Episode 22 - Lauren Alaina (11-15-16)

You do not understand. I used to going to see all the time because I could afford it, Like That's why I would go to Cecy's. What did you do at Ceci's Pizza? Dropped pizza on the floor every day of my life? I was the worst. I don't know why they I was just nice to the customers, so I think they kept me around because I was friendly.

Were you a waitress? Sort of? They don't really have waitresses. Um. I stuck to the buffet and then when people would like make special orders, I would care, I would carry them out. I dropped more than I delivered, honestly, how long did you work at CC's probably about a year. That's a long time. How old were you so, like your first paycheck job? Yeah, that's called first page. Jobs are awesome. I worked there when I auditioned for American Idol. That was my job. So as you were auditioning or

as you're waiting, or like you work there until American Idol. Yeah, well I've never really quit, so I guess I still kind of worked there. Never resigned now if I need to go back and learning that. We're just talking about our spray tans. You you just got here on my I have a spray tan lady who comes every week. And I'm telling you got upgrade because you go to a strip mall plays go away chain, you go to it chain. My lady spray the perfectly. She knows like

my armpits. He it's my contours now if I want them. I feel cheating though if I do that, because like I go to the gym and I work all and I feel like if someone paints abbs on me, why should I even work out? I totally just got abbs for the first time. Who did it on you? Like like I didn't? By doing a lot of working out. Oh you mean you literally got a Yeah, I mean they're not like I just have the outer line and then like the middle line. I don't really the first

time in a long time, you can see stelling muscles. Yeah, that's exciting. I'm so excited because and you're shrinking like you are ever and again, I actually see Lauren more than I see most artists because again Laura and I want to Lauren's birthday party last week. I don't go to parties, I don't go to people. I don't get to artist stuff. But like, Lauren's a friend of mine, and so I've watched you shrink over the best four months or so. I thinks I'm trying. I'm almost my

goal away, eleven pounds away. What's your goal away? Say? Oh, you can, but if you can't expect me not to follow up, it's every bit of a hunt. Your pounds so pounds great. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I feel way better than I did. For sure. I just, um, I had severe I had an eating disorder for a really long time, and I had a really bad relationship with food and exercise in any of that. Um So I got help about three years ago and I gained like so much weight. I mean, I was, um,

I was pounds underweight. I waged. I'll tell you, I'm not going to tell you how much I weighed, but I'll tell you that I weighed thirty pounds less than I do right now when I was my worst, like my sickest, and so I just had to completely give up that lifestyle of like dieting or whatever and just kind of stripped myself of it. So I gained quite a bit of weight. And then I've I've finally got into a place where I'm like, I can do this,

and I work out like six days a week. I let myself have one day off and I just eat really clean. Like of the time. I did not have any cookie cake. And my birthday party, and you know what, here's the thing too, it's your birthday party. I was waiting for the first person to cut the cookie cakes so I can have a being nobody cut it, and then we were there and then how to go it? Did it work? And I never got cookie cake because nobody cut the cookie cake and I couldn't be the

first one to get into Lawrence. Cookie cake you should have. So I'm gonna say that. So Amy my co host on the morning show, and we've talked about this publicly, so she wouldn't care me talking about it. Should blieve me for a long time, that's what okay. And so she would talk about how she actually gained weight while she had blimia, which it's all different for every person. You know, when you have eating disorder, it's different every person.

And you know, for her there were emotional reasons that she was doing it, and you know, she's spoken about it, and it's brave to talk about it eating disorder. But it's also something that I've learned that a lot of people go through and because people don't talk about it, they feel very alone until someone does talk about it. Have you felt that since you've talked about it, more people have come out and said thank you so much for at least shining a light on something that I'm

going through privately. Yeah, I um, it was really scary for me to speak out about it, like i'd never, um, I never. My dad didn't know when I spoke out about it. My dad did not know that I had had him eating this. Did you go to him first and say, Hey, I'm about to talk about this no, I didn't because and I normally would, but I was just in this interview and they were talking to me about how I how I seemed so confident and how they really admire that and what do I do to

be confident? And I was literally sitting there thinking, oh, my lord, if you only knew, like, I'm an extremely insecure person about certain things like when I'm on stage or in an interview or in my element, I am super confident. But if I'm having to try on dresses for the c m as, that's like a nightmare for me. Um, so I was. I didn't want to say, oh, I'm like super confident, and it just came him out. I was like, well, I have believe mea for five years,

and I almost like I was really sick. I got really sick, and that's the only reason I got better. Um, it's because you said that. And then no, no, no no, no, oh no, I would have never for admitted it when I was sick. What was the turning point? My hair started falling out because you just were so unhealthy and I looked sick, and UM, believe me. I mean, you know it's not it's throwing up your face. So it's not good for a singer, and it really messed up

my vocal cords. Um, and I went to the I was having severe vocal core problems because of lots of reasons. I never took voice lessons or learned how to properly warm up my voice or how to take care of it. And I was throwing up five times a day or whatever I was doing. So it was just And I was on American idol where seeing twelve hours a day, like they just make you saying all day on every single So it's just I was young. I didn't I

wasn't taking care of myself. And it's a muscle, and muscles if you don't rest them, if you don't warm them up or take care of them, you know, they give up. And so I went to the doctor, the vocal court doctor, and I had lost um like forty five pounds from the time I was on idol. Wow, Um, I lost like forty five pounds and about two months because of idol. Do you think and the pressures of idol. Uh, I hadn't believe me of before I went on idol.

