

My favorite memory is probably getting to go as a kid. It was a really big deal when my mom took me when I was really young. We used to go when it was back at the fairgrounds.

The first time I performed was a really long time ago. It was a really tiny acoustic show. It was a lot different playing Riverfront up to the Stadium. It was definitely something I looked forward to, and I remember thinking how cool it was to be on a CMA Fest Stage anywhere.

Beyond Coachella: 10 Smaller Festivals Beloved For Their Homegrown Vibes & Huge Lineups

Photo: Peter Wafzig/Getty Images

list

On their recently released album, 'But Here We Are,' Dave Grohl and company offer a gripping confessional of both painful loss and blistering resilience. In honor of their 11th album, revisit 10 of the Foo Fighters’ most essential tracks.

Foo Fighters — one of contemporary rock's most pivotal mainstays — boasts an almost mythical history. What began as Dave Grohl's one-man band in 1994 after the devastating end of Nirvana has become a seminal machine with a catalog that spans three decades.

The group currently holds the record for the most GRAMMY wins in the Best Rock Album category, picking up awards in 2000 (There Is Nothing Left to Lose), 2003 (One By One), 2007 (Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace), 2012 (Wasting Light) and 2022 (Medicine at Midnight). At the 2023 GRAMMY Awards, Medicine at Midnight also took home awards for Best Rock Performance ("Making a Fire") and Best Rock Song ("Waiting on a War").

Their recently released 11th studio album, But Here We Are, is the facet's first project following the death of drummer and vocalist Taylor Hawkins last year. Hawkins, who joined Foo Fighters in 1997 and would become a driving creative force in the group, was mourned by musicians and fans across the world. Tribute concerts in London and Los Angeles presented by the Hawkins family in conjunction with Foo gracefully paid homage to his legacy.

Grohl and company managed to push through their collective grief on But Here We Are. The project serves as a gripping confessional of both painful loss and blistering resilience. In honor of their latest endeavor, GRAMMY.com lists 10 of Foo Fighters’ most essential tracks.

Released one year after Kurt Cobain's death, Foo Fighters’ debut album brimmed with promise. "Losing Kurt was earth-shattering, and I was afraid of music after he died," he told Anderson Cooper during a 2014 episode of "60 Minutes."

Though Grohl insisted that the record was just an outlet for grief, it marked the beginning of his illustrious career. "Big Me," the final saccharine single from the project, proved that the drummer-turned-frontman had a knack for crafting catchy tunes that would become undeniable hits.

The campy nature of the track was the result of Grohl not putting much thought into the album, but that intrinsically simple approach — which trickled down to the song's video which famously parodied Mentos commercials — was the start of something great.

One of Foo Fighters’ most exhilarating moments to date comes in the form of a love song. "Everlong," which was the second single from the band's sophomore effort, pulls listeners in with its gentle, melodic chords, keeping their attention with sweltering percussion and heart wrenching lyricism.

"Everlong" is about being so in tune with a romantic partner that the conclusion of that relationship is wholly devastating. "Come down and waste away with me," Grohl serenely sings. "Down with me/Slow, how you wanted it to be/I'm over my head/Out of her head, she sang." He performed it for the first time acoustic in 1998 on "The Howard Stern Show," which Grohl said "gave the song a whole new rebirth" during a performance at Oates Song Fest 7908.

"Breakout" appeared on both the band's third album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, and is filled with a frenzied, punk energy that channels Grohl's grunge roots. While critics praised the album and noted the Foos' notable progression toward more melodic anthems, this quick, fast hit remains worthy of the hype it received over 20 years ago.

The track also appeared in the 2000 comedy film Me, Myself & Irene starring Jim Carrey, and several of its stars appear in its music video. There Is Nothing Left To Lose also spurred the radio hit "Learn To Fly," which won the GRAMMY Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 2000.

The Foo Fighters' fourth studio album marked a turbulent period in the band's history. Aside from personal issues, Grohl had just recorded drums for Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf, and joined the group for a subsequent tour.

While the fate of Foo remained unknown, a triumphant performance at Coachella in 2002 gave the members a new outlook on their future. "‘Times Like These’ was basically written about the band disappearing for those two or three months and me feeling like I wasn't entirely myself," Grohl stated in the group's 2011 documentary Back and Forth. "I just thought, ‘Okay, I’m not done being in the band. I don't know if they are, but I’m not.’"

With its lyrical simplicity and crippling sincerity ("It's times like these you learn to live again/It's times like these you give and give again"), the song has come to embody love, togetherness and hope.

