February 1, 2024 • 37 mins
We recently caught up with Gabby Barrett as she was getting ready for not only put out a new album, "Chapter & Verse," she's also about to have a baby...like any day! We touched on the chalenges a woman in coutry music has. Most having to shoose between having a family or chasing a successful carrer, she's doing both...VERY WELL!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
We are honored to be joined today. That sounded so official it made me
uncomfortable. We are honored to bein the presence of not only a fantastic
hit maker in country music, buta lady that I mean, how many
number ones are you before? I? How many number one? Yeah?
How many number one songs? Yougot so far to so you're about to
(00:22):
outnumber yourself with number ones and children? Correct? Gabby Barrett is in the
house. What a lead in?She's like, She's like, how did
you start here? And then it'sfine, Gabby, how you been girl?
Life is good, life is fantastic. I need to ask you because
last time we saw you was inKey West. Yes, you had all
this new music, you were superamped. Did you know that you were
(00:46):
potentially having a baby at that point? Did I know in Key West?
Or is it because of Key West? No, it's because West. That
trip was in and out. Sonope, not that no you people,
but disgusting middle schoolers in the roomin here. No, I think I'm
(01:11):
I think I didn't know that Iwas pregnant. I found out I was
pregnant in May, Okay, soI think I knew. Okay, you
didn't I did listen. We hadno clue. How does that because being
a mother, first of all,let me commend you for doing both,
because I think there is a stigmain tay and I have talked about this
(01:33):
before. There's a stigma that existsfor a woman in any in any industry
that doesn't for a guy, andthat is, well, are you gonna
be a mom and have kids orare you going to have a career.
And you're out here saying well,I'm gonna put out a record and a
kid in the same week. Yeah, you can definitely do both, Like
you for sure can do both.It's just a matter of how much time
(01:53):
you want to go into this orthat there is it's either like you ride
your career out and then have andlike do that later or other way around.
And that's for sure not true.You can do both for sure,
and so and I don't want tomake it sound like you're like, oh,
I'm putting life before my career,Like you're balancing both fantastically, But
(02:13):
what what in you makes it important? Like hey, like I'm going to
do the family part at the sametime because some people would wait on purpose.
No, I mean, I don'teven mind you putting it that way,
because I would consider myself more thatway quite honestly. Of I am
more of a family oriented person firstlybefore getting to anything else. So I'm
(02:35):
a Christian. I strongly believe inthe Bible, and that's what our family
relies on and goes off of.And so family always first, my kids
and being a mom, as youknow, something that I greatly want to
be remembered for. I love doingthe music. I enjoy it so mu
shuld so just here for the ride, seeing where it's going, and it's
really fun to be able to doboth. It's challenging and difficult to find
(02:57):
a balance between the two, right, like how you want to make sure
you're spending enough time here and youwant to make sure you're spending enough time
there. It's doable, and youjust kind of gotta go day by day.
Day's gonna adjust your microphone real quickhere, okay, thank you.
When it comes to the parenting andand your career at the same time you
(03:19):
you wrap the album, it's somethingthat we're getting ready to celebrate early twenty
twenty four, Does your excitement levelchange at all when for the album?
Knowing that like when you're family.Your family's growing at the same time.
Oh no, I'm because you're tome. An album is like almost another
(03:40):
child. Yeah, so I reallyhave let's see first album, second album,
three kids, so I really havefive kids. But no, I'm
super pumped about it. I thinkit'll be two really large things to celebrate
the two biggest things of my life, quite honestly, And I've just worked
really hard on this project the pasttwo and a half years, co producing
(04:03):
it and really just putting the visioninto place. So I'm excited to finally
give that to people as a wholebody of work and not just like singles
and small songs. Last thing babyrelated I want to ask you is what's
something baby one that you overthought orover analyze that Baby three, you're like,
I'm fine, get it out andget it out of the way,
(04:25):
Like whether it was like you wipedown the house too many times or yeah,
it'd probably be in that it'd belike sanitizing, like you have to
wash the bottles and keep them likeaway, but then also sanitize them in
something and then maybe put them inmicrowavable bags and then put a like it's
it's pretty wild and then the pastfire drops on that floor. I'm licking
(04:45):
it off and putting it back intheir mouth like I'm not going to wash
it off, I'll lick it.I'll take the germs first. But yeah,
definitely changes from first the third baby, for sure. When it comes
to the music, do you seethat. Do you see that the more
you're experiencing family and the more you'reexperiencing motherhood, that it changes your delivery
(05:10):
when you get into the studio orif you're a part of a writing room,
that that plays more of a rolethan just making a good song.
Absolutely. I mean for having children, being married has changed so many things.
And anybody that has kids knows that. And you can't truly know that
until you do have children, howthey impact your life and how they would
(05:30):
change it. Perspective, priorities,your outlook, the way you want to
present yourself, you know, likeeverything that's at least how I think about
it. And then they're my life. So they're day in day out,
who I take care of, whoI pay attention to, and so of
course when I go in to writesongs and think about the material and think
(05:54):
about the message, they're heavily involvedin that in the best of ways,
and having kids and a family outcourage anybody to do because it teaches you
so many valuable things. When itcomes to the current single, Glory Days,
as you were finishing the album,at what point in the album process
where you like, Glory Days isgoing to be? This is what this
(06:15):
is my first introduction to this project. When we had mainly all the songs
put together, then we could startreally narrowing and it was between Glory Days
and another song I think maybe CowboyBack Yeah, and we loved. I
knew that I wanted to release somethingthat was upbeat because what I had released
before was either ballad or like midtempo and upbeat. And I'm an upbeat
(06:39):
performer and very energetic on stage andstuff, so I like to I wanted
to make sure that that side ofme was represented in the music. So
I want to do an upbeat song. Glory Days just better represented the album
as a whole. When choosing asong going in what's coming out first,
and then it leads into the tothe theme of the rest of the album.
(07:01):
So it was just it was justthe best fit in that way,
and it's really a good picture ofwhat my life looks like right right now,
and to remind us myself, everybodyto just live understand the time that
you're living in, because life justmoves so fast and then all of a
sudden you're like, well, whatwhat happened? I've had so many people
ask me are you soaking in?Like what's happened? Do you understand what
(07:24):
you know the past several years?And I'm like, I'm like yeah,
But then I actually think about it, I'm like, I don't know,
I don't know if I'm soaking thatin or not. I'm really paying attention
to that. So it's almost areminder to myself to remember, you're in
some really good days right now.Knowing that that's the message in that song,
was any part of you taken backa little bit because we're how involved
(07:47):
were you with the writing process ofthis song or is this something that you
were you came into No. Ico wrote this song, I co wrote
a lot of the album, andI actually co produced the album as well
this time around, So I cowrote on Glory Days and was very into
I'm not so being a writer intown the type of writer that I am,
(08:09):
though, I'm not the one who'shaving a huge catalog of songs,
who's going on writing camps and writingall the time, which is actually helpful
to me because I am very targetedwhen I go into writing sessions, like
I'm adamant on coming out with somethinggood, okay, And so that's what
I really did around the record wegot They were all very targeted and focused
(08:33):
rights and it was like got on, got one, got one, got
on. Thankfully, it was likethat wow, and we just banged them
out and had a theme. Andthere's a bit more of a consistency to
this than my first album, andso there was a lot that changed,
a lot that was different this timearound than the first time around. When
it comes to the songs that you'vealready put out, it connects to you,
(08:58):
it makes sense for you and whereyou're at, yep, But what's
the song that surprises you that hasconnected the most with etel fans are a
fan, maybe a story jumps out, like a fan DMD you about this
song and it connected with them,and you're like you kind of just put
the song out because it works foryou, and you're like, oh,
wow, this matters people. Yeah, I mean, I hope we're the
(09:24):
good ones. Really, I didn'tknow, especially with I Hope. I
Hope was the fourth song that Iever wrote in Nashville, Tennessee. It
was I was just starting to getinto writer rooms with people. Did not
know if I could write a songor not. And I Hope came out
of the room the one day,and so I didn't know. I didn't
even walk away from the room afterwe'd I've recorded the demo vocal and the
(09:46):
like the whole song, and Ididn't walk away. I didn't I didn't
know if it was going to resonatewith people or not. And so when
we released it, I released itindependently. I wasn't with a label or
anybody. At the time. Wasjust like, well, let's see and
I was thinking knowing people that werebuying that, or my dad, my
mom, my grandparents and siblings andstreaming, and then it was like this
(10:07):
happened, and this happened, andthen you're breaking records and then went number
one here and what number one there? And it was insane. Did not
know that it was going to resonatewith people that much. And it's a
sad story. I mean, itis getting cheated on is not fun and
it happens to both sides, andit sucks, and so I'm really glad
that it has helped so many people, though through a lot of difficult circumstances.
