Kylie Morgan Pens Personal Letter with ‘Love, Kylie’ EP
"I’m so humbled and happy to put out this body of work and hope it will be a stepping stone along my journey.”
Kylie Morgan has released her debut EP, Love, Kylie (June 11)and her latest single, “I Only Date Cowboys,” a song she co-wrote about her fiancé, Jay Allen. She also released her official music video for the lead track on the EP, “Shoulda,” a relatable song about all the’ should’ve known betters’ when dealing with an ex.
Morgan co-wrote all six songs on the EP and says it is the most personal thing she has ever created. “Every song is a chapter in my life, and it’s a pretty vulnerable state. I realized that every song that I’ve been writing has been about me, about my family, about a friend, about someone I know. I wanted the whole EP to feel like a cohesive story and for every song to feel like a chapter.”
The idea for “I Only Date Cowboys” came after a day at the lake with Jay, who was Kylie’s boyfriend at the time. “He was backing up a jet ski into the lake and he backed up the trailer in one swoop. I thought to myself, ‘that was pretty cool that he could do that.’ Jay grew up on a farm and has a lot of the traits of a cowboy.
“Jay thought my idea was pretty cool and he and Nate Kenyon and I wrote it over the quarantine, in about an hour. Then I did a little video on line and got amazing response. I thought ‘We better put this song out there because people like it’.”
Kylie says the song was perfect for the EP. “I wanted a song that was like ‘Truth Hurts’ by Lizzo. It was so cool because I got a message on Instagram after I put it up on social media that said, ‘All the girls are freaking out over ‘I Only Date Cowboys.’ It makes everyone dance.’ When I got that message, I thought, ‘Mission accomplished’!”
Kylie explains that with the release of the EP, fans will get to hear multiple songs from her instead of just singles. “When you just play singles people only know you a little here and there. I am an onion and people will continue to peel back layers and see different emotions I felt as I was going through the songs. This is just getting started for me and I can’t wait for fans to get to know me more and me to know them more.”
The EP was produced by Shane McAnally and Ben Johnson, and Morgan details her journey through relationships, life as an artist, and life experiences.
The most vulnerable song on the project is “Mad I Need You,” co-written with Nicholas Oliver Ruth and Emily Weisband. It also happens to be about her fiancé.
“That one we wrote so quickly, and when we wrote I thought this is very special. I had been dating someone for five years, and I was in my own way of being independent. I didn’t want to rely on someone so much, and I felt I was getting in the way of the relationship. Then I realized I could do both, be independent and have a career and have someone in my life. The song addresses that.”
Kylie’s mission early in life was to be in music. She began writing songs in her hometown of Newcastle, Oklahoma when she was only 12 years old. When other girls were hanging out after school, Kylie was in her room singing along with Reba McEntire and Shania Twain, learning to play guitar and writing songs.
“Honestly, my guitar and my CD player were my saving graces,” Kylie reflects on those times. “I would write about something that happened at school and I would feel better. The minute I wrote my first song I knew I was supposed to do this, everything inside me said I should do this. I told my mom I was going to skip college and go to Nashville. When I was going through different things I used songs to help me get through it, and I want to do that for other people.”
Kylie’s music garnered attention through her posts on social media, and at the age of 16 she was named “Who New To Watch” by the Country Music Association.
“It was so crazy because I’d been watching the CMA Awards for years, hanging on every word that was said. It was a huge part of life growing up, it was insane to me that they would pick me. And then I was invited to participate in the CMA KickStart program where I walked the red carpet before the CMA awards show and presented an award at pre-show activities. I think that was the moment I thought ‘This is actually happening’.”
Kylie had been going back and forth to Nashville and when she turned 19, she made the decision to call Music City her home.
“It was absolutely hard to leave Oklahoma because my mom and I are attached at the hips,” Kylie says. “It was pretty terrifying at 19, but I filled the truck with furniture and Papaw and I moved me into a house in Hermitage (just outside of Nashville) that I bought with money I had saved from the shows I did back home. I wanted to make roots here, so I thankfully I was introduced to so many people in Nashville through someone I met when I first started coming here. That has helped make a family here for me.”
Kyle gained recognition quickly in Nashville and was signed to SMACKSongs where she learned under the guidance of GRAMMY Award-winning songwriters Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.
“It’s pretty amazing. I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan, and I watched a documentary once, and it showed how she met Scott Borchetta (head of Swift’s first record label) at the Bluebird Café. What’s crazy is, I was performing at the Bluebird and that was first time I met Shane. He has been incredible to me; I hang on to whatever he says. He is important in my career and personal life. He is my champion and I’m so thankful to him.”
Kylie was named as part of CMT’s Listen Up Class of 2019 and performed shows across the country, opening for Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Devin Dawson, Lady A, Carly Pearce, and more. The tour was wonderful for the singer because she says, “I am such a sponge. I was in awe of these artists.
“At all those shows I saw how the fans are loyal to them and for a reason. Every time I get to open for an artist I am fan of, I watch their show from side stage and see what they are they doing to make fans love their show. I especially learned from Kip; he brought me out on shows he could have asked anyone on.”
As Kylie was observing the headliner at each of the shows, she came to realize that it wasn’t just one single thing each of them had that made them popular with their fans. “I actually think it’s something different for everyone, and something unique for everyone,” she says. “That’s what people gravitate toward, they embrace the things that make the artist unique and that’s what fans like about them.”
Kylie says when people come to see her they will find that she is a high energy person and her show is mostly upbeat. “I want to get you dancing. I know you are there for a reason. When I went to shows I was there because I was going through something else and I wanted to forget about that for a while. I want to take the audience on a journey, make them cry and laugh and hopefully make them dance.”
“I’m just excited that this EP is out and that it is truly just a beginning. I’m so humbled and happy to put out this body of work and hope it will be a stepping stone along my journey.”
Love, Kylie Track Listing:
1. Shoulda – Kylie Morgan, Shane McAnally, Ben Johnson
2. I Only Date Cowboys – Kylie Morgan, Nate Kenyon, Jay Allen
3. Outdoor Voices – Kylie Morgan, Emily Falvey, Benjamin Joel Johnson
4. Break Things – Kylie Morgan, Aaron Eshuis, James McNair, Nicolette Hayford
5. Cheating On You – Kylie Morgan, Benjamin Joel Johnson, Geoffrey Warburton, Jeffrey Garrison
6. Mad I Need You – Kylie Morgan, Nicholas Oliver Ruth, Emily Weisband
