Miranda Lambert recently released 'Postcard from Texas,' and the country star has revealed why she decided to return to her Texas roots for this album. Discover her favorite songs from the new record, her friendship with Lainey Wilson, why country music is shining so brightly now and more!
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00:00People say, what do you tell your younger self?
00:01I think I would just tell her, like, you're going to be heard.
00:04Stop and take a breath.
00:05Enjoy the ride a little more.
00:06Like, instead of just plowing ahead.
00:09Hey, y'all.
00:09It's Miranda Lambert, and this is Billboard News.
00:14I'm so excited for this album in particular.
00:17Does it feel like kind of a new chapter for you
00:19in terms of, you know, new music and kind of new album
00:22and new label and just, like, kind of new presentation?
00:25Like, how does it feel on the eve of release?
00:28It feels exactly like that.
00:30I mean, I went back home to Texas
00:32to make this record on purpose.
00:34I hadn't made a record in Texas since I was 18,
00:36and that was my very first little independent studio
00:39album.
00:40But it was the starting of a journey,
00:41and it was the starting of putting on tape, like,
00:45all the inspiration that I had gathered up until that point.
00:48So I felt like I want to do that again.
00:50I want that same fire, and I want to go back home and sort
00:53of pull from all the inspiration that I've
00:56used for the last two decades in this business.
00:58But it all started at home for me,
00:59so I just felt like that was the right thing
01:02to do at this point in my life.
01:04And I do have a new team, a new label, Republic,
01:07and they lead with art.
01:08That makes me so excited, because that's
01:10what I've always done.
01:11But you don't always have the support every time
01:14with a team that leads with art.
01:16So this has been just kind of lit a new fire for me, really.
01:19So what was the kind of aha moment where you said,
01:22you know what, Texas, like, let's go
01:24back to where it all started?
01:26Like, was that kind of a gradual decision
01:28or was that kind of a spark of like, oh, this should be it.
01:30It's going to be stories from my home state.
01:34Like, how did that all come together?
01:36It kind of was an aha moment.
01:37Also, I turned 40 in November.
01:40And my friend Gwen, she's been singing
01:42back up with me for 13 years.
01:44She was like, what do you want to do for your birthday?
01:45And I was like, I don't know.
01:48She was like, where do you want to turn 40?
01:50Where do you want to start this whole new chapter
01:52in your 40s?
01:53She said, do you want to go to Texas?
01:54And I said, yeah, I'd like that, to turn 40 at home.
01:57So we had my birthday party at Billy Bob's, Texas,
02:00which is like the biggest honk-a-tonk in the world.
02:02I've been playing there for years.
02:04Grew up going to concerts there, so we did it on a Monday.
02:06That's when they were closed.
02:07But I think that was sort of sparked something.
02:11Like, you know what?
02:13Maybe this is just a full circle time for me,
02:15especially artistically.
02:16I think maybe that was the beginning of the aha moment
02:18of like, I'm going to go record in Texas.
02:20Or at least try it and see what happens.
02:22So in terms of these songs, like, they just, like I said,
02:25they're such a blast to listen to.
02:27It sounds like they were so much fun to write and put
02:30together these stories.
02:31I'm thinking about like, Wrangler, and Alamone,
02:33and like, all of these songs, especially
02:35in the first half of the album.
02:36It's just like, biting, and fun, and just like, very free.
02:40Like, what was that songwriting process like?
02:43I pulled some songs from, like, old songs
02:46that I had kind of laying around and never
02:48really found their home.
02:49I also just reached out to all my friends.
02:51I mean, I live in Nashville, and I split time between Texas.
02:55I always say, half my heart's in Texas, half's in Tennessee.
02:59But I have so many amazing friends
03:00that write songs every day.
03:02And so I reached out and was like,
03:04y'all send me some stuff.
03:05I'm inspired, and I want to be inspired.
03:07And so I've cut several outside songs on this record,
03:10and then pulled some that I had written a while back
03:13and just didn't land anywhere yet.
03:16Here's one thing that she learned,
03:19Wrangler's safe forever tonight.
03:23I think maybe my favorite, like, kind of moment on the album
03:26is that in the second half, the one-two punch of,
03:29I hate love songs and No Man's Land.