(10:31):
When it comes to the most rewardingthing for you career wise, would
it be being able to give avoice to somebody or a story to somebody
who might not realize they're living that, you know what I mean, Like
they don't have the words, butyou're able to sing them for them.
Yes, I think that's amazing.That's something I love about music in general,
specially country music. It was likewhen I listened to it, I
(10:52):
was like how Like I almost wantedto ask the song or the person that
I'm like, how do you knowme? Like, how do you know
what? I didn't even know howto formulate into words? You know what
I'm talking about? So I lovethat so much with country music, that
there is a story for every littlething in your life and it so deeply
(11:13):
connects lyrically. So that's something thatI do enjoy about making music and country
music and then seeing that happen toother people, of people coming up to
me and just being like, ohmy gosh, this song, you know
that song and it just connects tothem and blesses their life in some type
of way. That is a hugepayoff for sure when it comes to connecting
(11:35):
with people. I'd imagine it's it'sessentially your story, but somebody else is
like, wait, that's my storytoo. Yeah. Yeah, So take
us to the new album and ifthis is sensitive, we'll chop it to
use it when we air it closerto the album release. What was the
hardest the hardest story to tell onthis album, the most honest story that
(11:56):
maybe you had to choke back atear or take a deep breath when you
were writing or recording it. There'stwo songs that comes to mind. Growing
Up Raising You is a really emotionalsong for me that was written specifically about
my daughter, and it just talksabout like I'm only twenty three, I
don't know everything. I got alot of stuff to learn, and I'm
(12:18):
figuring that out about myself while raisingother humans to be the best they can
be, the people they are supposedto be, and helping them to figure
it out when I don't even fullyI haven't even fully figured it out.
So it's this interesting dance that youhave to do, especially with me being
a woman and growing and raising littlegirls. And I will have two little
(12:41):
girls next year. So it's aninteresting dynamic for sure, and a very
very song that's SNAr and dear tome, and then another song will be
Hard to Read. Hard to Readis a very vulnerable song in the sense
I have been told a lot throughmy life that I have a hard to
read personality. And I never knewhow to take that. Like if somebody
(13:05):
goes, you know, you're hardto read, how do you take that?
Is that good? Is that okay? You know? So I don't
know, and then you ask someoneand they go, no, it's you
fine, Oh it's good. Yeah, it makes you And I'm like,
okay, I don't know how totake take you know, take that.
(13:28):
So it's confusing, it feels it'sit's complicated. You kind of feel misunderstood
because you're you feel like it's moreof a negative thing, but probably weren't
meaning anything harmful. So you know, it's been like that my whole life.
So that that song, I wasreally excited, uh to write that
because it's just a topic that I'venever heard anybody write something like that before,
(13:52):
but something that I felt passionately aboutand have been told you know that
throughout time. Is it tough tobe that vault ulnerable, especially with the
story like that, Yes, andno. I think at first it is
because you're like, I want tohold this back. But at the same
time, I think country music fansare so awesome, welcoming and genuine,
(14:15):
and then you realize, wait,like these tough stories are the ones that
actually connect with people, probably themost, you know, because they're just
things that not everybody talks about,and then you can connect to them through
song and it can be really touchingto somebody in that way in their life
and to remind people like, oh, there are other people that go through
(14:37):
this or feel this way, andso it's really cool to be able to
create it and put it out thatway. Has there been a moment so
far in your career where you kindof had to take a deep breath and
be like, wow, I'm likewhat I'm doing, what I'm supposed to
be doing, and that is youknow, maybe there was a moment on
stage where people were singing back yoursong and it almost knocks you over,
(14:58):
or any interaction with another artist thatkind of validated now validated your existence,
but validated the spot that you've carvedout for yourself in country music. Sure.
Quite honestly, I would say whenI did release I Hope independently and
didn't think anybody was like listening orknew my music or anything like that.
(15:20):
I remember before being signed, goingto CMA Fest and being on the I
can't remember the stage name, butit's right by Bridgetown. Oh now,
Mali Jim, Yeah, Vali Jimstage. I was on there and I
think it was either my first orsecond time maybe first time performing at CMA
(15:41):
Fest and uh, I sang,I mean the beginning of I Hope.
You would swear this song's been outfor ten years. From how everybody responded
to the song, never in mylife completely blew me away and was so
motivating. That's so motivating to aheart that's a little bit tired after you
been doing it for ten years andyou get no no, no, no
(16:03):
no, and then you finally geta yes, it's like, oh so
worth it and it was really motivating. So that's a time that always sticks
out in my head that the it'slike the lit the little song that just
the gift that keeps on giving.Really that song is just a great song,
and I'm glad I connected with peoplesas fast as it did, and
(16:26):
I'm excited to see what this nextbody of music does with people as well.
What is your plan the album getsout, it's in people's hands.
Yeah, what's your plan when youget back to like post maternity leave,
mm hmm. I won't be gonefor very long. I'll be popping up
through stuff. It'll the album willcome out early twenty twenty four, and
(16:52):
then I'll be popping up through stuffthrough the summer, and then we'll really
start touring the new album, likeat the end of summer and through so
I'll be popping up and stuff,still doing things you'll see me. What
are moments that you because obviously asan artist who you talk about you know,
starting off, I mean a tinystage that a lot of the times
(17:17):
is ignored. It's like the lastthing that people will check out if there's
nothing here, here, here,here, or whatever. What are moments
that that shock you the most aboutyour rise to where you are now,
or maybe tours that you were onleading up to now that shocked me the
most. Yeah, I mean likeyou like you, I feel like you
(17:37):
stay levelheaded and cool through whatever youdo. But to be asked to be
a part of tours is special,especially when you're starting out right, So
what are some of those moments?Are are shows you were a part of
that meant more to you than maybeanother one, hmmm, like regardless of
who the opener was, or maybea city that was more special to you
(17:59):
so far on the journey. Yeah, I mean I did get to go
back to some originally for Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, and I did get to go
back this year to PNC Park,which was one of the first places I
had ever sang. I went andsang the national anthem the multiple times when
(18:21):
I was about eleven or twelve,was just starting to get into it.
And I got to go back andwe did a show after the baseball game,
and I had no idea what toexpect, because it's like a I
think a smaller stadium, right,I think it's a I think it's a
(18:41):
stadium, and basically, and Iknew what they were averaging and doing,
and I was just like, Okay, this is gonna be it's gonna be
great. I don't know what thenumber is going to turn out to be
because the last time I was there, you know, it wasn't for anything
like that. So I had noclue and I went into it and there
was They told me, they werelike, do you know that there was
(19:02):
thirty one thousand people that came tothis and that was like triple our average
of what we've been normally having.And I was like, are you kidding?