So it wasn't an idol, but I had only done it a couple of times when I would eat really bad. I got to the point where I was eating healthy, healthy food and throwing it. I was like, really, it was sad, and I had management at the time that um put pressure on you that I need to feel like at that age. But you're a kid, you know. I mean, you're a kid and you don't listen to any of the Sometimes I still feel like a kid and I'm twenty two. You like, it's so weird, Laren.

Here's the weird thing about you is that I feel like you're me, Like I feel like you and I can have a conversation because but you're like kids do the darnest things. It's like you're we're holding out Holy crown. You're so much older than that, and like conversation and like person. You are one of the warmest, nicest people. And I don't warm up to people quick at all. I have that reputation. I don't know if you know, but I have the reputation I'm not warming up to

anybody ever. But you're so warm and so wonderful. Oh, You're just like a pillow of bubble gum. I don't want to get in like laying the pillow and into it all of Yeah, you haven't called a pillow of bubble gum. I've never not the first time. I'll never forget it. Let me talk about this for a second. I've been I go Blue Apron, who's a sponsor of our podcast here, and so not all ingredients are created equal,

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could be you know, Japanese ramen noodles, all right. Where I grew up in Arganist, we say Raymond noodles, and I would say that all the time, so do I and everybody on the show may fun of me. Listen, We're from the South, wrong, right, It's not ramen. I mean it's not, it's not. I know. And I said that one day and people were like, why are you

saying Raymond? I went to a lot of accent school, like I took speech mythology for three years because I knew that for me to work in broadcasting, I would never lose all of my accent, but I could lose it. I don't feel like you have a super strong act because you have a super strong accent. That's what I did. So do you sound like me? I sound exactly like because my eyes were like this and then there's no geese, all hunting, fishing and eating. Yes, I sounded like you.

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Here here we go. This is so just going back to a tweet, and it's actually climbed since you tweeted this last thing. Did you know where your song is? It's the highest ever write a song. But Lauren tweeted she was you were playing a show and everybody had their phones up and you were like five felt singles and hard work and determination and I've hit the top

twenty five in country radio. And I was like, holy crap, I'm so proud of this tweet, and so I retweeted it, but I was like, I still remember, I remember it. I don't remember tweets. Tweets fly by like a bird in the sky. And I was like, I'm so proud of you. We spent and I spent a lot of time in my life, either here or on the radio show or speaking to people and talking about adversity and how you fail. It all depends on what you do next.

And you wrote it in your tweet, five failed singles, and you just kept on and now you have a song at twenty one and it's still climbing, and it's still climbing. I can't believe it. I'm so proud of you and proud for you, and so here you are speak on it. Thank you. I think if I hadn't had the first five fail, I don't know that there would have been that sixth one, you know what I mean.

It's like I um, I feel like until now in my career, I've always almost been there, you know, Like I got second on Idol, I've been up for a few awards. I won one award like on UM one of the award shows, but it's not the one. They don't have it anymore. So it was just like one of that that's not the best of word to win on the show that doesn't exist, you know what I mean. It's like nice just go from Georgia goes to It was the A M, A C. A S or something

and it was in Vegas. They had it for like three or four years Best New Artists UM and I I don't know, I just feel like I've almost had hits and I've almost this, and I almost had that, and it's always been kind of like I feel. I feel so encouraged that finally after I would I would have done another ten years of ten more failed singles like it. There was never there was never going to be a point where I was like, Okay, well this

just isn't gonna work. Um, But I just I'm so excited, and I would go through all of that a million times to have pictures like that picture and to have a room full of lots like that and people singing it back to me and not having to teach it, like they actually, you're okay, this is how but they like sing it already. You know, I do this really cool broken down part in the middle. I've road. I like how you call your own part cool. She's like,

it is a baller. It is awesome because that's when the lights go up, and that's when we have that moment of like, oh my gosh, and it's just gotten better and better, even in the smallest venues or the biggest It's like people singing the verse to your song, not just the chorus is like the best thing ever. And I just I'm excited. I've had a crazy few years, you know, a lot of personal battles and a lot of things that I had to kind of sort out,

and I feel like everything happens for a reason. It's crazy, how I mean, at one point I was like, what is I've just I've got it wrong. I'm not It's not gonna happen. And I don't accused just because nothing was happening in the right way that you would expected it too. Were you just completely confused? Yeah? I mean I hate to say this, but I don't can really be confusing? Well, yeah, because when you were on it, it was a huge show. Everybody knew the biggest writings

ever you were. You came off that super famous, and as a kid, when you're super famous, I bet it's like the world is right here. Yeah, and you're excited and then your singles don't work and then things don't happen the way that you think they're going to. But it was the best thing that ever happened to me, I mean, losing those singles and realizing I'm actually not like important. We're all important in our own way, but it I was not ready as a sixteen year old girl,

or for what I have now. Were you ready for Idle and what happened to Yeah? I mean I didn't. I just try it out for my favorite TV show. You know, I love to saying I love to write music. It was my favorite show. Where did you audition Nashville? So you came? You aren't living in Nashville the time. Now, I'm from Rossville, Georgia. It's right outside of like Chattanoogas. It's about a two and a half hour drive, So you drive to Nashville. Did you do the thing where

you waited for hours? Because the show was huge, the hours and hours and hours we waited. What was your process? Because I've been to auditions and you go up with other people and you three or four people and you sing in front of the table. Is that how it happened? So you horrible and and it's an arena full of them and you're hearing a thousand people singing because they have booths set up, but all that's separating them is

like this curtain. And oh my gosh, I was certain I wasn't going to make it because in Chattanooga they have is like Chattanooga Idol, and if you win it, you don't have to wait in line. And the guy who I got like fourth place and then yeah, like the fourth or fifth place I didn't even make it in They're like, isn't that fellars Um? But thanks chattauga Um the guy who won. I watched him not make it, like I watched him not make it, and I was like,

that's funny. And I was like, didn't motivate you, no at all, not a little bit. I was like crying, and I was like, I want to go home. I was a kid, how old? Yeah. Mom was like, you're not, like this is all you've talked about your whole life. You at least have to try. You can't. Your mom lived you the whole time. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean because I was a minor, so she stayed with me, she loved you, and because she's the best. Yes, I mean,

it really is like the best moment ever. So you sing in front of them and they say immediately you're good or do they go no immediately, And no one else in my group made it. They called me forward and everybody else kept sin away, and I was like, so what happens then? So then they take you back in this room and get all kinds of information from you, and then you have to go through like three more rounds. But they just keep like that day it has been.