"I’ve got another confession to make/I’m your fool," Dave Grohl howls at the top of lungs on the riveting opening for "Best of You." His declaration is followed by the existential proposition: "Were you born to resist or be abused?"

In Your Honor's lead single is ripe with emotion, in which the Foo frontman is buoyantly defiant and encourages those listening to his words to be the same. That sentiment was politically driven, as "Best of You" was penned after Grohl made several appearances on the 2004 Democratic presidential campaign for John Kerry.

"It's not a political record, but what I saw inspired me," he told Rolling Stone in 2005. "It's about breaking away from the things that confine you." "Best of You" is their only song in the U.S. to reach platinum status.

One of the group's most highest charting songs was "The Pretender," from 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Grohl's songwriting on the track is of macabre proportions, as introductory solemn chords give way to the lyrics: "Send in your skeletons/Sing as their bones go marching in again/They need you buried deep/The secrets that you keep are ever ready."

Heavier riffs and pulsating percussion make it quite the auditory experience. Perfectly paced crescendos on the "The Pretender" give it just the right amount of suspense, making it indelible to the Foo discography.

In 2012, Wasting Light earned four GRAMMY Awards including Best Rock Album. "White Limo" snagged the accolade for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance — and for good reason.

The second single from Foo Fighters’ seventh studio album is a ferocious number saturated with primal screams and whirlwind rhythms. "White Limo" was one of their most raucous songs to date and the group does their best Motorhead impression (Lemmy Kilmister's appearance in the music video serves as the ultimate seal of approval). The group was intentional in maximizing their aggression on the heavy-metal track, making "White Limo" the sonic equivalent of a lightning bolt in their immense catalog.

2017's Concrete and Gold wasn't about redefining the wheel as much as it was perfecting it. The group's ninth studio album is as rock 'n' roll as it gets.

There were a slew of memorable guest appearances including Paul McCartney on "Sunday Rain," Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman on "Concrete & Gold," and the Kills’ Alison Mosshart on "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" and "La Dee Da."

The album's best track, "Make It Right," features an uncredited, sonically off-putting cameo from Justin Timberlake . Yet the collaboration's venture into heavier territory pays off, with Grohl paying respect to Led Zeppelin. The rock legends' influence oozes all over "Make It Right" in the form of ragged taunts and splintering riffs. Timberlake slinks into the background with additional vocals, making sure to not alter Foo's formula in any way.

Foo Fighters’ 10th album, Medicine at Midnight, was a refreshing return to form for the rockers.

Sparked by a conversation by Grohl's daughter, "Waiting on a War" embodied the group's pensiveness about America's ominous future. Over four minutes, Grohl states that he's "waiting for the sky to fall," though his melancholy thoughts ultimately transform from wistful crooning over acoustic guitar chords to a rumbling, full-throated ferocious outro. Foo's bold approach snagged them a GRAMMY Award in 2022 for Best Rock Song.

The power in "Rescued," the emotionally-charged first single from But Here We Are, relies not only on the lyrics to spell out the feeling of despondency, but on Grohl's expression of them.

"We’re all free to some degree/To dance under the lights," he sings. "I’m just waiting to be rescued/Bring me back to life." His voice languishes between fatigue and vigor as swirling guitars and ethereal buildups provide catharsis for both the band and the listener. The vulnerability of "Rescued" channels the intriguing self-awareness heard on albums like The Colour and The Shape and In Your Honor. But this song represents a brand new chapter for Foo and it's one that confronts their pain head on.

Foo Fighters Are An Indestructible Music Juggernaut. But Taylor Hawkins' Death Shows That They're Human Beings, Too.

Photo: Caity Krone

interview

As Lizzy McAlpine winds down the U.S. leg of her tour, the "ceilings" singer looks back on her song going viral, performing on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," headlining a sold-out tour, and signing with a major record label.

Lizzy McAlpine is a skilled storyteller who has become known for her candid and relatable songwriting in genres ranging from pop to indie folk. "As I’ve grown and evolved as a songwriter, I've been able to let the vulnerability shine through a little bit more and I’ve become less afraid of saying exactly what's on my mind," she says, speaking from Los Angeles over a Zoom call.

Apparently, listeners appreciate her honesty.