And it was such a big momentfor me. I was battling so
many emotions before I got up ontothe stage. I was walking, I
was walking across the field and hereand dream on and I just aerosmith and
(19:26):
I couldn't. I just couldn't putit into I was like, is this
is this really life? So thatwas a really big moment for me,
especially this year, to have kindof a full circle moment and just to
be like, hey, Gabby,you're doing good. You're doing good,
you're headed, You're headed the rightway. I think. So that was
what when it comes to you performinglive, obviously your husband plays as you're
(19:48):
singing, Yeah, what does itmean to be able to share that part?
Because you could easily I mean,and no disrespect to his ability,
I mean, you could have yourown band and be like, hey,
you do your thing. I'm doingmy thing. Why is it important you
guys are able to share this wholething together. I think it's specialer with
him and involved in it. Quitehonestly, I think it would be really
easy to just throw a background playerand push somebody more to the back and
(20:10):
be like, you're a part ofthe band. But our dynamic on stage
is more than him just being myplayer. I kind of see it more
like a Stevie Nixon, a LindsayBuckingham. How it's more like Lindsay added
so much guitar wise and musically toFleetwood Mac, and so we kind of
see it more so is that alot of people know me and Kaid together,
(20:33):
because really when we started coming intothe limelight, we both were on
American Idol. We met on AmericanIdol. He was originally an artist.
I was an you know, andand he did rock music. He loved
southern rock, grew up in Texas. He's from Texas, and I love
country music. And so when itcame to us getting married, we were
like, not interested in do itpursuing double solo. We were like,
(20:57):
I don't know how to make afamily in a marriage work. If we're
both going to like separate and godo our own things and have like an
airport date like here and there,Like I'm not interested in that. So
we were like, hey, whatdo we want to do here? And
that's how we saw it, justto do it together. So we do
everything together. It has worked outamazing, and he he really is involved
(21:18):
in a lot of stuff musically.A lot of the solos you hear on
my album are from him, anda lot of the guitar work and stuff.
So he adds a lot to meto what I do. Is it
challenging because you have your career andyou have your idea on what where you
want to go with it? Right, He's got what he's doing, but
he also compliments what you're doing.Yep. Is there ever a challenge creatively
(21:41):
where you're like, hey, I'mthinking this and he's like, no,
I'm thinking this, and you're like, yeah, but I'm for sure.
How do you tackle that stuff becauseyou're raising children together and creating music together.
Yeah, for sure. That doesn'thappen often, thankfully, I think
because we are so compatible musically,it could be a lot rough, but
we just see eye to eye ona lot of things, and it's really
(22:04):
helpful always remembering to keep family atthe center of things and to keep a
solid relationship at the center of things. So we really don't clash musically on
a lot of things. He hearsa lot of the same stuff I do.
If I'm like, it's a littlewonky or m I always loved his
guitar playing and respected it, andhe's always loved my voice and what that
(22:26):
sounded like. And you know,so it always it always compliments. We
just hash it out and come outwith something. I don't know if we
disagree, and it's great. You'relike, if we disagree, he doesn't
tell me, no, no,he does. I listen. I listened.
I take him into consideration. Okay, no, but it works out
(22:49):
really good. Uh take me Andjust touching on American Idol briefly, because
we have interacted with artists who area part of that show, artists who
have won that show. Sure,and it's it's great because it maybe it
gives you a head start or putsyou a little further into the light you're
going to be stepping in any way, you know, sooner than you were
(23:11):
going to. But I also feelthere can be a negative connotation between like,
yes, I did do that show, but I'm here now. There's
artists who have shaken that as theymoved their career forward. Carrie Underwood,
nobody says American Idol champ, carryon Wood, nobody says Scotty mcquery from
American Idol. And to be totallyhonest, I don't know if I've ever
(23:33):
heard anybody say, I mean,obviously I knew you were a part of
Idol, but I've never heard anybodylike, oh, yeah, she was
on American Idol, So how importantis that to you to still respect it
but also be like that's a that'sa brick in the house I'm building exactly.
That's a great way to put it. Yeah, it's always going to
(23:55):
be a huge highlight in my life. It's not like I'm super super thankful
for. But I don't think itwould be fair to just limit it to
that, because there's a lot moreblossoming to do outside of that. That
was really like the rocket to launch, and then it's like, well,
what else is gonna keep the rocketgoing? You know? And that's other
(24:19):
things and getting into Nashville and buildinga team and getting original music. You
can't just do cover songs, likeyou have to dive into what makes you
you as an artist and figuring allof that stuff out. But I'm really
thankful for the platform that Idol gaveme. I do find it a little
(24:41):
I personally found it a little trickyin town coming to town after coming off
a television show. A lot ofpeople think you're like some overnight thing and
you're all of a sudden making millionsof dollars, like it's crazy, and
it's really the opposite. I cameoff the show and like you're getting treated
like you're getting your hair and makeupdone and you got it a style,
and you're going on and you're infront of Luke Bryan and all these people.
(25:03):
You're like, I this is cool. I feel on top of the
mountain right now. And then theshow ends. It's like high school.
The show ends, and it's likego figure it out, start over again.
And it's hard. It is sohard because you got to come be
prepared to work, work, work, and you know that's that's that's what
(25:26):
I tried to do. Thankfully,I had a good team around me,
got into writing original music, anduh, now we're here. Very blessed
so celebrating the release of your sophomorealbum, which is is it weird when
they call it the sophomore It's likewhat you're like, No, it's my
second I mean, I guess that'sstill the same thing, but it's just
cud, I don't know. Yeah, So your fourth album is your senior
(25:48):
album, and then what you graduate, you don't get to put out music.
That's it. Then it's my master'sand my doctorate. Well, part
of that album, which we'll diveinto, we want to start with a
Cowboy Back. Tell us a littlebit about that song and the background to
why it makes sense for this album. Cowboy Back. I love this song.
It's so fun. It's definitely oneof the upbeat, very upbeat songs
(26:15):
on the album. I found itreally important to have a good mix of
everything, like where you've got yourslower and then you've got your mid and
then you've got a few upbeat kindof resembles life, you know, the
peaks in the valleys of life eventhrough your music, and how that talks
to you. So I love thissong. Is very Shania Twain esque vibes
(26:37):
to it, with the fiddle andjust like bootstomping fun dancing theme, and
it she talks about leaning into beingauthentically country. My husband is a is
a great inspiration for tons of mysongs. And he's originally from Texas,
very East Texas. I think heliterally grew up I think forty I don't
(27:00):
even know thirty forty five minutes fromwhere Miranda is originally from. So he's
a real cowboy, real country boy, real and he leans into that and
I love that about him, andso it's just a fun It's a really
fun song and I definitely leaned intothe country roots for this album for sure.
(27:23):
You have also have a song calledDance Like No One's Watching Yeah,
where Luke Colmbs has a writing crediton that song. How do you guys
end up together? Because you're verysuccessful doing your own thing, Luke is
literally rewriting country music history with theway you know his shows are going,
the way the charts are. Howdid the two of you guys come together?