It's it's almost been seven years. I think one more round that day and then another day. It's like four days total before you actually get in front of the judges. Whenever you got in front of I'm assuming it was Simon Paul and Randy. No, I was the first year after them. Uh it was Randy, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler. Oh wow, are you on the Jennifer Steven Tyler? Why? I didn't know that. Okay, so you go up in your front of do you even know who Steven Tyler?

It was who I was most excited about. My dad like raised me on all rock music, So that was like the I didn't even care about. I mean I did, but I was like, and he like, after my audition, which I didn't know until I watched it, said that I was going to win and I was his favorite the whole season, And there was like, no nothing cooler than that for me because I loved him so much and I got to sing with him in my audition.

I was dead last. I was the very last contestant Nashville to audition, and so I brought my I said, since I'm last, can I bring my family? Into me. Stephen's basically what I said, yeah, and so I brought him in and then my parents song was I don't want to miss a thing like their love songs there, yeah, and so like I sang it with him in front

of him. But you probably at that point, just from knowing you you had again even as a kid, established that confidence in those quick, brief moments and you're like, Okay, I'm just gonna be Lauren. Yeah. If I'm on stage, you're like in any situation where I'm performing in any way, there are no like, I have no problem. It's that's a pretty it. Don't take this the wrong way because I'm the same way. Like, I'm completely insecure everywhere I go, except for when I'm in front of microphone or on

stage doing stand up comedy or whatever. That's where that's the only place I'm comfortable in my own skin. And I'm getting better at being human. Like I went to your birthday party. I don't like, I don't do social things, thank you. I haven't put on a breaking too too,

by the way, he looked red too too. It was Laurence twenty two birthday to birthday, and I went in and I was in the elevator with Lauren's dad and he was on a camouflage too too, and we were going up and I was like, what are those guys on a camouflage that he made it? My dad. I watched FaceTime make that too too with a hot glue gun and like actual like hunting netting. It was like, you know how they My dad is super southern. I don't know you, right, You don't say Lauren, I mean you.

I mean it's you. He's like white works in me, Like I don't know where he got that camouflage stuff, but he was like cutting up this netting, and I mean it was unbelievable. I'm super crafty. And I was like, oh, Dad, okay, well that's where I got it. So we're going up and this, to me was kind of my favorite part of your birthday party. Don't you don't care about talk about your birthday party? Right? Was that? Lauren? She you have something about you that I don't that I don't

have about me yet. And it's a struggle for me, and it's to feel loved. I have a trouble with that because I'm very it's very heart beat, vulnerable. But you were like I feel so loved right now because there was a room full of people grown ups, yeah grown not seven year old that little cousins of yours, a bunch of grown up that had on two twos because we all cared about you and you were like, I feel so and I was just was like it was really special for me to see you feel that,

because I was like, that's awesome. I've actually really struggled with that too, feeling left, um, my dad's an alcoholic and where it was my whole life and and then not that I didn't think he loved me, but I think if you grow up in a home where there's um, where there are problems, which we all do, but it

affects how you feel as a grown up. And I've I've overcome like not feeling good enough and not and like I take the blame for everything, like I usually blame myself for everything that happens, um, And I think that that's something I really worked on and I like always especially now that I do this, you know, am I I'm a singer and I'm on the road and

I'm gone. I always feel like life goes on and I'm not there and I'm not a part of it, so people don't think about me and people don't miss me or you know what I mean, because I'm not there to know that. And then I've really, I really got super I had some serious, like emotional problems a few years ago, right around like that turning point with my eating disorder and everything, and I finally had to be like people do, like people love me. And that was a good night for me to have that reminder

because I don't. I do miss my nephew's birthday party, and I do miss Thanksgiving and I miss all of these things. But that doesn't make my family love me less. They know that I'm like not doing that out of not wanting to be there. And it was just I don't get to see a lot of the people that were in that room very often. My dad. I never see my dad or my aunt came and people drove three and a half hours to wear it too too to be at that party, you know. So it just

made me feel really good. And I don't get to be home very often, so it's a super special night for me. And we just all like sat in that room into days and take pictures and dreamed about eating cookie cake that got cut way too late, and I was there for almost two hours. Never got cut that sucker, and I kept walking over to it, Lauren looking at it, like has anyone because you can't start the cake cutting. You can't. You just can't your birthday and you know

what the best part is my boyfriend. So this is gonna be so surprising. The people who decorated that party were my boyfriend and my father, the two men in my life decorated. It did not look right. Men decorated it, did it? It was like, no, it didn't. And you were yelling the whole night. You'll never guess who decorated death Row. I was like, my dad's made it too too.

