Get to Know ‘Make Him Wait’ Singer Abby Anderson

Newcomer Abby Anderson first gave fans a taste of her artistry with her heart-on-your-sleeve single “Make Him Wait.” If the fresh tracks to follow are any indication, Anderson is poised to display a glimpse of her multi-faceted personality—equal parts sass and sensitivity—on her debut EP, I’m Good, out now. The Black River Entertainment artist will preview new tunes when she hits the road this fall with Brett Eldredge on “The Long Way Tour.” With a smile as big as her home state of Texas, Abby recently sat down with Sounds Like Nashville to talk about her large family, new music, and the women she idolizes.

How has growing up in a big family helped you navigate the music industry?

Coming from a big family teaches you a whole bunch of humility. I’m the second oldest. So my first memory of growing up was every time my mom got pregnant, I just knew it was more dirty diapers. There’s nothing more humbling than wiping the bottom of your baby sisters. Lots of babysitting! There’s six girls in my family, one boy. He’s a stud. He got all the attention growing up. I’m very thankful for a big family, because I don’t think I would’ve been able to gig around Texas the way I did growing up if I didn’t have sisters who could take care of each other the way they did while my mom was with me taking me to all these shows. My sisters deserve a lot of credit for where I am.

Now that you live in Nashville, what do you love most about the city?

What I love most are the people. I just love people in general, but just the friendship here and the genuine want for people to succeed, especially in country[music]. I honestly feel like I’m a part of a big family here.

How would you describe your new EP?

This EP is five tracks, and every single one is completely different from the next one, but I think it all really encompasses Abby Anderson. It’s all the different sides of me.

You co-wrote all of the songs on I’m Good, except for “Dance Away My Broken Heart” (written by Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure and Rhett Akins). Are you open to cutting more songs that aren’t your own?

Absolutely. It’s always fun to write your own songs, because those are for sure more honest; but in my mind, best song wins. So whether I write them or not, I don’t really care as long as the song is good.

Who were some of the female artists you grew up idolizing?

Growing up, I was raised on The Judds. They were the first country artist I ever covered. Linda Ronstadt was a big one for me. K.T. Oslin. Of course, Shania Twain, Reba McEntire. Those are the ones I grew up listening to.

Do you see yourself as a role model for young girls?

What’s funny is when I got into this whole thing, I always knew I wanted to do good with the gift God gave me, but I never really thought about people actually “looking up to me.” And that didn’t really happen till “Make Him Wait” came out, and all these messages from young girls started flooding my inbox. At first, it was really overwhelming because I’m just like, I’m a kid. Please do not look up to me. I don’t know what the heck I’m doing. But I’m realizing that I was very blessed with amazing parents growing up who somehow—I still don’t know how they did it—raised me with the knowledge of what my value is and where it comes from. And if I can share that with other young women who were not as fortunate as I was to have parents like that, then heck yeah, that’s a blessing.

You’ve recently toured with Russell Dickerson and Chase Rice. What have you learned from watching them on tour?

The biggest thing I’ve learned from them is that they care about their audience. I’ve noticed the most successful artists are the ones who put their listeners on a pedestal, who make them the most important aspect, because they are. You love your audience, they’ll love you back.