(27:44):
And how did this song make sensefor this project too? I was
really thankful he shot me a messageone day. I just got a text
message from him and he said,hey, we wrote a song and he
wrote it. So I didn't writeon this song This was one of the
only songs I did not write onfor this album, and he said he
(28:07):
wrote it with Emily Wiseman and Jamesmc nair, who, funny enough,
side note, I wrote Glory Dayswith oh Wow, So that came so
good writers, You're like, I'mfamiliar good writers for sure, And he
just said, we wrote this songwhen my wife was pregnant with our first
(28:29):
baby. We didn't know if itwas a boy or a girl. Yet
come to find out it's a boy. The songs more based on a father
and a daughter dynamics. It wouldn'tmake sense for him to sing, but
he kindly thought of me to singit and to be on it, so
he shared it with me and Ilistened to it the first time I heard
it through. I fell in lovewith it verse and chorus, and as
like the best thing ever, atleast for me as an artist, like
(28:52):
melodically, to hear a verse andthen I don't know if you've ever heard
this, but like I've heard asong where I'm listening and to listen to
the verse, I'm like, yeah, I like this, and then it
hits the chorus and I'm like,ugh, you wanted more whoa where did
it go? And this song waseverything right, melody, lyric, everything,
(29:15):
and I just loved it. Icalled my manager. I was so
excited. I was like, I'mcutting this song. I love it so
much. And he was kind enoughto also put his vocals on this song
as well, so he's singing onthe background of it, and it's a
really, really touching song and Idefinitely connect to it a lot. So
how many of these songs have youperformed already in front of people? We
(29:36):
have only performed I think, likethis past summer twenty twenty three summer of
touring, I did I think twosongs just to see what people thought and
good reactions so far. So thankfulfor that. I think we did.
I did do Dance Like no One'swatching, and I did Cowboy Back,
(29:59):
So they were fun. Do youever have to fight back any emotional I
mean, especially with you being youknow, involved in the writing process,
co producing, because you have moreskin in the game when when you're not
telling us telling a story that relates, but it's somebody else's writing, right,
So you have a little more skinand a little more emotion in the
game. Yep, is it?Do you ever have to catch yourself like,
(30:19):
hang on, I'm performing, Iwill cry later or I will get
emotional later about it, because ifI'm you and I'm singing a song,
I'd be like, hang on,guys, absolutely no. There's a lot
of the time I feel like I'mjust being honest. You just get into
like autopilot mode where you I'm enjoyingit, but at the same time,
(30:41):
you're doing almost the same thing everysingle night in different states all the time,
and it's so nice to see differentfans and different reactions and all that
stuff. But when it comes tolike your set and like your music,
once you do it over and overand over and over, you become a
tiny bit desensitized towards them. Butthen there's those moments where you click back
in too, like originally where youwere at with the message of the song.
(31:06):
And absolutely it can definitely draw drawa tear to the eye. But
I'm like, come well, Gab, you're gonna be tough. You can't
mess up the soul girl. Youspent too long on this makeup. No,
you're not rooining these pictures. Soso yeah, there's definitely, there's
definitely both, for sure. Forsure, have those moments where it's just
(31:26):
very sensitive and very real and vulnerable. There though, as an artist and
as a creator, you want peopleto wrap their arms around the whole project.
You want them to love it,and especially if they're fans of yours,
whether the country music fans, Gabbybeartt fans like here here's my latest
offering, hope you dig it?Is there one song out of this current
(31:47):
project that you're like, Man,I really really hope this is the one
that people really like love? Yeah, listen, no ugly children right out
of all of them, My gosh, is there one that's like man?
And it would mean the world ifpeople really gravitated towards that, it would
resonate. Yeah. H that's probablytough, having so much writing on this
(32:10):
and so end up producing as well, right, that is, that's tough.
If you were asking me personally awayfrom more of the like I'm trying
to think of one, I wouldprobably say hard to read. If you
were asking me personally, like ona deep level of one that's more vulnerable
for people to lean into and hopefullylove and connect to, it would probably
(32:34):
be hard to read, really hardto read or grown upraising you we're just
deeper songs to write and then torecord, and so the goal is always
to have people connect to every song. But I think those are more those
came from more of a vulnerable spot, a more tender spot from me for
sure, that you don't just showto everybody or talk about to everybody.
(32:59):
So probably those songs. But GloryDays right now shows the best image for
the album as a whole, andI think it's just the album as a
whole has a more consistent theme throughit, more so than my first album
did. Now, before we wrapthings up, Halloween is coming. Uh
(33:20):
Huh do you say Halloween? Yeah? I say what I say, Hello,
Halloween, Halloween. People always geton me for the way I say
things. Helloween. What do youcall? What do you call? Uh?
My gosh, I don't even knowwhat to call it. To ask
you the question, what do youcall? Like like a sprite? Would
(33:42):
you call it a sprite? Orno? Like a soda. So I'm
from the Midwest, from Minneapolis,so they say pop, but I've always
said soda, so I would saysoda. Okay, I'm for Pittsburgh,
so we said pop. My wholelife, pope, so I said so,
I said pop when I was younger, but some reason, I'm like,
some people say soda water for it, and it didn't know water?
(34:07):
What about coke for everything? Don'tget there. I can't. I can't.
People will be like, you wantto coke and then I'll be like,
here you go. I'm like,so doctor Pepper, yeah, coke
brand. What are you doing?Exactly? Sorry? I had to ask
that. So when it comes toHelloween, uh do you do you remember?
Uh? Costumes you wore as akid are like one that was favorite,
like this is my this is mygem. I want to be this
(34:30):
again next year. I wish Iwould have wore some cooler stuff, but
I didn't. I was like theI don't even know zombie cheerleader and my
Bumblebee I was, uh, Ithink Bell was like my favorite Disney character
or princess. I wasn't that coolwhen it came to costume. Yeah.
(34:54):
The only story that you know,my mother will bring up anytime someone talks
Halloween is one year it was justme, her and my grandma, and
so she was trying to go onthe cheap. She took bed sheets and
cut eye holes and I was sopissed that I wouldn't do it. So
she rips the sheet off my head, hands me the bag, and she
(35:16):
goes, just go trigger treating,And I go, what am I going
to tell people? I am?She goes a brat, so I'll never
forget I went as a brat forHalloween. Shut your mouth. That is
LUs. I don't talk to mymother anymore. Oh my gosh, that's
(35:37):
a great story. Please always tellabout so. So now let me ask
you Thanksgiving. Is there something thatyou or your husband are fantastic at in
the kitchen when it comes to Thanksgiving? That's like, this is my go
to me, No kidding, hecan cook some really good stuff Thanksgiving.
I mean we're still trying to figureout. Like I've been married for four
(35:58):
years, so we're still trying tofake out, like the combo of he
grew up with, like these dishes. I grew up with these dishes,
Like what are we making our table? What are we putting at our table?
What Southern dishes are making it?What Northeast dishes are making it?
Here and smash them together. Ihave learned a few recipes from his mother
that I that I really like.Another thing is I called it stuffing,
(36:22):
But it's dressing. Dressing is saladdressing? Yeah? Not listen, listen,
we could be here. How muchtime you got next time? You
need to bring him through so wecan be like I'm gonna bring it through.
We're gonna quiz. But uh,I can throw down. I can
throw down in the kitchen. SoI'm sure I'll be throwing down some turkey
(36:45):
or something for Thanksgiving. See,the turkey part would scare me the most.
Tay did a turkey. You saidyou were pretty proud of your turkey.
Right, Okay, maybe I needsome advice then, because I don't
think I got the turkey thing down. I got some sides down, but
not to turkey. But also,let me ask you, you have have
a fantastic career, things are goingwell. Have you ever been like,
(37:07):
hey, I'm just going to makea call and someone's going to drop the
food off. I've wanted to youknow what, there's places that you can
do that where they basically just sortof like com pick up your Thanksgiving dinner.