McAlpine has turned hundreds of millions of listeners into dedicated fans since the release of her first album, Give Me A Minute, in 2020. After introducing her sophomore album five seconds flat, her popularity seems to have skyrocketed . Her hit song "ceilings" peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reached 230 million streams and climbing on Spotify, was certified Gold, and inspired a TikTok challenge resulting in over 742,000 posts featuring a sped-up version of the song. She recently performed on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and signed with RCA Records. The second leg of her tour sold out immediately.

"Even though the experiences we all go through are universal, it can feel isolating when you’re in the moment," says the 23-year-old Philadelphia-born musician. "I hope that people can feel less alone and have an outlet to express their emotions that is healthy by listening to my songs."

With her soft but steady voice, McAlpine sings from a place where most of us feel least comfortable — a place of uncertainty, contradiction, and discovery — which is reflected in lines like "it's not that I hate you, I hate that it hurt" and "I was trying to be honest, but now I think I should've just lied." Instrumentally, five seconds flat is layered with electronic features, strings, guitar, piano, drums, and horns. But McAlpine doesn't want to be pigeonholed into a style: "My albums are just a reflection of who I am at the time."

After completing a 27-show international tour on Sept. 11, McAlpine will head back into the studio to continue developing her third album — and to work toward new goals, including getting back to acting on stage or screen ("I'll literally take anything. I miss it so much"), building a world around her upcoming album through visuals and fan experiences, and buying a house. But first, she discussed her recent career highlights with GRAMMY.com.

I was definitely surprised. I don't expect any of my songs to have viral moments. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen, and I'm not going to chase it or try to make it happen. Also, this wasn't a single, it was just on the album, and so I definitely wasn't expecting this song to resonate as much as it did with people.

I try to just write about things that have happened to me. Apparently, it's universal — I’ve gone through things that everyone seems to go through, and I put them into words. I think about my feelings all the time. I journal all the time; I have to write about a feeling until I understand it. That's part of what songwriting is, for me, too. It's writing about things that I don't understand until I understand them. And I feel like a lot of people connect to that.

I'm not having any crazy experiences that no one else has ever had in their life before. I just tend to find ways to talk about these things that I experienced, [which are] sometimes feelings that are hard to put into words, and in ways that not a lot of people have talked about. I think people connect to the realness and the honesty.

[Noticing the "ceilings" TikTok trend] was a gradual thing for me. I can't remember which video I saw first, but I saw the sped-up sound getting a little bit of traction on TikTok, and then I started seeing the videos, and it snowballed from there. I wasn't expecting it. It was wild.

I've done the late night talk show world before, but this was the first talk show experience that I had in at least a year. I had so much fun. I get nervous before I perform anywhere; it doesn't matter who's watching. But I wasn't that nervous at all. Jimmy was so nice. We did the bit, we filmed it. And then at the end, he was like, "Let me know if you want to listen to the mixes back. We want to make sure that you like it." It was just fun to be there and be on the set and perform the song for an actual audience.

I wouldn't say that was the turning point in being more widely recognized. I can't pinpoint one exact moment where it started changing, but it's always been a gradual, uphill kind of growth, which is what I want. I'm not chasing the overnight success thing. I want a long lasting career. And so I'm trying to build it gradually and with intention. That was one step on the path.

A post shared by lizzy (@lizzymcalpine)

At first, I was fully convinced that all the tickets had been bought by bots or scammers or something, and that there was no way they sold out that fast. I was only convinced when I walked onstage at the first show and saw actual people in the audience. It was surreal.

Especially since this is the second leg of the five seconds flat tour, we wanted to make it different from the first tour, so if people are coming for a second time, they're not getting the same thing. And we also wanted to level it up production-wise, because we have the means to do that now. We have a whole set. We have walls and a couch. We have lighting. It basically feels like a living room, which was my design and I really wanted to make it feel homey and intimate because that's my vibe. I interact with the furniture and the lamps, and I move around the set. I'm pretty sure last tour just had a rug onstage — and that was it. But that's all we could afford. It's starting to feel like an actual production now.

There are a lot of challenging parts of touring for me. My cup is already pretty empty — I don't have a lot of social energy. The traveling takes more out of it, and then the performing takes even more out of it, so that at the end of the day, every day, I have nothing left. Sometimes it's easy once I'm on stage to go into that mode of performing. But it is hard on my mind and my body afterward.

So it's hard, but there are obviously fun moments. I love my team so much. My band and the crew are so kind and so fun to be around. My favorite moments on the tour so far have been with them.

