RaeLynn Talks New Music, Songwriting, Women In Country & More

CMIL: I heard you’ve had an exciting 24 hours! Tell me about the surprise show this week with Miranda Lambert, how did that come about?
RaeLynn: You know, we’ve been in intensive rehearsals for this Certified Platinum Tour, and it’s just been non-stop. She didn’t even tell me until yesterday! The day before yesterday, I was like “Hey, what’re we doing tomorrow? Y’all want to go to dinner or something?” And she says “Actually, we’re doing something but I can’t tell you yet. It’s a secret.” I said, “Well what is it?” She said “Just be available. It’s a secret.” So the next day she texted me, and told me about the secret show. We’re doing “Cowboy, Take Me Away” on tour, and so we sang it all together, me her and Gwen [Sebastian].

CMIL: Cover songs like that are always fun. What makes a song a good cover song to you? Do you have any favorites?
RaeLynn: I think it’s all about making a song your own. I love to sing “Jolene” by Dolly Parton. “Hell on Heels” is a fun one because that’s the song that I did on The Voice. But one of my favorite ones to do right now is “All About That Bass.”

CMIL: That’s awesome, it’s always fun to hear country artists cover something unexpected like that. But you’ve been writing songs for a really long time, too. Is there anything in particular you’ve learned in your time writing?
RaeLynn: You know, when you’re writing a song it’s about writing a moment in time. It’s just crazy, because every song that I’ve written is something that I’ve been through. Really, songwriting’s my therapy. That’s what it’s supposed to be, and that’s exactly what it is for me. I’ve been on the road for the last year and I haven’t gotten to write as much as I did the year before, so when I get to write it’s such a relief for me. I’m just so excited that every song on my record’s original–that just makes me so proud.

CMIL: Tell me a little about the writing behind your single, “God Made Girls.”
RaeLynn: Well I was set up to write with three of my favorite writers: Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Nicole Galyon. We were all just sitting there talking, and they’re talking about their husbands and stuff. And we just started talking about all the reasons why, y’know, girls make the world go ‘round–all of the things that boys couldn’t do without girls. When you start talking about that, and you get four ladies who can all write a song in the room together, you’re gonna write a song called “God Made Girls.” That’s what happened, and it was just such a cool title and just such a cool moment.

CMIL: So when you’re co-writing like that, what are some key factors that you think make it a success?
RaeLynn: It’s really a gamble each day. The songwriters that I’ve had success with, I think it’s just about someone who’s a team player. I’m kind of a melody person, and I always come in with crazy ideas. It’s about how we can kind of make it fit, filling in the gap. I think it’s just about having someone who brings a lot to the table, someone who comes in with fresh ideas and not saying the same old thing that every song says.

CMIL: One of the songs where that attitude really shows on the EP is “Better Do It.” That’s definitely a favorite for me.
RaeLynn: That song is hilarious. This is just an example: it’s better when I write when something happens. Me and my boyfriend were in this rocky relationship, and you know when you know your relationship’s about to end? You just know it’s about to end? And I knew it! We actually broke up that night.

CMIL: Ha! Really?
RaeLynn: Oh yeah, it was funny. He was telling me we were gonna go to dinner, and I was like: This is a break up dinner. I know that tonight is the breakup. So I was venting to Luke Laird and Barry Dean, who I wrote the song with. I’m like, “He just says all of these things, he leaves me in limbo. If you say it, you better do it.” You know? That’s my thing. And they’re just writing down everything that I’m saying. You know, “I’m not the cry type, I’m not the whine type. I’m not gonna wait around for his butt to figure out what he wants or not.” We wrote that song so fast, it was just so crazy. And then that night me and him broke up, and I wasn’t even that mad. I got this really cool song out of it.

CMIL: When younger girls are listening to a song like that, what is it that you hope they take away from it?
RaeLynn: You know what, I just want girls to be confident in themselves. I just want girls to leave my concert knowing that they can do whatever they set their mind to. That they can be confident, and they can achieve anything. That it doesn’t matter what a guy does, you don’t need to stand for that crap. You are you, and you just need to focus on being the best you can be.

CMIL: The attitude on these songs definitely reminds me of Miranda, too. What’s it been like to have her, along with Blake Shelton, mentoring you and being there for this process?
RaeLynn: I’m really blessed to have them in my life. Blake and Miranda and really just taken me under their wing. I wouldn’t be the artist I am without them, and I’m just so thankful to have gotten all their tips. I mean Miranda? My dog coulda sang her first record: I blew that record up. I mean I played it so much, I was her biggest fan. So to be able to go on tour with her, and to be able to call her my friend and to be able to call her a mentor and a sister to me: it’s just such a blessing. I’m just truly grateful, and words can’t even say the feelings that I feel for those people. They’re just class acts, and they’re the real deal. I wouldn’t be here without them.

CMIL: You read a lot of places about how hard it is right now to be a woman in a male-dominated market like country. What’s your take on that?
RaeLynn: I’ve just been myself. When I go into these radio stations, I’m myself and I’m playing them songs that I’ve worked on that are just me. And that’s why I titled my EP Me, because it’s so different than anything else in country music. Country radio has really embraced me, and it just makes me so thankful. I think this is the year for females. I mean you have Mickey Guyton, who’s amazing. You have Maddie and Tae, you have Kelleigh Bannen. I really feel like all these women have a voice, and I really do feel like 2015’s the year for everybody.

CMIL: You said the EP is different than anything in country, but do you feel like country as a genre is changing? Is that a good thing?
RaeLynn: I do think it’s changing in a good way. Everything requires change. You have a different generation, a different group of people listening to country radio now. Of course you have the people who have always listened to it, but you also have people like me who have grown up listening to country radio and also listening to Beyonce, and Miranda, and Dolly Parton and Iggy Azalea. I mean, there are so many artists: it’s a big melting pot, and for us as country artists to not incorporate other genres? We can’t help it, because that’s what we’ve been raised around. It’s just our generation. I think it’s moving forward. I think it’s awesome.