03:31I feel like they pair so well together.
03:33They're so affecting.
03:34Like, I'm curious about both of those songs.
03:35Like, how did they come together,
03:36and how did they end up side by side on the track list?
03:39I Hate Love Songs, I wrote with John Randall,
03:41who's my co-producer also, and Jack Ingram.
03:44We did a project called The Marfa Tapes,
03:47probably my favorite project I've ever been part of,
03:49where we just went out in the middle of West Texas.
03:51We had written songs out there for, like, seven years,
03:53and we took one microphone and engineered it,
03:55and one take of everything.
03:57Shot a tequila in one take, and that was it.
03:59That was the record, and it was just really
04:01the most raw, organic project I've ever been part of.
04:05But one of the songs from one of those trips
04:07was I Hate Love Songs.
04:08And I think we wrote it, like, six years ago,
04:11but we just never kind of got to a place
04:14where I felt like I could put on a record.
04:16And I knew we were always missing a gem, though.
04:17We'd always go back to it.
04:18Like, I was like, I really should cut that song.
04:21And this record felt like the home for that song, for sure.
04:25And writing it with those two fits right in the pocket
04:27of what I was trying to do.
04:29In No Man's Land, I wrote with my friend Luke Dick.
04:31I call him my cosmic okey friend,
04:34because he's not of this world.
04:35He's insanely talented.
04:37He's from Oklahoma.
04:38He had that idea, and he sent me, like,
04:40just he had a little rough idea of it.
04:42And I just thought, wow, what a beautiful sentiment,
04:44because that title could be taken so many ways.
04:48It didn't feel like a song that should be written
04:50from a warning standpoint.
04:52It was more of an invite to love me where I am
04:54and come with me.
04:55And while being wild, I can still love you and be in this.
04:59So it's one of my favorite songs on the record.
05:00♪ Wide open world in your hands ♪
05:03♪ She's no man's land ♪
05:06This record, to me, it just felt easy,
05:10because all the sounds that I love in a place that I love.
05:14And I'm inviting people to get a little taste
05:17of the country music that I grew up on,
05:19because there's so much of that on this record.
05:20♪ Man of faith ♪
05:23♪ Every year, September, I come back this way ♪
05:27How did the deal with Republic and Dig Loud
05:30kind of come together?
05:31Like, what won you over about their vision?
05:33And you mentioned, like, just championing art,
05:35but, like, what was it specifically that said, like,
05:37okay, this is the right home?
05:38They have big dreams.
05:39They literally, you know, sitting there talking to Monty,
05:43it was just like I was talking to someone I've known forever
05:45and he's just cool and down to earth.
05:47And we were talking about music
05:49and having a couple of drinks.
05:51Before I knew it, we'd been together three hours
05:53and it wasn't a pitch, it was a conversation.
05:55And it made me feel really comfortable.
05:58And Big Loud, I just love what they're doing over there.
06:00I think, like I said, they lead with art,
06:02but they do things in an unconventional way.
06:05And they're all about just talking about the music
06:09and digging in and figuring out how to get the vision
06:12of the artist out there in the world in the right way.
06:14That's just been really inspiring to me.
06:16Now I'm a founder of Big Loud Texas with Big Loud.
06:19We're brand new,
06:20but I'm just already loving that journey so much.
06:22To be a tiny piece of the puzzle of all the music
06:26that comes out of our state that has affected,
06:28I mean, Willie Nelson's worldwide.
06:30He just happened to start in Texas, you know?
06:33So if I could be a tiny part of that for our future artists,
06:36I'm so pumped about that.
06:38And I feel like my role in that is just to, you know,
06:41I've lived a lot of it.
06:42You know, there's some things only artists know,
06:45like, you know, what it feels like
06:46when your song finally goes number one,
06:49when you're in the last day of August during festival season,
06:52you're like, I'm quitting.
06:53I can't do this anymore.
06:55You know, it's like,
06:56there's certain things that only we know how to speak to.
06:58And so I'm taking that really seriously.
07:01I love the song with Lainey.
07:03It feels like you guys have really developed
07:04like a really great, like,
07:06creative collaboration and friendship.
07:07Like, how did that, how did she kind of come into your life
07:10and you guys started working together?