A post shared by lizzy (@lizzymcalpine)

In tandem with the tour being a level up this time around, this also feels like the right time to go to a major label. I had thought about it right before five seconds flat came out but I wanted to hold out a little longer. That album didn't seem like the right album to take to a major. It was a gut thing. And now it feels like I am on the edge of something and this decision to sign with RCA is definitely pushing me towards that.

I want to do and accomplish a lot of things in my life and my career. This is a step towards all of those goals. I was ready to take that step.

I am working on my third record, and it's taken a long time, but it's finally on its way. All my albums are going to sound different because I'm always going to be a different person when I'm making them. Who I am now is leaning more towards ’70s-inspired sounds like Elliott Smith and the Smiths and those types of artists. A big inspiration for this album is Andy Shauf — his music is incredible. Just like ’70s-sounding, live, more raw and less tuned and perfected. I want the next album to feel more authentic. Not that my stuff before hasn't sounded authentic, but I'm leaning more towards a less clean, less polished sound.

Arlo Parks On How Patience, Film & Falling In Love Molded 'My Soft Machine

Photo: Le3ay

interview

Three years in the making, Madison Beer started her next chapter with "Home to Another One," the first single from her second album. The singer details her "freeing" journey to creating 'Silence Between Songs.'

In today's viral era, internet personalities are not always hard to come by. But what isn't so easy to find is an internet personality with longevity — and Madison Beer has proven she's more than a fleeting viral star.

Beer started posting cover songs to YouTube in 2012, showing off her pop prowess and ethereal vocals at the age of just 13. She briefly went on the teen pop star trajectory after Justin Bieber signed her to Island Records that same year, but first found her true musical voice on her debut EP, 2018's As She Pleases. And once she took full control with her debut album, 2021's Life Support — co-writing and co-producing all 17 songs — she fully settled into Madison Beer the artist.

Now on the cusp of releasing her second album, Silence Between Songs (due Sept. 15 via Epic Records), Beer aims to expand on the mix of unflinching vulnerability and infectious melodies she's showcased since stepping into her own. She first gave a taste of that with "Home to Another One," an airy track that's a mix of Lana Del Rey and Tame Impala — two of her biggest inspirations, the former of whom even gave Beer feedback on the album.

Del Rey's approval is one of many reasons Silence Between Songs is special to Beer, along with the fact that she once again co-wrote and co-produced every song. But perhaps the most important aspect of the project is the freedom she found through the nearly three-year process.

"As an artist, sometimes we're told that if we take a break someone will replace you, someone's gonna be coming up right behind you," Beer says. "I don't subscribe to that anymore, and I think that's been a really freeing thing."

Beer spoke to GRAMMY.com about how becoming more grounded in her personal life inspired the new music, and why, despite her online fame, she's "actually quite terrified of the internet at times."

Congratulations on the release of "Home to Another One" and the album announcement. I would imagine it's nerve-wracking because one is never really sure how things will be perceived. What's it like finally starting to get everything out there?

"Home to Another One" I actually only just made six months ago, so it was one of the last additions to the album before I turned it in. It hasn't been too painful of a waiting process like the other ones. But I think the reveal of the album title was actually kind of the most intense for me. I've been sitting on it for three years, so to have it out there feels pretty surreal. But people's responses have been really positive and people feel excited, which I'm so grateful for.

It is a bit of a new sound for me; it has a different energy from my other songs. But the real fans who listen to my interviews or see me on tour, they know my music catalog of things I listen to is quite electric or different; there's not just one genre I love. There's nothing I can do that would really surprise them, because they know I love all kinds of music.

Album titles, and titles in general, are always tricky. Tell me how you came up with yours, Silence Between Songs?

I was really young when I first saw a poem or a book about this kind of idea. It was about missing someone, and it said "I miss you so much in between the time it takes for the next song to start."

I always thought that was such a cool concept, and wanted to do something with that idea for my debut album. But when we started creating the album in 2020, the song "Silence Between Songs" was one of the first that we created, so it was the first title I had in mind. We worked off of that, and now three years later, it has proper meaning for me. I've grown so much since I started creating it, and the album is really about how you can grow by tuning the noise out.

It's a testament to the title that you stuck with it for three years and nothing overtook it. How have you found that you settle down and tune the noise out?

Definitely, the title has been non-negotiable for me since. But coming off of tour, it's hard to decompress and settle down. I actually did have a hard time coming back from my last tour, and coming back down to reality; you're just so crazy busy, and it's such a dopamine hit every day. It was a bit hard to settle back down, but it is in those moments that I learn the most about myself.