And uh, I've been questioning that. But I'm like, come on,
Gabby, you gotta come on,girl. You've got this. You
pull through. You can pull through, But can I tell you this year,
you have a pass. If youdon't feel like I got a pass,
(37:29):
it's a little too pregnant feeling it. Make yourself a sandwich, leave
me alone, Turkey sandwich but boo, and you can put his dressing on
it. Yeah, that's right,Gabby. I appreciate the stopping by a
girl. Thank you, thank youvery much,
We are honored to be joined today. That sounded so official it made me
uncomfortable. We are honored to bein the presence of not only a fantastic
hit maker in country music, buta lady that I mean, how many
number ones are you before? I? How many number one? Yeah?
How many number one songs? Yougot so far to so you're about to
(00:22):
outnumber yourself with number ones and children? Correct? Gabby Barrett is in the
house. What a lead in?She's like, She's like, how did
you start here? And then it'sfine, Gabby, how you been girl?
Life is good, life is fantastic. I need to ask you because
last time we saw you was inKey West. Yes, you had all
this new music, you were superamped. Did you know that you were
(00:46):
potentially having a baby at that point? Did I know in Key West?
Or is it because of Key West? No, it's because West. That
trip was in and out. Sonope, not that no you people,
but disgusting middle schoolers in the roomin here. No, I think I'm
(01:11):
I think I didn't know that Iwas pregnant. I found out I was
pregnant in May, Okay, soI think I knew. Okay, you
didn't I did listen. We hadno clue. How does that because being
a mother, first of all,let me commend you for doing both,
because I think there is a stigmain tay and I have talked about this
(01:33):
before. There's a stigma that existsfor a woman in any in any industry
that doesn't for a guy, andthat is, well, are you gonna
be a mom and have kids orare you going to have a career.
And you're out here saying well,I'm gonna put out a record and a
kid in the same week. Yeah, you can definitely do both, Like
you for sure can do both.It's just a matter of how much time
(01:53):
you want to go into this orthat there is it's either like you ride
your career out and then have andlike do that later or other way around.
And that's for sure not true.You can do both for sure,
and so and I don't want tomake it sound like you're like, oh,
I'm putting life before my career,Like you're balancing both fantastically, But
(02:13):
what what in you makes it important? Like hey, like I'm going to
do the family part at the sametime because some people would wait on purpose.
No, I mean, I don'teven mind you putting it that way,
because I would consider myself more thatway quite honestly. Of I am
more of a family oriented person firstlybefore getting to anything else. So I'm
(02:35):
a Christian. I strongly believe inthe Bible, and that's what our family
relies on and goes off of.And so family always first, my kids
and being a mom, as youknow, something that I greatly want to
be remembered for. I love doingthe music. I enjoy it so mu
shuld so just here for the ride, seeing where it's going, and it's
really fun to be able to doboth. It's challenging and difficult to find
(02:57):
a balance between the two, right, like how you want to make sure
you're spending enough time here and youwant to make sure you're spending enough time
there. It's doable, and youjust kind of gotta go day by day.
Day's gonna adjust your microphone real quickhere, okay, thank you.
When it comes to the parenting andand your career at the same time you
(03:19):
you wrap the album, it's somethingthat we're getting ready to celebrate early twenty
twenty four, Does your excitement levelchange at all when for the album?
Knowing that like when you're family.Your family's growing at the same time.
Oh no, I'm because you're tome. An album is like almost another
(03:40):
child. Yeah, so I reallyhave let's see first album, second album,
three kids, so I really havefive kids. But no, I'm
super pumped about it. I thinkit'll be two really large things to celebrate
the two biggest things of my life, quite honestly, And I've just worked
really hard on this project the pasttwo and a half years, co producing
(04:03):
it and really just putting the visioninto place. So I'm excited to finally
give that to people as a wholebody of work and not just like singles
and small songs. Last thing babyrelated I want to ask you is what's
something baby one that you overthought orover analyze that Baby three, you're like,
I'm fine, get it out andget it out of the way,
(04:25):
Like whether it was like you wipedown the house too many times or yeah,
it'd probably be in that it'd belike sanitizing, like you have to
wash the bottles and keep them likeaway, but then also sanitize them in
something and then maybe put them inmicrowavable bags and then put a like it's
it's pretty wild and then the pastfire drops on that floor. I'm licking
(04:45):
it off and putting it back intheir mouth like I'm not going to wash
it off, I'll lick it.I'll take the germs first. But yeah,
definitely changes from first the third baby, for sure. When it comes
to the music, do you seethat. Do you see that the more
you're experiencing family and the more you'reexperiencing motherhood, that it changes your delivery
(05:10):
when you get into the studio orif you're a part of a writing room,
that that plays more of a rolethan just making a good song.
Absolutely. I mean for having children, being married has changed so many things.
And anybody that has kids knows that. And you can't truly know that
until you do have children, howthey impact your life and how they would
(05:30):
change it. Perspective, priorities,your outlook, the way you want to
present yourself, you know, likeeverything that's at least how I think about
it. And then they're my life. So they're day in day out,
who I take care of, whoI pay attention to, and so of
course when I go in to writesongs and think about the material and think
(05:54):
about the message, they're heavily involvedin that in the best of ways,
and having kids and a family outcourage anybody to do because it teaches you
so many valuable things. When itcomes to the current single, Glory Days,
as you were finishing the album,at what point in the album process
where you like, Glory Days isgoing to be? This is what this
(06:15):
is my first introduction to this project. When we had mainly all the songs
put together, then we could startreally narrowing and it was between Glory Days
and another song I think maybe CowboyBack Yeah, and we loved. I
knew that I wanted to release somethingthat was upbeat because what I had released
before was either ballad or like midtempo and upbeat. And I'm an upbeat
(06:39):
performer and very energetic on stage andstuff, so I like to I wanted
to make sure that that side ofme was represented in the music. So
I want to do an upbeat song. Glory Days just better represented the album
as a whole. When choosing asong going in what's coming out first,
and then it leads into the tothe theme of the rest of the album.
(07:01):
So it was just it was justthe best fit in that way,
and it's really a good picture ofwhat my life looks like right right now,
and to remind us myself, everybodyto just live understand the time that
you're living in, because life justmoves so fast and then all of a
sudden you're like, well, whatwhat happened? I've had so many people
ask me are you soaking in?Like what's happened? Do you understand what
(07:24):
you know the past several years?And I'm like, I'm like yeah,
But then I actually think about it, I'm like, I don't know,
I don't know if I'm soaking thatin or not. I'm really paying attention
to that. So it's almost areminder to myself to remember, you're in
some really good days right now.Knowing that that's the message in that song,
was any part of you taken backa little bit because we're how involved
(07:47):
were you with the writing process ofthis song or is this something that you
were you came into No. Ico wrote this song, I co wrote
a lot of the album, andI actually co produced the album as well
this time around, So I cowrote on Glory Days and was very into
I'm not so being a writer intown the type of writer that I am,
(08:09):
though, I'm not the one who'shaving a huge catalog of songs,
who's going on writing camps and writingall the time, which is actually helpful
to me because I am very targetedwhen I go into writing sessions, like
I'm adamant on coming out with somethinggood, okay, And so that's what
I really did around the record wegot They were all very targeted and focused
(08:33):
rights and it was like got on, got one, got one, got
on. Thankfully, it was likethat wow, and we just banged them
out and had a theme. Andthere's a bit more of a consistency to
this than my first album, andso there was a lot that changed,
a lot that was different this timearound than the first time around. When
it comes to the songs that you'vealready put out, it connects to you,
(08:58):
it makes sense for you and whereyou're at, yep, But what's
the song that surprises you that hasconnected the most with etel fans are a
fan, maybe a story jumps out, like a fan DMD you about this
song and it connected with them,and you're like you kind of just put
the song out because it works foryou, and you're like, oh,
wow, this matters people. Yeah, I mean, I hope we're the
(09:24):
good ones. Really, I didn'tknow, especially with I Hope. I
Hope was the fourth song that Iever wrote in Nashville, Tennessee. It
was I was just starting to getinto writer rooms with people. Did not
know if I could write a songor not. And I Hope came out
of the room the one day,and so I didn't know. I didn't
even walk away from the room afterwe'd I've recorded the demo vocal and the
(09:46):
like the whole song, and Ididn't walk away. I didn't I didn't
know if it was going to resonatewith people or not. And so when
we released it, I released itindependently. I wasn't with a label or
anybody. At the time. Wasjust like, well, let's see and
I was thinking knowing people that werebuying that, or my dad, my
mom, my grandparents and siblings andstreaming, and then it was like this
(10:07):
happened, and this happened, andthen you're breaking records and then went number
one here and what number one there? And it was insane. Did not
know that it was going to resonatewith people that much. And it's a
sad story. I mean, itis getting cheated on is not fun and
it happens to both sides, andit sucks, and so I'm really glad
that it has helped so many people, though through a lot of difficult circumstances.