What is going on here? Your boyfriend had on the Captain America like my dad, and it's like weiner was like poking out of it, and I was like, not not out of it, fully, but it was like so tight. It was like tights, you know, people were something on trying to take it. I don't know. I was just like, dude, he was like, you know what, I'm just here for

the for the for the birthday party. Well, here's the best part of My dad bought that outfit and said he had to wear it, and it was like this these little bloomers that women get to try to look sexy for Halloween, like a sparking too too, So he had glitter falling off of him all night. And he only were that because my dad was like, are you scared of deathing my dad? And You're like, oh, I'm gonna wear this. Oh my dad is scary. Oh, absolutely a scary dad. I mean he like prides himself on

making boyfriend's fear him. Alex has lasted four years, so he's obviously not as scared of him. But Alex really respects my dad, and my dad wanted him to wear that too too, So you saw he was there in that tattoo, and it was it was a great night for sure. But Alex forgot the candles for the cake. For the cake, so they had these like decorative candles, battery operated, and I just held one up and pretended to boat it out. I wasn't a real candle. That was like the part of it. But that's like the

that's just what it is. It's it's an awesome puzzle that happens to somehow fit together. And then it was like I had a lot of fun I don't have a lot of funny things. I have a lot of fun and a little bit I went, you know, I went to therapy for a long time. I also come from I don't know my real dad. I never knew him. He was gone, I was five whatever. My mom died of drugs and alcohol um in her forties, and so I felt and and have trouble with that too, Like

I never had a relationship with my parents ever. I never had a conversation with my parents, And so I understand, and I think that's why it just struck me so hard to see you vocally and not like you're just someone who feels love all the time. You could tell. It was like you're really appreciating the moment. And from someone who also struggles with that, I could tell, and I was like, this is such a special moment at night where I was I'm so happy again. I don't

know why I get so happy for you. I guess because I just genuinely, genuinely enjoy you as as a human. Because we've been we've done all I mean, we've done a lot of shows. We've done shows, we've written together, we've hung out as I'm just happy I'm happy for you. I hope you're in a place in your life right now. And this is whatever he says to me, and I'm said hypocrit for saying this back to you. I hope you're in a place right now where you're starting to

enjoy things. I am trying to let myself. I'm such a like a worker, and I get busy, and I have goals and I want to meet the goals, and I get like so caught up in that it sometimes I don't I don't stop to to enjoy it, you know, because there's always something else that I'm thinking about that I needed doing. And that night I just tried to let go of all of that and have a good time. And I think that's important because you know, any anything you do in life is hard. Any anybody's job is hard.

No one has like the easiest. Well, some people probably have easier jobs that born in the money. We weren't that lucky. I worked at the c seas dropping the pizza listen. I was hobby lobby bobby for many years. So so man, that's cool. So what's the goal? What's my Don't say number one yet because I could be the big what's the next step? Goal? Because I always put goals into what's the matter? Like I was talking my last podcast, I think I could be the president

of the United States. Now I do. I swear to God, in my mind, I could be the president United States. You can laugh all you want, and that's the best part. But whenever I do not want that kind of pressure. Nothing Whenever I said I want to be the biggest syndicated country morning stual in the history of radio, Like, okay, if I didn't have that goal in mind, I couldn't never to this point. But I think I can be the president. I want to know your big goal and

I want to know your next step. Okay, like with the single what what's the next time? I love to write down my goals because I think there's something about like writing them down and looking at them and thinking it's spending time thinking about him. And probably a year and a half ago, I wrote down thirty goals and I have literally reached pretty much every one of them. I wanted to lose twenty pounds, I wanted to start acting.

I just finished a movie I wanted. The only one I have not achieved is I wanted to be the youngest member ever. Um of the Grand A lotprey that age stuff and who's who's the youngest member. I don't know, but it's not going to be me now because they were probably somebody from like the sixties. It was a long time. Age stuff. You started signing goals with ages.

That's where you get into trouble because I used to do that too, like I'm gonna be the youngest this one because I was always the youngest to do everything. And then then you start to get normal and you're like, man, I shouldn't have signed age to Yeah, I'm gonna stop doing that because then i may reach that goal five years from now and I'm just gonna be just as excited as I would have been at twenty one, you know. Um. But yeah, I definitely want to be a member of

the grandel Opry. I want, I want. I just was thinking about it the other day because, like I said, I reached a lot of those goals. I just wanted a talk. I think thirty hit that's what I wrote on that list. Um, I don't really want to put a number on where I want them to go on the charts, because some of the best songs I've ever heard. Weren't number one absolutely just not just an example, Girl Crush never hit number one. I covered that song almost

every show. It's one of my favorite songs ever played on country radio. But it wasn't a number one year. The general public doesn't They don't know, they don't care. I really don't know. My Church wasn't a number one. Such a great song, she Don't Love You, Eric Passley, wasn't a number may ever again like one of the

best things ever probably. Eric came in and we talked talked about that, and Eric said the same chair and said, you know, I'm just I just love and it's so proud of that song that he should be that in the end, he was disappointed at first, but it's like I put something that I wrote that I felt so strongly about and love it, and now I just love it. It It doesn't matter where landed on the shot. Well.

I think my my goal overall moving forward now would be in the next like five years, I want to be able to headline my own tour, and that does not mean but I'd like to be able to do probably theaters by myself, and be able to take an opener and be able to afford to take an opener, and as a woman, I think that there aren't there are a few women able to headline and um that a rotate background, and you're you're part of that, but I don't, so I'm not the same. It's going to

rotate background. Well, I think, you know, with people like Kelsey and Marin and Camp. I mean there are lots of women that are now kind of starting to help turn that for all of the rest of the women. I think if there are a few of us that are really doing well, people will be more up into it because people think that at some point, I heard someone say that country fans or radio listeners don't want to hear women. That is so false. It's not there

was one listen at that time. No, No, here's the thing. At that time, this was what the article was. And I've always been a huge but what happened was directly from a program director. But yes, that at the time.