Now I prioritize my alone time and down time; I let my body rest and don't feel pressured to go out and do things all the time. If I want to stay home and relax in bed the whole weekend, I'll do that. I'm trying to understand and not feel guilty for the downtime and rest times.

As an artist, sometimes we're told that if we take a break someone will replace you, someone's gonna be coming up right behind you. I don't subscribe to that anymore, and I think that's been a really freeing thing.

A post shared by Madison Beer (@madisonbeer)

Is that why you felt like you had to keep going?

I think in the past it was that thing of whether people I worked with or people online; this notion who's always going to be willing to do more than you and do everything, and if you aren't you're gonna get replaced. That was a real fear I had for a long time. I don't let that happen anymore, though. I've been dropped from a label and I've been replaced, so the fear is real, and for a long time I was quite scared of that. But I'm not anymore.

Do you ever worry about revealing too much or too little of yourself? As an artist, too much may seem like oversharing; yet too little, you're not being totally honest. Where's the balance for you, and how have you struck it?

It's definitely interesting to discuss, because in this day and age of social media a lot of us have this pressure to be relatable and likable. But again, I don't put that pressure on myself, because I think that I'm not the kind of person who wakes up every single day and feels the need to make a video about these personal things. I'm down to do it when I feel like it, but I feel it's inauthentic to force yourself into doing it just to be liked. So I try to just post when I feel like it. I think my fans know me and my fans love me. I don't need to win over the hearts of the general public in order to get my music out there and to be received. I don't want to ever force myself into doing anything I don't want to do.

"Home to Another One" is a melancholy anthem with a breakdown. I'm wondering what the genesis of that song was?

Well I thought, "What is my pop sound?" In the past when I've made upbeat songs, they've kind of been maybe not so authentic to me, or songs that I wouldn't get in the car and want to listen to. So I thought, "What can I do that is poppy and fun, but still is me, and not selling out to make a song that's classified as upbeat?"

When I heard it, vocal-wise, it reminded me so much of Lana Del Rey. Would that be fair to say?

Definitely. I'm a huge, huge fan of hers and I feel she's integrated in me in ways I can't even pinpoint.

When you're writing music, as a co-producer, do you know where your songs are going to go style-wise off the bat? What's your process?

I am a co-producer on all of the songs, which has been another awesome endeavor of mine. I'm lucky to work with my amazing producer Leroy Clampitt who's willing, and actually eager, to hear my opinion, and wants me to co-produce everything.

It's not really calculated, I don't think. It just really flows. It's kind of a bummer that we didn't have a camera in the room when we were making it, because I was really involved in every single sound that you hear. My relationship with Leroy is really special because I can make a sound like mmmmm and he'll know what I mean. Everything is very meticulously planned, but it's not like, "I want this type of synth." We let the song flow. and build as we go.

A lot of artists are credited as co-writers on songs, but not many are credited as co-producers. Why was it important for you to be credited as a co-producer on your own tracks?

Working with the same producer for five-plus years now, I feel like I can voice my opinion and it not be weird. Leroy was the one who was gracious enough to say he thought I should get a co-producer credit. He said, "You've done just as much as me." All of the ideas stem from me and us, and we do everything together.

Your debut album came out a couple years ago and you started working on this in 2020. Why such a long process?

It wasn't supposed to be. Time gets away from you, and I definitely went back in the studio many times to redo things and edit. We've had multiple test pressings of the vinyl, and many times I thought it was finished and then went back in.

I don't know, I feel like this is kind of how I am. I'm never really overly satisfied. But my goal now is to try to get an album out within the next year or so after this one drops. I want to get into a groove of dropping music more frequently and not taking three-year gaps between all of them.

You have such a massive internet footprint, with 34 million followers on Instagram alone. Is a following like that a gift or a burden? How do you grapple with that in your mind knowing you can pick up your phone and post something for an audience of millions?

I've been steadily gaining flowers for 12 years, so it's something that didn't happen overnight for me. There's a big difference in the way I go about it now than a couple years ago. I don't force myself to be engaged all the time or posting every single day.

I'm actually quite terrified of the internet at times. The way it moves can be really scary and I think we don't give each other room to make human errors. If I do state an opinion online or want to say something, It's not that I don't care what people say about it, but I know my intentions are. I'm never going to appeal to and please everyone, but I do know when I want to speak and share, it's authentic and it's coming from a good place.

Kesha Reveals The 10 Most Important Songs Of Her Career, From "Tik Tok" To "Eat The Acid"