(10:31):
When it comes to the most rewardingthing for you career wise, would
it be being able to give avoice to somebody or a story to somebody
who might not realize they're living that, you know what I mean, Like
they don't have the words, butyou're able to sing them for them.
Yes, I think that's amazing.That's something I love about music in general,
specially country music. It was likewhen I listened to it, I
(10:52):
was like how Like I almost wantedto ask the song or the person that
I'm like, how do you knowme? Like, how do you know
what? I didn't even know howto formulate into words? You know what
I'm talking about? So I lovethat so much with country music, that
there is a story for every littlething in your life and it so deeply
(11:13):
connects lyrically. So that's something thatI do enjoy about making music and country
music and then seeing that happen toother people, of people coming up to
me and just being like, ohmy gosh, this song, you know
that song and it just connects tothem and blesses their life in some type
of way. That is a hugepayoff for sure when it comes to connecting
(11:35):
with people. I'd imagine it's it'sessentially your story, but somebody else is
like, wait, that's my storytoo. Yeah. Yeah, So take
us to the new album and ifthis is sensitive, we'll chop it to
use it when we air it closerto the album release. What was the
hardest the hardest story to tell onthis album, the most honest story that
(11:56):
maybe you had to choke back atear or take a deep breath when you
were writing or recording it. There'stwo songs that comes to mind. Growing
Up Raising You is a really emotionalsong for me that was written specifically about
my daughter, and it just talksabout like I'm only twenty three, I
don't know everything. I got alot of stuff to learn, and I'm
(12:18):
figuring that out about myself while raisingother humans to be the best they can
be, the people they are supposedto be, and helping them to figure
it out when I don't even fullyI haven't even fully figured it out.
So it's this interesting dance that youhave to do, especially with me being
a woman and growing and raising littlegirls. And I will have two little
(12:41):
girls next year. So it's aninteresting dynamic for sure, and a very
very song that's SNAr and dear tome, and then another song will be
Hard to Read. Hard to Readis a very vulnerable song in the sense
I have been told a lot throughmy life that I have a hard to
read personality. And I never knewhow to take that. Like if somebody
(13:05):
goes, you know, you're hardto read, how do you take that?
Is that good? Is that okay? You know? So I don't
know, and then you ask someoneand they go, no, it's you
fine, Oh it's good. Yeah, it makes you And I'm like,
okay, I don't know how totake take you know, take that.
(13:28):
So it's confusing, it feels it'sit's complicated. You kind of feel misunderstood
because you're you feel like it's moreof a negative thing, but probably weren't
meaning anything harmful. So you know, it's been like that my whole life.
So that that song, I wasreally excited, uh to write that
because it's just a topic that I'venever heard anybody write something like that before,
(13:52):
but something that I felt passionately aboutand have been told you know that
throughout time. Is it tough tobe that vault ulnerable, especially with the
story like that, Yes, andno. I think at first it is
because you're like, I want tohold this back. But at the same
time, I think country music fansare so awesome, welcoming and genuine,
(14:15):
and then you realize, wait,like these tough stories are the ones that
actually connect with people, probably themost, you know, because they're just
things that not everybody talks about,and then you can connect to them through
song and it can be really touchingto somebody in that way in their life
and to remind people like, oh, there are other people that go through
(14:37):
this or feel this way, andso it's really cool to be able to
create it and put it out thatway. Has there been a moment so
far in your career where you kindof had to take a deep breath and
be like, wow, I'm likewhat I'm doing, what I'm supposed to
be doing, and that is youknow, maybe there was a moment on
stage where people were singing back yoursong and it almost knocks you over,
(14:58):
or any interaction with another artist thatkind of validated now validated your existence,
but validated the spot that you've carvedout for yourself in country music. Sure.
Quite honestly, I would say whenI did release I Hope independently and
didn't think anybody was like listening orknew my music or anything like that.
(15:20):
I remember before being signed, goingto CMA Fest and being on the I
can't remember the stage name, butit's right by Bridgetown. Oh now,
Mali Jim, Yeah, Vali Jimstage. I was on there and I
think it was either my first orsecond time maybe first time performing at CMA
(15:41):
Fest and uh, I sang,I mean the beginning of I Hope.
You would swear this song's been outfor ten years. From how everybody responded
to the song, never in mylife completely blew me away and was so
motivating. That's so motivating to aheart that's a little bit tired after you
been doing it for ten years andyou get no no, no, no
(16:03):
no, and then you finally geta yes, it's like, oh so
worth it and it was really motivating. So that's a time that always sticks
out in my head that the it'slike the lit the little song that just
the gift that keeps on giving.Really that song is just a great song,
and I'm glad I connected with peoplesas fast as it did, and
(16:26):
I'm excited to see what this nextbody of music does with people as well.
What is your plan the album getsout, it's in people's hands.
Yeah, what's your plan when youget back to like post maternity leave,
mm hmm. I won't be gonefor very long. I'll be popping up
through stuff. It'll the album willcome out early twenty twenty four, and
(16:52):
then I'll be popping up through stuffthrough the summer, and then we'll really
start touring the new album, likeat the end of summer and through so
I'll be popping up and stuff,still doing things you'll see me. What
are moments that you because obviously asan artist who you talk about you know,
starting off, I mean a tinystage that a lot of the times
(17:17):
is ignored. It's like the lastthing that people will check out if there's
nothing here, here, here,here, or whatever. What are moments
that that shock you the most aboutyour rise to where you are now,
or maybe tours that you were onleading up to now that shocked me the
most. Yeah, I mean likeyou like you, I feel like you
(17:37):
stay levelheaded and cool through whatever youdo. But to be asked to be
a part of tours is special,especially when you're starting out right, So
what are some of those moments?Are are shows you were a part of
that meant more to you than maybeanother one, hmmm, like regardless of
who the opener was, or maybea city that was more special to you
(17:59):
so far on the journey. Yeah, I mean I did get to go
back to some originally for Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, and I did get to go
back this year to PNC Park,which was one of the first places I
had ever sang. I went andsang the national anthem the multiple times when
(18:21):
I was about eleven or twelve,was just starting to get into it.
And I got to go back andwe did a show after the baseball game,
and I had no idea what toexpect, because it's like a I
think a smaller stadium, right,I think it's a I think it's a
(18:41):
stadium, and basically, and Iknew what they were averaging and doing,
and I was just like, Okay, this is gonna be it's gonna be
great. I don't know what thenumber is going to turn out to be
because the last time I was there, you know, it wasn't for anything
like that. So I had noclue and I went into it and there
was They told me, they werelike, do you know that there was
(19:02):
thirty one thousand people that came tothis and that was like triple our average
of what we've been normally having.And I was like, are you kidding?
