A few of the foundations of country music are songs and stories of love and love lost. As the genre has evolved and changed over time, those two themes how remained constants.
Lauren Watkins admittedly has a soft spot for sad, heartbreak country ballads. And while there are some excellent ones scattered throughout her debut album, aptly titled The Heartbroken Record, the album is more than just tear-in-your-beer tunes. Watkins delves into the good, bad and ugly of a heartbreak, and takes her listeners on a 17-song journey that captures every emotion comes with a heartbreak, all with the hope of striking a chord with listeners who have been in her shoes.
We chatted with Watkins all about The Heartbroken Record, as well as the importance of collaborating, her busy touring schedule and more!
Pro Country: Your debut album, The Heartbroken Record, comes over a year after the release of your debut EP, Introducing: Lauren Watkins. With that buildup to the album, what emotions were you feeling when release day for The Heartbroken Record was approaching and now that it’s out in the world?
Lauren Watkins: Oh my gosh, a lot of emotions! Mainly excitement and readiness for people to hear more of me. Those first two EPs were introducing me and things I’ve been through, so it felt like the right time to show a bigger picture of who I am and what kind of music I love to make. It’s been very exciting, and also really special to hear how people are liking it and what songs they’re liking. It’s been fun!
PC: “Mama, I Made It” was the first taste of new music this year ahead of the release of The Heartbroken Record. Why did you and your team feel that was the right song to introduce the record and ahead of your Nissan Stadium opening slot for Morgan Wallen?
LW: I felt like that is a really interesting song. People hadn’t heard from me since my EPs last year, and it offered a different perspective than anything I’ve done so far. I’ve shown my gritty side, but I hadn’t really shown a funny, angry, country girl side. I’m also such a sucker for an interesting title, and that one makes you want to know what it’s about. It felt like the coolest one to preview what was coming next.
PC: The last time we talked, you mentioned Sheryl Crow, who is featured on “Set My Heart on Fire,” as a major influence on your sound. What is it like to hear her voice on the song and to share that with a personal hero?
LW: It’s so cool! Seeing my name next to hers; I wish I could take a snapshot of that and show it to college me to show her what was coming. She’s been a hero of mine for a long time. I feel like I’ve studied what she does: the way that she performs, her style and the way she writes songs is so different from anyone else. When I had that song written and I was trying to think of a strong female vocal to have on it with me, she was my first thought. It was really cool to have her believe in me enough to root for me and support me in that way.
PC: The Heartbroken Record features three more duets with Jake Worthington, Carter Faith and Ashley Monroe. How much did you enjoy the collaborative process on the album and what did it mean to have so many people so willing to contribute to the album?
LW: I so believe in the power and need for collaboration. Especially being in Nashville; this town runs on collaboration. We write songs with two or three other people every day. You can’t do anything in this town if you can’t collaborate. All three of the artists you mentioned all felt very natural to collaborate with. Carter and Ashley are friends of mine, and the songs we released together are songs they wrote with me. It only felt right to have them on the songs. Carter and I feel strongly about “Cowboys on Music Row” and Ashley and I wrote about really personal situations that we’ve been through. And Jake, oh my gosh, I’m just such a fan of his voice. Nobody is doing what he’s doing right now. What’s special about it is making music with your friends and interacting with each other’s’ fans.
PC: “Gatlinburg” has come out of the gate strong since the album’s release, and comes equipped with a music video. How much fun did you have shooting the video and bringing the song to life that way?
LW: It was so much fun! That song was so fun to write too. We wrote it in Gatlinburg with some of my closest friends. I wanted the song and video to feel as fun as the emotion behind it, and I think we did that. I love taking writing retreats to Gatlinburg because you have the beautiful, scenic mountains and the rolling hills, but you also have the crazy colors downtown and all the lights. It makes for such good inspiration, and I wanted the video to capture all of that, and I think it did!
PC: “Anybody But You” first appeared on your Introducing: Lauren Watkins EP, and has since gone on to earn over 10 million streams on Spotify alone and millions more across platforms. What has it been like to see the life that the song has had, especially coming from your debut EP?