What's happened is is that record labels over the past five years, they've seen what people have been buying, and so because that everyone's copying the same sound and that sound has been successful, they're like, we don't need to develop a minor league, and that minor league a lot of times female and male and different kinds of So they just completely neglected anything but the current, the current cold sound, and now that sound is dying and everyone's

trying to transition out of it, even those that created it. And at the time when that was said, even when and listen, most program director knock weds, they really are you don't, don't don't. You're not in this car. This is me talking most programmed directors and knock weds um and they still hold on to things that it was twenty years ago, it was ten years ago. But everything is cyclical in life, everything from close to music to

movies and what they're about. Everything is always changing, I mean, and everyone has their different opinion on why it should or should it be changing. That's just the way life goes, you know. It's like everything no one. Everyone isn't always going to be happy, and everyone is always going to think the way you think. So that's the hard thing about getting music out there is not everyone likes it, you know, and it's your art and they just won't.

It's just I don't like every song I hear. Ever, if you do anything creative, great if you do anything creative, that's great, you're gonna have some people that hate it. Because to be completely loved, you have the people that love you so much. They love you for a reason, and that same reason, they're gonna be so many people that are like, I just can't stand this, and to be great, you've got to accept that a large faction of people just do not get what you're doing. They

don't have to get what you're doing. They do not like what I struggle with this me too, so bad. I want I loved him like. I'm a people pleaser, and I don't like when people when people don't like me, I can't handle that. I'm not a people pleaser. I can't handle people not liking me. You're the one, and you're very likable, and thank you. That's not always the case. You think that, but some people don't. It's not like it really bothers me. Why they don't. I wonder if

they think you're an act. I don't know. I feel like I'm pretty straightforward. I don't feel like you ever have to get what I'm thinking. I agree with you, and I tell you. One of the one of the moments when we first started to kind of be friendly was. I had you come out and do a show with us in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and there are about four thousand people that came to our show that night, and

I didn't really know Lauren that well. Lauren came off stage and I don't know if you remember saying this and no, no, no at the stage. Listen, you were so self defer, also putting me down while no no, while being complimentary at both of us at the same time. But it was the most honest thing that I've ever heard. And that's when I knew that, like, you were for real.

And you came off stage and you were like because we and you say, like, it's crazy because we get to go to theaters and and sell at theaters as a crazy little band, and it's it's amazing. It's amazing. You want to talk about me every single day on your show, you can. It's love to do that. So we go and we played this big show in Arkansas and Lauren opens and she comes off and she goes, Hm, I'm a really good singer and I can't sell fifty

people in a bar, but you can sell this. And I thought to myself, She's like, this is so honest. She's a really good singer, and she's also being self deprecating. I'm like, I can't sell a room right now, and you, who are not a good singer, you can do this. I'm so dumb. I can't believe I loved it. And that's when I realized, Okay, she's the real deal because she just said exactly what was on her mind and in her heart right there, and that's all I care about.

Like I just in this industry, you just you can't trust people until you can trust them. The general feeling is, don't trust anybody until you can trust them, and then you can, then you have to latch onto those people. It's like in life. Don't trust people until you know you can trust them. That's why I feel now me I have again, I don't want I don't warm up quickly. I have very few people over to my house. Um,

you know, at my old place. Until we started doing this, you weren't the only people I would have over because you would come what we wrote a song for the kids album together, Um you know we come over, we do slip and slide. That was fine, Uh, there's no slip and slide. But I like your honesty, and I hope people hear you and realize it's not act. There are some people where it's act. I know it, I get it, and I'm fine with it because I don't

have be friends. Everybody just come on the show and do a good job and let's entertain and you're and you're a lot too. I think that's why people don't like me is because I have such a strong person, very strong um and I think I'm very opinionated, and if I feel strongly about something, I can sometimes be overbearing, probably and people that don't have to save opinion don't like that. But I think people but I'm understanding that people don't have the same views of me. I just

I don't know. You put me down in that statement. But I enjoyed it because it was so honest. Like I like honesty more than I like being coddled. I like on even with every way that I work, I like, let's get a point A to be the fastest. Do not codd on me, do not come in and go, hey, you're doing great at this, but let's talk about Like if we have something bad to talk about, let's get right to it. Because I want to be the best, the fastest way. Don't come and use little soft gloves

on me and work. My bosses know this too. If there's a problem, come right to me with the problem and let's fix it, because I don't need to be all you know what. I don't like that either, No, don't. You're not the comy get passive. We might not agree, but we're going to talk about it. I don't like passive aggressive either. I'm not a big fan of that. I'm just gonna I'm aggressive aggressive. You're aggressive aggressive, I'm gonna tell you right, man. And I just think some

people don't operate that way. And those are the people who were like, oh, she's too much. Did you and Scotty McCoury every day while you're on that show? Do you know they made that a whole story, like, oh my gosh, yes, and they taught us to play along. Oh they did, No, I know, listen, I know how TV works. I produced TV shows myself. Well, they just told us to use it to our absolutely because love that we they thought we loved each other, and we

do well. I mean, we're friends, but there's nothing like romance now, I don't know, no, not really, hold on, hold on WHOA. Maybe did you guys your kids remember your kids and if you're together and around another kid who's also has the same interest, you probably have like minds and you like each other. Was there a time where you guys were kind of like boyfriend girlfriend? We were never boyfriend and girlfriend, but I think there was like this weird moment where I was kind of thinking,

should I like him? Kissed him? Oh? I kissed him at the finale on the cheek and the angle looked like I smacked him right on the lips, and like that was this whole story. But um no, I mean we spent a lot of time together, but it was never romantic. You know, it's like we're just if you know him and you know me, were very different human beings, like total I think we're total opposites on a one to ten scale. How do you guys ever talk now? On one to ten scale? Often we talk? Two? Yeah.