And it was such a big momentfor me. I was battling so
many emotions before I got up ontothe stage. I was walking, I
was walking across the field and hereand dream on and I just aerosmith and
(19:26):
I couldn't. I just couldn't putit into I was like, is this
is this really life? So thatwas a really big moment for me,
especially this year, to have kindof a full circle moment and just to
be like, hey, Gabby,you're doing good. You're doing good,
you're headed, You're headed the rightway. I think. So that was
what when it comes to you performinglive, obviously your husband plays as you're
(19:48):
singing, Yeah, what does itmean to be able to share that part?
Because you could easily I mean,and no disrespect to his ability,
I mean, you could have yourown band and be like, hey,
you do your thing. I'm doingmy thing. Why is it important you
guys are able to share this wholething together. I think it's specialer with
him and involved in it. Quitehonestly, I think it would be really
easy to just throw a background playerand push somebody more to the back and
(20:10):
be like, you're a part ofthe band. But our dynamic on stage
is more than him just being myplayer. I kind of see it more
like a Stevie Nixon, a LindsayBuckingham. How it's more like Lindsay added
so much guitar wise and musically toFleetwood Mac, and so we kind of
see it more so is that alot of people know me and Kaid together,
(20:33):
because really when we started coming intothe limelight, we both were on
American Idol. We met on AmericanIdol. He was originally an artist.
I was an you know, andand he did rock music. He loved
southern rock, grew up in Texas. He's from Texas, and I love
country music. And so when itcame to us getting married, we were
like, not interested in do itpursuing double solo. We were like,
(20:57):
I don't know how to make afamily in a marriage work. If we're
both going to like separate and godo our own things and have like an
airport date like here and there,Like I'm not interested in that. So
we were like, hey, whatdo we want to do here? And
that's how we saw it, justto do it together. So we do
everything together. It has worked outamazing, and he he really is involved
(21:18):
in a lot of stuff musically.A lot of the solos you hear on
my album are from him, anda lot of the guitar work and stuff.
So he adds a lot to meto what I do. Is it
challenging because you have your career andyou have your idea on what where you
want to go with it? Right, He's got what he's doing, but
he also compliments what you're doing.Yep. Is there ever a challenge creatively
(21:41):
where you're like, hey, I'mthinking this and he's like, no,
I'm thinking this, and you're like, yeah, but I'm for sure.
How do you tackle that stuff becauseyou're raising children together and creating music together.
Yeah, for sure. That doesn'thappen often, thankfully, I think
because we are so compatible musically,it could be a lot rough, but
we just see eye to eye ona lot of things, and it's really
(22:04):
helpful always remembering to keep family atthe center of things and to keep a
solid relationship at the center of things. So we really don't clash musically on
a lot of things. He hearsa lot of the same stuff I do.
If I'm like, it's a littlewonky or m I always loved his
guitar playing and respected it, andhe's always loved my voice and what that
(22:26):
sounded like. And you know,so it always it always compliments. We
just hash it out and come outwith something. I don't know if we
disagree, and it's great. You'relike, if we disagree, he doesn't
tell me, no, no,he does. I listen. I listened.
I take him into consideration. Okay, no, but it works out
(22:49):
really good. Uh take me Andjust touching on American Idol briefly, because
we have interacted with artists who area part of that show, artists who
have won that show. Sure,and it's it's great because it maybe it
gives you a head start or putsyou a little further into the light you're
going to be stepping in any way, you know, sooner than you were
(23:11):
going to. But I also feelthere can be a negative connotation between like,
yes, I did do that show, but I'm here now. There's
artists who have shaken that as theymoved their career forward. Carrie Underwood,
nobody says American Idol champ, carryon Wood, nobody says Scotty mcquery from
American Idol. And to be totallyhonest, I don't know if I've ever
(23:33):
heard anybody say, I mean,obviously I knew you were a part of
Idol, but I've never heard anybodylike, oh, yeah, she was
on American Idol, So how importantis that to you to still respect it
but also be like that's a that'sa brick in the house I'm building exactly.
That's a great way to put it. Yeah, it's always going to
(23:55):
be a huge highlight in my life. It's not like I'm super super thankful
for. But I don't think itwould be fair to just limit it to
that, because there's a lot moreblossoming to do outside of that. That
was really like the rocket to launch, and then it's like, well,
what else is gonna keep the rocketgoing? You know? And that's other
(24:19):
things and getting into Nashville and buildinga team and getting original music. You
can't just do cover songs, likeyou have to dive into what makes you
you as an artist and figuring allof that stuff out. But I'm really
thankful for the platform that Idol gaveme. I do find it a little
(24:41):
I personally found it a little trickyin town coming to town after coming off
a television show. A lot ofpeople think you're like some overnight thing and
you're all of a sudden making millionsof dollars, like it's crazy, and
it's really the opposite. I cameoff the show and like you're getting treated
like you're getting your hair and makeupdone and you got it a style,
and you're going on and you're infront of Luke Bryan and all these people.
(25:03):
You're like, I this is cool. I feel on top of the
mountain right now. And then theshow ends. It's like high school.
The show ends, and it's likego figure it out, start over again.
And it's hard. It is sohard because you got to come be
prepared to work, work, work, and you know that's that's that's what
(25:26):
I tried to do. Thankfully,I had a good team around me,
got into writing original music, anduh, now we're here. Very blessed
so celebrating the release of your sophomorealbum, which is is it weird when
they call it the sophomore It's likewhat you're like, No, it's my
second I mean, I guess that'sstill the same thing, but it's just
cud, I don't know. Yeah, So your fourth album is your senior
(25:48):
album, and then what you graduate, you don't get to put out music.
That's it. Then it's my master'sand my doctorate. Well, part
of that album, which we'll diveinto, we want to start with a
Cowboy Back. Tell us a littlebit about that song and the background to
why it makes sense for this album. Cowboy Back. I love this song.
It's so fun. It's definitely oneof the upbeat, very upbeat songs
(26:15):
on the album. I found itreally important to have a good mix of
everything, like where you've got yourslower and then you've got your mid and
then you've got a few upbeat kindof resembles life, you know, the
peaks in the valleys of life eventhrough your music, and how that talks
to you. So I love thissong. Is very Shania Twain esque vibes
(26:37):
to it, with the fiddle andjust like bootstomping fun dancing theme, and
it she talks about leaning into beingauthentically country. My husband is a is
a great inspiration for tons of mysongs. And he's originally from Texas,
very East Texas. I think heliterally grew up I think forty I don't
(27:00):
even know thirty forty five minutes fromwhere Miranda is originally from. So he's
a real cowboy, real country boy, real and he leans into that and
I love that about him, andso it's just a fun It's a really
fun song and I definitely leaned intothe country roots for this album for sure.
(27:23):
You have also have a song calledDance Like No One's Watching Yeah,
where Luke Colmbs has a writing crediton that song. How do you guys
end up together? Because you're verysuccessful doing your own thing, Luke is
literally rewriting country music history with theway you know his shows are going,
the way the charts are. Howdid the two of you guys come together?