LW: It’s funny, you can try to predict, but you never know which song is going to take off. I always heard people say that, but now that I’ve gotten to see it, it’s so true. I probably wouldn’t have guessed that “Anybody But You” would be the one, but now it makes so much sense. We wrote from a super honest place. I was fresh out of college when we wrote it, and it shows with things like the Sigma Chi t-shirt line. That’s what was normal for me and my friends. So many people live that life. Even if it’s not a Sigma Chi t-shirt, I think every young girl can see themselves in that.
PC: As fans of sad songs and ballads, “Too Much to Dream” is one of our favorite songs on The Heartbroken Record, and is a song you co-wrote with Forrest Finn and Nicole Galyon. Can you take us in the room and talk about how the song came together?
LW: I love that song, and I’m glad it’s not getting forgotten since it’s the last song on the record [laughs].
That song was a lot of fun to write. That was one of the first times I wrote with Nicole, and Forrest and I had written together a good bit. I remember it taking a minute for us to really get into the song. Nicole had the title, and it took us a minute, but we realized we had to lean into an old school country, vibey place. Once we had the hook, it all came out from there. It sounds so cool, vibey and dreamy, but if you listen to the lyrics, it’s really sad. It’s a classic story of a girl going out and drinking to forget someone. It’s sad, but we’ve all done that before.
PC: Your bio mentions that heartbreak songs are your favorites. With an album title like The Heartbroken Record, what are your favorite heartbreak country songs?
LW: I have so many! This is such a cliché answer, but “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is the country heartbreak song. Everybody knows that song for a reason.
“Crazy” by Patsy Cline too. Her literally just saying “I’m crazy for loving you.” I love things like that. I love honesty and natural emotions that people put into cool words.
I think Miranda Lambert is the queen of good, sad country songs, but she does them in a fun way. She’s not just writing ballads, she has songs like “Gunpowder & Lead” that were fun, crazy songs.
PC: You had a hand in writing all 17 songs on The Heartbroken Record. How much pride do you take in that distinction and the relationships you’ve made in songwriting rooms in Nashville?
LW: I feel very strongly about songwriting, and I feel lucky to get to work with so many great songwriters. Luke Laird is somebody I’ve looked up to for a long time, and I remember him saying that half of the ticket to success is being able to recognize good: recognizing when somebody else has a good line and putting it into a song. Instead of thinking “me, me, me” and whatever I say, you have to be able to collaborate, share experiences with other people and come to whatever is the best line.
I also feel strongly about sharing my experiences. I know that outside cuts are a huge deal for songwriters, but for my first album, I was very passionate about writing every song because I wanted it to come from my heart and have it be authentic to me and the things that I’ve been through.
PC: What do you hope listeners take away from The Heartbroken Record after listening all the way through?
LW: I hope people can relate to the record. I hope to give them some relief and let them know that maybe we’re all thinking, feeling and going through the same things. I hope that it gives them permission to maybe not feel so crazy [laughs]. At the same time, it’s doing that for me too, because I get to get all these things off my chest. When I sing them and I see people singing the words back to me, it shows me that I’m not crazy because they feel the same way. It makes me feel connected to people, and that’s really special.
PC: You have a bunch of dates laid out for the rest of the year, including dates with Maddie & Tae, Corey Kent and overseas shows with Morgan Wallen. How much are you looking forward to staying busy on the road and bringing your music to new fans around the world?
LW: I’m so excited! I love touring. Especially getting to tour so heavily with the album and people hearing it for the first time. Getting to see people’s reactions in real time surprises me every night. I go out there every night not knowing if anybody is going to know any of the songs, but every night, it surprises me that there’s a song that people sing along to. I always think, “how do you know this?” [laughs].
PC: With The Heartbroken Record now released, what do you have planned for the rest of 2024?
LW: A lot of touring! I’m still writing a ton, so I’ll be working on new music. We’ll see what happens there, but I’m focusing on touring, promoting the album and enjoying seeing it do its thing.
Pro Country 