The journey of a song can sometimes be an interesting one.
In the case of Maddie Lenhart’s new single, “For Cryin’ Out Loud,” it made pit stops on two separate floors before being released into the world last week.
What started as a deeply personal concept on a friend and co-writer’s living room floor transitioned into putting the finishing touches on the song on her bedroom floor months later. It’s perhaps fitting, though, as Lenhart immediately paints a lonesome picture in the opening lines of the song, and continues to deliver a fittingly fragile vocal for the song’s nearly four-minute run time. It just seems right that the song was spawned there.
We chatted with Lenhart all about “For Cryin’ Out Loud,” as well as her lifelong musical aspirations, immersing herself in Nashville, a year full of new music and more!
Pro Country: You come from a musical family and had a very early start to both singing and songwriting. What was it about both crafts, and expressing yourself in those ways, that connected with you so early in your life?
Maddie Lenhart: Music has always been second nature to me. Because I’ve been singing and making up songs since I was so little, I don’t think I can say there was ever a conscious decision that music was going to be how I expressed myself; it just became that naturally. I definitely grew up immersed in music, and it’s just always moved me in ways nothing else can.
PC: You mentioned in a past interview that your earliest influences were strong female artists like Shania Twain, The Chicks and Christina Aguilera. What was it about their presence and music that struck a chord with you?
ML: I think being young and knowing that I wanted to be a singer, I just looked up to women in music so much. Each of the above artists are such powerhouses in their music and in their energy, and I think even when I was a kid, I recognized their authenticity. Of course now that I’m older, I understand their impact (as well as every other female artist who has inspired me/influenced me in some way) is even bigger than I even knew then.
PC: After graduating college, you moved to Nashville and began immersing yourself in its scene. What emotions came with moving hundreds of miles from home from your native Fauquier, Virginia to Nashville?
ML: It’s so crazy looking back, because I kind of just decided I was going to do it and didn’t look back. At the time, I didn’t think of myself as brave or courageous, I just knew that this was a move I knew I needed to make if I wanted to give my dreams a fair chance. I of course knew that I would be homesick and miss my family, but I think the overall emotions associated with moving to a new city, and knowing no one, all kind of hit me further down the line.
PC: After taking a job in the industry, you decided to quit the job during Covid to pursue a music career. Can you talk about making that decision and the weight that came with it?
ML: Absolutely. My start to Nashville is definitely not conventional. I moved here and almost immediately took a job in the music industry (PRO Licensing), because I naively thought this was my way to get my foot in the door in the songwriting community. I knew no one, and really knew nothing about the music industry, so I went into the job pretty blind. After spending some time at a desk and realizing that the work I was doing was so removed from what I moved to Nashville for, I eventually found the courage to quit & re-focus. The Covid-19 pandemic allowed me the time and space to come to this realization, and once I put in my two-weeks, I secured a couple side-jobs and promised myself that I wouldn’t give up on making songwriting work for me.
PC: After making that decision, what emotions were you feeling as you were preparing to release your debut single, “Sober”?
ML: Just pure gratitude & excitement. I had been writing in Nashville for years before I found the courage to release my own song as an artist. It felt like I was living in a dream coming true.
PC: “Sober” hit the ground running on streaming platforms, and to date has earned well over 300,000 streams on Spotify alone. As an artist releasing their debut single, what was it like to see the response “Sober” earned and the life that it has had?
ML: There are truly no words to explain how I felt (and still feel!). The support and encouragement I felt after releasing “Sober” completely changed my trajectory. Despite the fact all I’ve ever wanted to do is be an artist, I felt like I was behind, and had maybe missed my chance. I released “Sober,” as a visibility play for Nashville. I wanted to further my songwriting career and felt like having music out would help me network and move my songwriting career along. Of course, I hoped that releasing music would develop into more for me as an artist, but I had no expectations. How supported I felt 100% gave me the confidence that I needed to really pour my heart into my artistry.
PC: You closed the second half of 2024 with two original singles and releasing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” After spending years writing hundreds of songs, many recorded by other artists, how exciting has it been for you to build your catalog?
ML: It’s a dream come true! There are thousands of incredible songs that get written in Nashville that never see the light of day, so I am just so grateful for every song that gets to have a life outside of our notebooks & Google Docs.
PC: Why did you feel that your new single, “For Cryin’ Out Loud,” was the right song to follow those 2024 releases and kick off 2025?
ML: It’s hard to ever know what’s “right” with releasing music, but I knew “For Cryin’ Out Loud” was a story & message that I wanted to tell, and ultimately just decided to release at the top of the year.
PC: “For Cryin’ Out Loud” is a heartbreaker that you wrote with Sam Blasko. Can you take us in the room and talk about how the song came together?
ML: I had been going through a really tough time and felt like I just did a really good job at not showing it. I think a lot of times, especially in this industry, when you have such an intense work ethic, compartmentalizing emotions becomes a natural coping mechanism. I had kind of reached a point where I just felt like I needed to break down, and I wanted to tell the story of how that feels. It’s an important message that the “strong” friends aren’t always the “strong” friends, and that just because someone can appear like they have it together doesn’t mean they aren’t hanging on by a thread. I pitched this super personal idea to a trusted friend & co-writer, Sam Blasko. Sam and I started writing this song on her living room floor, and I sat with it for a few months before finishing it on my bedroom floor. Something about the floor with this song [laughs].
PC: As lovers of sad songs, “For Cryin’ Out Loud” is one of our favorite songs of the year so far. As someone who has also professed a love for sad, heartbreak songs (and created a Spotify playlist full of them as well), can you give us a few of your favorite sad country songs?
ML: Ooh – sad songs are my bread & butter. This is a tough one because I have so many favorites. In the realm of heartbreak specifically, a few perfect country songs in my opinion would be: “Memory I Don’t Mess With” – Lee Brice, “What If I Never Get Over You” – Lady A, “Better Man” – Little Big Town, “A Home” – The Chicks, & “Like We Never Loved At All” – Tim McGraw & Faith Hill.
PC: You’ve had the opportunity to play writer’s rounds at legendary songwriting venues like The Bluebird Café and The Listening Room. As someone who has spent so many years writing songs, what has it meant to you to play your original songs in such iconic venues?
ML: It means the world. I just truly am so grateful for every opportunity I have to share my music, and to get to play at such iconic venues is a blessing I’ll never take for granted.
PC: With “For Cryin’ Out Loud” now released, what do you have planned for the rest of 2025?
ML: Aside from playing lots of shows, I have a ton of new music coming out this year! I am releasing some of my favorite songs I’ve ever written, and I am beyond excited & grateful to share them!
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