On the song selection of her new album, Yearwood said, “I made a lot of albums in my life so I really just tried to find songs that I resonated with. I didn’t really have an agenda. Honestly, as a female and a 54-year-old woman, I’m not thinking about radio play or anything except finding songs that I love. It’s very personal and very subjective.”
“I like songs for the same reason other people do. Sometimes, I feel a song is written for me, and sometimes I just don’t know why I can’t get a song out of my head. Those are all reasons why I record songs,” she explained.
The album features the lead single “Every Girl in This Town,” which is making its way up the Billboard Hot Country charts. Her single has been receiving favorable airplay on country stations all over America. “That is so awesome. I wasn’t expecting that,” she said. “That was one of the first songs I heard for this album and it talked about female empowerment. It’s about accepting yourself the way you are. It gives you permission to be who you are, and that isn’t always perfect.”
In addition, Every Girl features duets with such acclaimed artists as Kelly Clarkson (“Tell Me Something I Don’t Know”), Patty Loveless (“Bible and a .44”), Don Henley (“Love You Anyway”), and her husband, Country Music Hall of Famer Garth Brooks (“What Gave Me Away”). “I am obsessed with every song on this record for different reasons,” she said. “Right now, I go from song to song and I love all of them.”
When she recorded “What Gave Me Away,” she noted that it’s a “personal and intimate song about the person in your life that has your number.” “I just couldn’t imagine singing it with anybody other than Garth. He loved the song too and was kind to come in and sing on it,” she said.
Yearwood also praised Patty Loveless for lending her vocals on “Bible and a .44.” “Patty was a label-mate on MCA. She was one of the first artists I met and she was very generous and nice. I’ve always wanted to sing with her and when I recorded this song, I kept hearing her sing on it and when she said ‘yes’ that really made me happy and I hope that is just the beginning. I hope I get the chance to sing with her again,” she said.
In celebration of this album, Yearwood will be appearing on the Today Show on August 29, Jimmy Kimmel Live on September 6, Live with Kelly & Ryan on September 11 and The Kelly Clarkson Show, among other appearances.
Every Girl Road Trip
She will be embarking on her three-day “Every Girl Road Trip,” which will include a signing at The Shop at NBC Studios in New York (30 Rockefeller Plaza) and a special release party in her hometown of Monticello, Georgia. This road trip will culminate on Sunday, September 1, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, where she once worked as a tour guide. “We wanted to make this album release special for the Labor Day Weekend,” she said.
“We wanted to recreate that trip and take the route that I took as a kid, starting in Monticello, Georgia, and ending in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame,” she explained. “It is very strange to go in there now and see that I have items in the Country Music Hall of Fame when I used to give people tours there as a tour guide.”
On September 5, iHeartCountry will host a very special Every Girl album release party with Yearwood that will be streamed on LiveXLive. “We are going to debut some of the new songs, which will be the first time that I will be singing a lot of them live since I recorded them. I am really excited about that,” she said.
Her Emmy award-winning TV series, Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, will air on Saturdays at 12:00 p.m. EST on the Food Network. Season 15 will premiere on September 28. “We wrapped filming the new season on Friday,” she said. “New food and a lot of laughs. We still show the mistakes and outtakes. We have a lot of cool guests,” she hinted.
Tour
Yearwood’s “Every Girl On Tour” will kick off on October 3 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where she will be playing for three nights, and it will wrap up on December 7 at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida. This is her first solo tour in five years. “I am excited about this tour,” she said.
“I had the best time working on the road with my husband the last 3.5 years on his ‘World Tour’ but I really miss the intimacy of these theaters. I am really looking forward to doing some of the new songs and the classic songs that people expect and seeing what people want to hear,” she said.
On November 21, she will be bringing her “Every Girl On Tour” to the historic Town Hall in New York City. “I am looking forward to that show. New York is always great, and I’ve never played that venue before. I hear that it’s a beautiful theater,” she said.
Regarding the title of the current chapter of her life, Yearwood said with a sweet laugh, “Life is Good.”
In her career, she praised veteran country superstar Reba McEntire for being a major inspiration to her and all the other great women in country music. “Reba is such a professional and she is so amazing. She is great to work with and she’s the queen in our industry. She really took all of us under her wing and she is such a great mentor and friend to all of us,” she said.
She also had nothing but the kindest words about late country songstress Lynn Anderson. “Lynn [Anderson] was wonderful to me. She was a great lady and such a big star,” she said.
Yearwood sang Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden” at the 2016 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, along with a medley of other country classics with Garth Brooks. “That was a cool night, at the 50th anniversary of the CMA Awards, to pay tribute to all of those great artists, and get to sing those classic songs,” she said.
Digital age of music
On being an artist in this digital age, she said, “It has been cool. At first, I had to be re-educated on how streams affect radio airplay. What we did for this album is that we are making it available in all formats possible: digital downloads, CDs and vinyl.”
Yearwood noted that she loves the resurgence of vinyl. “When we first started in 1991, the only album of mine on vinyl was my self-titled debut album. Then, there was no more vinyl. A lot of artists from the ’90s, don’t have vinyl. Now, it has made a comeback and it is encouraging people to listen to a full body of musical work again as opposed to just listening to singles,” she said.
“When you make an album as an artist it’s a whole package, it’s not one or two songs, so I love that about vinyl,” she added. “All of the songs together make up the whole story. If you are listening to one or two songs, you are not hearing the whole story.”
On the passage of the recent Music Modernization Act (MMA), which protects songwriters and creators in this digital age, she said, “It’s a good start. With streaming, the people that are being hurt the most these days are the songwriters. It’s important to do anything we can do to protect their rights more.”
“I write a little bit but I mostly rely on other people’s songs,” she said. “When somebody says ‘it all starts with a song’ it’s the truth.’ A song that tells a story that was personal to the songwriter, and then, it is personal and relatable to other people. That’s what it’s all about.”
For young and aspiring artists in this digital age, Yearwood encouraged them to “follow their gut.” “We are in a business, where your desire to be successful is a dream come true for so many people. I want to encourage young artists to trust their gut since they know what is best for them. We always know what is best for us. Give yourselves credit,” she said.
Yearwood defined the word success as “happiness.” “Life is short. It’s about being happy. If you are happy, then you are successful,” she said.
Every Girl is available for pre-order on Apple Music and on Amazon Music. “I am excited for the fans to hear this album. The fans have been with me through everything. I am really happy to give them some new music and I am really excited to get out there and sing live,” she concluded.
To learn more about country sensation Trisha Yearwood and her new music, check out her official Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter and on Instagram.