(27:44):
And how did this song make sensefor this project too? I was
really thankful he shot me a messageone day. I just got a text
message from him and he said,hey, we wrote a song and he
wrote it. So I didn't writeon this song This was one of the
only songs I did not write onfor this album, and he said he
(28:07):
wrote it with Emily Wiseman and Jamesmc nair, who, funny enough,
side note, I wrote Glory Dayswith oh Wow, So that came so
good writers, You're like, I'mfamiliar good writers for sure, And he
just said, we wrote this songwhen my wife was pregnant with our first
(28:29):
baby. We didn't know if itwas a boy or a girl. Yet
come to find out it's a boy. The songs more based on a father
and a daughter dynamics. It wouldn'tmake sense for him to sing, but
he kindly thought of me to singit and to be on it, so
he shared it with me and Ilistened to it the first time I heard
it through. I fell in lovewith it verse and chorus, and as
like the best thing ever, atleast for me as an artist, like
(28:52):
melodically, to hear a verse andthen I don't know if you've ever heard
this, but like I've heard asong where I'm listening and to listen to
the verse, I'm like, yeah, I like this, and then it
hits the chorus and I'm like,ugh, you wanted more whoa where did
it go? And this song waseverything right, melody, lyric, everything,
(29:15):
and I just loved it. Icalled my manager. I was so
excited. I was like, I'mcutting this song. I love it so
much. And he was kind enoughto also put his vocals on this song
as well, so he's singing onthe background of it, and it's a
really, really touching song and Idefinitely connect to it a lot. So
how many of these songs have youperformed already in front of people? We
(29:36):
have only performed I think, likethis past summer twenty twenty three summer of
touring, I did I think twosongs just to see what people thought and
good reactions so far. So thankfulfor that. I think we did.
I did do Dance Like no One'swatching, and I did Cowboy Back,
(29:59):
So they were fun. Do youever have to fight back any emotional I
mean, especially with you being youknow, involved in the writing process,
co producing, because you have moreskin in the game when when you're not
telling us telling a story that relates, but it's somebody else's writing, right,
So you have a little more skinand a little more emotion in the
game. Yep, is it?Do you ever have to catch yourself like,
(30:19):
hang on, I'm performing, Iwill cry later or I will get
emotional later about it, because ifI'm you and I'm singing a song,
I'd be like, hang on,guys, absolutely no. There's a lot
of the time I feel like I'mjust being honest. You just get into
like autopilot mode where you I'm enjoyingit, but at the same time,
(30:41):
you're doing almost the same thing everysingle night in different states all the time,
and it's so nice to see differentfans and different reactions and all that
stuff. But when it comes tolike your set and like your music,
once you do it over and overand over and over, you become a
tiny bit desensitized towards them. Butthen there's those moments where you click back
in too, like originally where youwere at with the message of the song.
(31:06):
And absolutely it can definitely draw drawa tear to the eye. But
I'm like, come well, Gab, you're gonna be tough. You can't
mess up the soul girl. Youspent too long on this makeup. No,
you're not rooining these pictures. Soso yeah, there's definitely, there's
definitely both, for sure. Forsure, have those moments where it's just
(31:26):
very sensitive and very real and vulnerable. There though, as an artist and
as a creator, you want peopleto wrap their arms around the whole project.
You want them to love it,and especially if they're fans of yours,
whether the country music fans, Gabbybeartt fans like here here's my latest
offering, hope you dig it?Is there one song out of this current
(31:47):
project that you're like, Man,I really really hope this is the one
that people really like love? Yeah, listen, no ugly children right out
of all of them, My gosh, is there one that's like man?
And it would mean the world ifpeople really gravitated towards that, it would
resonate. Yeah. H that's probablytough, having so much writing on this
(32:10):
and so end up producing as well, right, that is, that's tough.
If you were asking me personally awayfrom more of the like I'm trying
to think of one, I wouldprobably say hard to read. If you
were asking me personally, like ona deep level of one that's more vulnerable
for people to lean into and hopefullylove and connect to, it would probably
(32:34):
be hard to read, really hardto read or grown upraising you we're just
deeper songs to write and then torecord, and so the goal is always
to have people connect to every song. But I think those are more those
came from more of a vulnerable spot, a more tender spot from me for
sure, that you don't just showto everybody or talk about to everybody.
(32:59):
So probably those songs. But GloryDays right now shows the best image for
the album as a whole, andI think it's just the album as a
whole has a more consistent theme throughit, more so than my first album
did. Now, before we wrapthings up, Halloween is coming. Uh
(33:20):
Huh do you say Halloween? Yeah? I say what I say, Hello,
Halloween, Halloween. People always geton me for the way I say
things. Helloween. What do youcall? What do you call? Uh?
My gosh, I don't even knowwhat to call it. To ask
you the question, what do youcall? Like like a sprite? Would
(33:42):
you call it a sprite? Orno? Like a soda. So I'm
from the Midwest, from Minneapolis,so they say pop, but I've always
said soda, so I would saysoda. Okay, I'm for Pittsburgh,
so we said pop. My wholelife, pope, so I said so,
I said pop when I was younger, but some reason, I'm like,
some people say soda water for it, and it didn't know water?
(34:07):
What about coke for everything? Don'tget there. I can't. I can't.
People will be like, you wantto coke and then I'll be like,
here you go. I'm like,so doctor Pepper, yeah, coke
brand. What are you doing?Exactly? Sorry? I had to ask
that. So when it comes toHelloween, uh do you do you remember?
Uh? Costumes you wore as akid are like one that was favorite,
like this is my this is mygem. I want to be this
(34:30):
again next year. I wish Iwould have wore some cooler stuff, but
I didn't. I was like theI don't even know zombie cheerleader and my
Bumblebee I was, uh, Ithink Bell was like my favorite Disney character
or princess. I wasn't that coolwhen it came to costume. Yeah.
(34:54):
The only story that you know,my mother will bring up anytime someone talks
Halloween is one year it was justme, her and my grandma, and
so she was trying to go onthe cheap. She took bed sheets and
cut eye holes and I was sopissed that I wouldn't do it. So
she rips the sheet off my head, hands me the bag, and she
(35:16):
goes, just go trigger treating,And I go, what am I going
to tell people? I am?She goes a brat, so I'll never
forget I went as a brat forHalloween. Shut your mouth. That is
LUs. I don't talk to mymother anymore. Oh my gosh, that's
(35:37):
a great story. Please always tellabout so. So now let me ask
you Thanksgiving. Is there something thatyou or your husband are fantastic at in
the kitchen when it comes to Thanksgiving? That's like, this is my go
to me, No kidding, hecan cook some really good stuff Thanksgiving.
I mean we're still trying to figureout. Like I've been married for four
(35:58):
years, so we're still trying tofake out, like the combo of he
grew up with, like these dishes. I grew up with these dishes,
Like what are we making our table? What are we putting at our table?
What Southern dishes are making it?What Northeast dishes are making it?
Here and smash them together. Ihave learned a few recipes from his mother
that I that I really like.Another thing is I called it stuffing,
(36:22):
But it's dressing. Dressing is saladdressing? Yeah? Not listen, listen,
we could be here. How muchtime you got next time? You
need to bring him through so wecan be like I'm gonna bring it through.
We're gonna quiz. But uh,I can throw down. I can
throw down in the kitchen. SoI'm sure I'll be throwing down some turkey
(36:45):
or something for Thanksgiving. See,the turkey part would scare me the most.
Tay did a turkey. You saidyou were pretty proud of your turkey.
Right, Okay, maybe I needsome advice then, because I don't
think I got the turkey thing down. I got some sides down, but
not to turkey. But also,let me ask you, you have have
a fantastic career, things are goingwell. Have you ever been like,
(37:07):
hey, I'm just going to makea call and someone's going to drop the
food off. I've wanted to youknow what, there's places that you can
do that where they basically just sortof like com pick up your Thanksgiving dinner.
And uh, I've been questioning that. But I'm like, come on,
Gabby, you gotta come on,girl. You've got this. You
pull through. You can pull through, But can I tell you this year,
you have a pass. If youdon't feel like I got a pass,
(37:29):
it's a little too pregnant feeling it. Make yourself a sandwich, leave
me alone, Turkey sandwich but boo, and you can put his dressing on
it. Yeah, that's right,Gabby. I appreciate the stopping by a
girl. Thank you, thank youvery much,
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