07:12I love her.
07:13I love watching her star rise and seeing her on her journey.
07:17And she's just so genuine and, you know,
07:20I keep saying authentic, but that's what I'm drawn to.
07:22And I've just texted her out of the blue
07:24and it happened to be her birthday.
07:25I didn't know that at the time.
07:26It was like, I just love what you're doing.
07:28And I want to be your friend
07:29and I want to hang out and collaborate.
07:31And that's exactly what we've done since then.
07:33That was almost four years ago, I think.
07:35So just proud of her and Good Horses.
07:38What a great song.
07:39♪ You just need to know ♪
07:44♪ Good Horses come home. ♪
07:46It was such a collaborative effort.
07:47It feels like a little bit of all of our story,
07:49which is her and Luke Dick and I and my cosmic cookie.
07:53Yeah, there you go.
07:54We were at my farm riding on the porch.
07:56I told Lainey, I said, we had planned a ride
07:59and I was really adamant about doing it at the farm,
08:01but my secret weapon was I wanted her to be able to rest,
08:04you know, cause I know the look,
08:06she's going 90 to nothing cause it's all happening.
08:09And so she got to the farm and I said,
08:12first you're going to eat a cheeseburger,
08:13then you're going to take a nap
08:14and then we can write a song.
08:16And that's exactly what happened.
08:17She just needed a little rest and I could tell.
08:21And I think that's one reason we got Good Horses
08:23is because she got to take a reprieve and a breath.
08:27I'm going to tell my boss,
08:28like that's what I need to do before I start working.
08:30I need a cheeseburger. I need a cheeseburger.
08:31I need a nap.
08:32I'm going to take a nap.
08:33Then I'll see about what happens.
08:37That sounds wonderful.
08:38That's really cool.
08:39I mean, it must be so cool to see her,
08:40like even the past like six months or so,
08:42she just keeps shooting up and up and up.
08:44I mean, especially over the past two years,
08:45but like even it feels like a new album came out.
08:48It feels like she's just on like a rocket ship right now.
08:50Yeah, we need her.
08:50We need her in country music.
08:51She's going to be a staple for us.
08:53And I'm so proud that it's her.
08:54At Billboard just had the songs of the summer chart wrap up
08:58for the second year in a row,
08:59the top two songs on the songs of the summer chart
09:02were country songs.
09:04We're in such a boom period right now for country music,
09:08just crossing over into the mainstream
09:10and really feeling its presence
09:12just in all of popular music.
09:14Like what has it been like for you to experience?
09:15I feel like country has a lot of waves over the years.
09:19I'm lucky because I wrote it out.
09:21I'm still here, but it's just, it's had a lot of changes.
09:24And right now it feels like we are front and center
09:27in the world.
09:29Country music is a fun place to be
09:32and people want to be part of it.
09:33And I don't care how people get here.
09:35I'm just glad they're here.
09:36And I'm glad that, you know,
09:38the music that I've loved and dedicated my life to
09:41is reaching like a younger audience, a broader audience,
09:45a lot of overseas.
09:46Like, I just feel like country music is shining
09:49its brightest light right now.
09:51I love seeing all the different kinds.
09:52I think it's fine.
09:53We've got something for everybody.
09:55And I think that's the cool part about it.
09:57Country radio is still so dynamic and still so important,
10:02but then you see like streaming playlists
10:03and there's just more, and including your songs,
10:06like you just see them rising higher and higher
10:08and getting millions and millions of streams.
10:10As a fan, it's been really cool
10:11to kind of see that gradual change.
10:13I'm really happy that there's so many ways
10:15to hear music now.
10:16I think that's a great thing.
10:18I mean, it's overwhelming at times as an artist
10:20of like, when am I supposed to,
10:22do I still make whole records?
10:24Like, I'm so romantic and old school
10:25about making an album, a project, you know?
10:28But I also know that like,
10:29there's so many platforms to hear music
10:32and the more, the merrier, it seems like.
10:34That's also freeing.
10:36I'm getting used to the idea myself of like,
10:38let's just put it out there.
10:39I mean, like, I have so many different outlets
10:41with the Annie's or Marva Tapes
10:42or my song with Lainey or whatever it is,
10:45that it doesn't have to wait on a shelf
10:46until it's turned now.