One that picture that I posted I think might have been in a Raleigh and he was his friend there and he texted me and said HeLa had a lot of friends the show and that that it was a great shop. So we I mean, we'd communicate in that way, but do I call him once a week and see how he's doing. Now, I don't, do you call me more than him? Yeah, I definitely talked to you more than I talked to you. Yeah. I haven't seen Scotty in a while either. Yeah, I haven't seen him. I mean,

and he doesn't does he didn't live here? Does he? He does not lives in North Carolina? He lived here for a second, Yeah, I think. And you know what that hurts an artist who's new and if you're not available all the time, it's definitely to your disadvantage. Well, um, I think it's different for everyone. I'm obviously not super far away from home, which I never go home, But um, I moved out of my parents house age, so you moved where. I got an apartment in Chatanooga, and then

after idle, you didn't move stright to Nashville. So I did a six month plan where I lived by myself fifteen minutes away from my parents while I figured it out, and and I moved right when I right after I turned eighteen. When you come to Nashville, what do you learn immediately? Um? Gosh, I've learned so much. And the first thing that you get to Nashville. You probably top of the world, like I'm about to dominate. I just

come off a huge TV show. But Nashville people just as they're ten people around you, just as talented as you in any room, at any time, at all times. It's crazy, right, Yeah, it's like it's really it really makes you step it up and figure out what about you is different in what how you need to showcase that because we're all different. But there they're talent. They're

just as talented in a different way. It's crazy. You can walk down Broadway, which is the street that the tourists come to, and there will be people playing bars and they sound so good. Yeah, and you're like, what the why are you? Why aren't you in a bar? But then you go to the next bar and there's somebody that sounds so good. It's a very talented town from the bottom to talk. I mean, it's there's no lack of talent in this town. It's and it's inspiring. Really.

It for me made me want to get better because I was like, oh no, like for a long time, as confident as I am in rights and stuff like that, I felt really insecure and like I didn't need to speak up because I was working with people who had written hits after hits and we're super successful, and people that I've just dreamed of being as talented as and now I'd go into those rooms with those people and I understand that if you're if you don't do your thing,

you have no voice, you know, and and as talent as that, you use their talent to help your talent. And look at you being all adult and knowing you've been to the struggle. It doesn't matter what age you are. After you go to the struggle, the struggles where you learn gosh, yeah, I mean, yeah, I had I had a lot. I wasn't. I've just recently gotten to this point. Um in the last probably a year and a half, two years. Uh, you do realize, right, I know. I

forget that a lot. People tell me all the time, like I'll be so frustrated about something, or I'll be disappointed in myself because I didn't make the rat choice or whatever, and they'll say, you remember that you're twenty two. And then when people say that, I really don't, Well,

you've been at it for a long time. I really don't think of myself as people my age, Like when I talk to people that are my age that I meet that I don't realize in my age, I become like a mentor or something where I'm like, well, you just have to, but not in not in a way of me trying to tell someone what to do, just in a way of like, yeah, I started years I

think it danced. I would yeah, I would think that, Like I feel like you're older, like I can have it, but I'm I can be super amature, absolutely absolutely two in a lot of ways. I agree with that in a lot of ways. But I mean I have birthday parties where everyone has to wear two tis. So just answer quickly with this. I want to. I want to

an immediate answer. Who do you write with where you're like, Wow, this person is fantastic Emily wise band because she's my age and she's unbelievably talented, And a lot of people that I write with that are as talented as her are ten years older than her and have been designing that craft and perfecting that craft for ten more years since she has. And that's been inspiring to me because

we are the same age. And if I'm looking at someone twenty three, if I'm looking at someone that's that age, and she's that talented, and she's able to mold to whoever or whatever artist she works with or whatever she's doing at the time like that, I want to I want people to feel that way about me. You know what artists do you look at and it go man,

that's what I want to be. None, Okay, go ahead. Um. I mean, I'm inspired by lots of different people, but I think we're all unique in our artistry is all different. I don't I don't want to limit myself to what someone else has done. I want to be like my Now that sounds stupid, but there's no wrong answer, and nothing sounds I mean, there are a lot of people

that I look up to, like Dolly Parton. I love that she's gotten her hands on everything she can, I mean, and and she is a businesswoman, and she's smart, and she's a songwriter and she's written songs for other people, and she's just done such a beautiful job with her artistry and everything around that. And if I could, like really look up to someone, I would never own probably an amusement park. But I love how she's done other things with her gifts and her talents and and the

opportunities that she's been given, but I don't. There's not one artist that I like desire to be just like, because I think that we all have different when you start, I think when you start wanting to be like someone else, like I've spent a long time wanting to be a lot like Carrie. She and I are completely different human beings and we have completely different ways we do things. And while we're both like really powerful singers and we

sing songs were similar, our styles aren't the same. But people think of us as the same just because because you're the A plus vocalist. That's the only reason I feel bad to say that. I mean, I'm not saying that. I'm thank you, but people compare us a lot because she's I've been compared to her a lot because she's a strong singer, and I used to do that a lot to compare myself to her, and it like it made me feel like I wasn't good enough, you know. It made me feel like I'm never gonna be carry

Underwood and I'm not. I don't. I'm gonna be Lauren Elena and what I do is not gonna be what Carrie did and not gonna be what Dolly did, or anyone that I adore and love, and I think they've done a great job. It just inspires me too. I don't want to do exactly what they did. I just want to look and see if you work hard and you're talented enough, and you believe it, and you try as hard as you can and sacrifice what you have to sacrifice and still take care of yourself along the way,

you can have what you want. You just have to stick it out. You know who in the industry do you go to for advice? Oh, Tricia McClanahan. She's my manager and she managed her but for a really long time, like twenty years with her husband. She managed. She actually managed Kelly Clarkson for a while, and she I mean, she's just been a manager for a really long time. But she is the most connected human being. I mean

anywhere we go. We can go to the Kroger on Eighth Avenue and Trisia will run into fifteen people in town that I know who she is because she cares about what she does. She knows how important it is to maintain relationships in Nashville and to be a good person and to care about what you do and be passionate and she took me on when I had nothing to offer her. When when Tricia decided to work with me we started working together two years ago, people probably

thought she was dumb. I hadn't had a record out in four years, three years, whatever it was. Then I just had vocal cord surgery. I could not sing. When she started working with me, I was not singing yet. But we just clicked and I told her my goals and she understood them and has helped me achieve every We sat down and made that list together, and she has helped me achieve every goal on that list and

now wants me to make a new list. And so she's just that person that has like really she I would say, you know, lots of things have changed in my career in the past two years that I've started helping me to be in this different position that I'm working on now, and I think that a lot of it has to do with her, Like I owe her so much because she on days when I was like, I can't do this anymore, this isn't gonna work, she believed, And days when I was like I can't, I can't

do another free show and pay for my rent. I can't because people think you're like rich if you if you're an American, people think you're rich. You're not rich. Did you make money off at all? Very little? Really? And I mean yeah, well I made more money than I thought. I was mega rich, but I didn't have any good spending habits. I grew up super poor. So when I first got money, I spent all of it. I gave it all away. I gave it. I would go to dinner with my family and buy thirty people's dinner.

I mean, I was just like and then all of a sudden have anymore. And I had a manager still a lot of money from me. Um, which I I've never spoken out about. But how do you find that out? Though? Well? When I had vocal coret surgery, I had to clear my schedule for six months. And I have never talked about this before. Do you want to not? UM? I can tell you it's fine. UM, I probably want talk

in detail. But UM, anyway, I'd scared. I'd cleared my schedule and this person had an American Express card in my name under my business and would use it to book travel or whatever needed to be booked. And I got a call about two weeks after surgery, I had been in bed, I had not left the house. I wasn't able to speak for an entire month. That is torture for me. So I was not going to go out into the world and try to do that. And I got a call from my business manager and said, hey,

we've had to clear the schedule for six months. I just want you to be mindful of that. You don't need to be spending a ton of money. We just got a statement for this month, and and I was like, I haven't spent any money. I've been home and my mom was taking care of me and bought everything for me at that time. And so I looked into it and it was four years worth of charges. And I was a kid. You didn't notice it until you were a kid. Yeah, I was a sixteen year old girl,

and so it was like three years of charges. I guess because I worked with that person for three years. That happens to a lot of kids, kids who come from a background where they even their parents don't know to watch because I, like, you had no idea what to do with money. Yeah, I mean, I have great spending habits now, but it's because I've learned it as an adult on my own, like, there are two kinds of people that and I now am able to have money.

I've worked hard, and when I first started, I remember the first time I was making fifty dollars a year. I was like, oh my god, I'm so rich because when where I grew up, we were food stamp and welfare and lucky to have it. We didn't need three meals. We had too. We get to pick with two of the three most of the time, so it was you pick the I was in the school program, and so it was I wanted it, and I still have a bit of this in me now, and I shouldn't. I

felt I felt guilty. So and then you're either really generous when you come from that and you get money, or you're really stingy because of how you grew up. And so I was generous because I was like, man, people took care of me. I definitely get on a Christmas tree and let everybody just come and pull out. I mean, seriously, my mom was like, Lauren, you have got to stop giving your money away. I would take all of my friends to the movie and just pay for because I felt bad that I had money. And

they didn't. It's a guilt thing. Yeah, it is. And whenever I got a business manager, which is someone who manages the money, and because I have like five or six different businesses from like books and music and touring, and she was like, listen, we had to talk because I don't know anything about money. Like I don't know anything about money. I just hire great people. And she

was like, listen, here's the thing that you do. And she told me, you have to stop overpaying your bills because what scares me is I think any day I'm gonna be fired and lose all my money. And I can over my bills like ten bucks a month. I'll have a buffer for a couple of minds that I can use God for me. It won't be a problem in poor Agan because I know how to do it. Yeah, Like that's what I'm actually good at. Like I'm good at Hamburger helper with no Hamburger. Like I'm I'm good

at man with a light spaghetti with catch up. Yeah, I'm good instealing the packets from Burger king to put the spaghetti on the catchup. So I man, it's like I'm talking like a mirror. I'm listening to you, and I'm just like, man, I feel it. And I think that's why whenever we were together and you said that, I was like, man, it was like I just felt all those emotions and understood and not sympathize, because I

do not feel sorry for you, but I empathized. I understood even the love thing you should feel serve me. I do for you period, because I think through all of this adversity, it makes you stronger, you know more, and most importantly, you can help other people. That's been the best hard about this new music. It's when I mean my parents, my dad's an alcoholic and you went to rehab, and then my parents got divorced and my mom married a family friend, and like, my dad married