10:47It just feels like there's music everywhere.
10:50Go listen.
10:51And that's awesome.
10:52You're absolutely right that people experience your music
10:54as like sit down, whole record.
10:56They also, I'm sure, experience it
10:58in 10 second clips on TikTok.
11:00I know, and that stresses me out.
11:02I'm like, well, dang it.
11:03Why did I spend three minutes?
11:04I mean, why spend all that time writing three minutes song
11:05and y'all gonna listen 10 seconds?
11:07Dang it.
11:07These kids these days, I get so like frustrated.
11:11But I mean, don't get me wrong.
11:12Postcards from Texas is like 43 minutes long.
11:14Y'all have 43 minutes.
11:16You could listen top to bottom just once
11:18and then you can do whatever you want.
11:19But I do think there's a beauty in that
11:21and in the meetings that I've been having with the label
11:23and been learning so much about how much the business changes
11:27and it changes every day.
11:28And it's so different than,
11:30I mean, when my first couple of records came out,
11:32there wasn't social media at all.
11:35So hearing how fast paced it all goes
11:38and all the things that artists have to do now
11:42to get their music out there,
11:43but then there's so many more people that see it.
11:45I'm loving learning that.
11:47But I did hear that people are buying CDs and buying vinyls
11:52and while they stream, they're reading the packaging
11:55and reading the credits and smelling the paper.
11:57And that's exactly why I do this
12:01is because of those feelings.
12:02I remember waiting in line to buy my Dixie Chicks fly CD
12:06and then couldn't wait to get my hands on the credits
12:09and feel that silky paper from the CD, you know?
12:11So I feel like it's coming back around
12:14to like maybe all the ways to get music matter
12:17because there is a physical touch element
12:19that's important too.
12:20You've talked about in the lead up to this album
12:23having something of a chip on your shoulder.
12:25To me, like you are a capital G great artist
12:28with nothing to prove in terms of your legacy
12:31and what you've accomplished
12:33within and outside of country music.
12:35I was curious about just feeling like that,
12:38like feeling like you have a chip on your shoulder
12:39in terms of is that, you know, starting with a new team
12:42and starting with a new perspective
12:44or is that something that you always have
12:46entering a new era of just like,
12:47hey, I gotta shake people awake
12:49and like let them pay attention to this.
12:52I think it's less of a chip on my shoulder now.
12:54I think, I mean, at 19 and 20,
12:56we all kind of have a chip on our shoulder, right?
12:58Like we're just, we're out to,
12:59we've got something to prove and something to say
13:02and we want to be heard.
13:03And, you know, I think I spent a little bit
13:05of my early career with like my chip on one shoulder
13:08and a heart on a sleeve, you know what I mean?
13:10But I think that's part of being in your 20s
13:12and being an artist
13:13and or starting your career of any career,
13:15like really wanting to put your stake in the ground.
13:19But I think now I just, I'm open.
13:21I have accomplished a lot of the stuff
13:24that I set out to do,
13:25but I still feel like I have so far to go.
13:28But I don't think I have to, you know,
13:29people say, what do you tell your younger self?
13:31And it's like, I think I would just tell her like,
13:33you're gonna be heard.
13:34Stop and take a breath.
13:36Enjoy the ride a little more.
13:37Like instead of just plowing ahead, like,
13:39but I'm still a horse with blinders in a lot of ways.
13:42You know, I still just kind of make sure
13:45that I don't compare to what other people's journeys are
13:48or what other people are doing.
13:49I have to stay true to my heart and my gut
13:51on my path in my career
13:53and what I'm supposed to still be chasing.
13:56But I definitely, it's less chippy than it used to be.
13:59Okay, that's good.
14:00But I still have revenge songs on this record.
14:02So, I mean, it's still there enough.
14:04You know, that's very much a core part of who I am.
14:07So I won't lose it ever.
14:09I love that.
14:10Well, Miranda, this has been awesome.
14:11Congrats on postcards from Texas and everything.
14:14Like I can't wait to see what the reaction is
14:16to this album and just what people gravitate toward
14:19and what you do next.
14:20Well, thank you so much.
14:21Appreciate it.
14:22Yeah.