someone that's eight years older than me. And it was just like all of these things. At Vocal Court Surgery, my manager stole that's money from me. I was super famous and then I wasn't. I mean, I just had all of these things that made me go, what are you doing with your life? And I wrote gosh, two d songs for this album and really decided what I wanted to say and what parts of my life I wanted to share and what parts I wanted to keep to myself and what I thought could be helpful and

what couldn't. And Um, I spoke out about my bolimia and my dad and that was scary too, because that's not my story. It's part of my store, but it's also his. So I'd have like all these conversations with my family and say, as a songwriter, I've got to be honest and can you guys let me do that? And it's been a process, but I have songs about my parents divorced. I have this song called doing Fine that I opened the record with that is super like. The first lines of the song are, um, daddy at

sober Mom, I got his best friend. And that's my story. And it's really cool because I do. I do those songs live and I do. I sing road Less Traveled about my eating disorder and about overcoming that and ignoring people who don't get it and ignoring the people who are like, you can't do this, you can't do that. Um, you need to be smaller, you need to be prettier, you need to be smarter, you need to be this, you need to be that. Those people don't matter because

they don't already get it. You're already there. And that's been the coolest thing with this new music. And I feel like maybe that's why it's doing better than anything I've ever had, is because I was finally honest. I was finally telling the truth and people. It makes a difference, and it makes me better. It makes me a better person. When I'm singing these things and I'm singing about my problems,

it makes me want to fix my problems more. When I realized that other people have these problems and we're all kind of we all have our own thing going on, you know. I learned that too when I shared my problems. I realized I wasn't the only one that had them, because I don't want people to know, because then you're all of a sudden, the weirdo that has the problems, you know, but everyone has problems, everyone like. And that's

what doing fun is about. The chorus of that song is super universal, versus are specific, very specific to my story, and I just think that's the truth. I mean, no one's perfect. There's only been one perfect person, so the rest of us aren't going to be that. You know. We paused to talk about sleep number beds. I love sleep. I don't get very much of it. Then you should get a sleep number bed. I have two of them. You've heard me talk about my sleep number bed and

how it's changed my life. And my sleep number setting us thirty. My sleep I could score last night was I don't know, eight or something. You check your phone. You're good. I'm gonna do a commercial. Check your phone? So texted? You? Are? You obsessed with your text methages? What? How may do you have? Like five? You're so You're so cool, You're so cool. Listen, my friends that sleep number have created a sleep number pillo. It's a comfort fit pillow. I have two of them. It's the perfect

combination of comfort and support. And it stays the same way whenever you go to sleep. You like your pillow a certain way, it stays that way. It is super comfortable. It's a comfort fit pillow. My sleep number setting is thirty, and my IQ score I don't even know. I think it was the Hyades. But listen the comfort fi pillar. You get a sleep number store and get one by one off eight D next bed to find the store nearest to wait a second? What it tells you how

well you slept? Oh, this is not part of the commercial. Let me tell you about sleep in bed. First of all, you go into the store, right, and you lay on the bed and I'm like, okay, come on, I I've had decent bed, but come on an hotel on the road. So I go into the store and you lay in this bed and it's a computer screen on top and it shows you your body laying on the bed. I'm like, kay,

this is not a lie. And it's a computer screen at the side, depending on the store, and it shows your back in your neck and your head and where it's and they're like, oh, here's why when you lay you're not getting your full support. So they adjust the bed your your sleep number, and I was like, this is crazy. And so I got one of the first one like five years ago, and so I got to sleep number. And then now they have sleep by a que.

So it's like you eat at seven pm and you don't sleep as well, You'll see your number and you can kind of figure out like when I eat, like my number is not as good when I work. I'm telling you, expence, it's not that crazy, considering we have computers and know what we're doing, and but you just don't ever think about your bed. But think about your bed. It's where you spend the most time. Like for me, time the most time at work in the bed. Could

you sleep? And even if I'm not sleeping, I'm in bed and I have crazy anxiety, So I just lay in bed a lot and just stare at the two too. But like, I'm trying to come off a medication and I'm having with draws a bit, like and I had um I talked to us in the last podcast, Like I was on sleeping pills for a long time. And I've never had a drink of our care done a drug because my mom died of it. So it's my whole life. I just decided never gonna do it. Nothing moral.

One day, I'm gonna drink and I'm gonna go crazy. I'm gonna I'm gonna love it. I know it. I'm gonna love it. You're waiting for your moment, but I just haven't. Right now. You know, I can't take it. I can't take it. I don't don't admire it because I it's not an admirable thing. It's I can't control it.

I just know that if I start, you would drink one would be the best part is you would have no tolerance anything you ever really clean last style as well, and you work out so like your body would be like what, I go to the dentist and get laughing gas. I have to said the thing for an hour because I can't stay. It doesn't clear out of me. I just sit there. So I get on sleeping pills because my anxiety is crazy. My heartbeats through my neck right,

it's like hard and they can't control it. So I got off of them and I just stopped called turkey and I went to convulsions and vomiting for days, and like it was the first time I understood what my mom couldn't get through and she was on harder drugs. I was like, for the first time in my life, I get why she couldn't get off the meth. She

couldn't stop being an alcoholic. And so I'm coming off anxiety medicine now and I take it and it's not near what the slap pill was, no near what the hard drugs is, but it's it sucks because I always got like a little headache, my hand shake a little bit. Are you just trying to like remove that from your life where you're going to get trying to try out a new one. I'm trying to remove it right now.

And I have no problem with people using I'm not don't use medication, guy, because I tried for me, I tried zoloft, I tried dent deepressants didn't do anything for me. So I just stopped taking like it did nothing to me. So I believe that, you know, we all have issues and we all get fixed in different ways. And for me, I am going to try different methods at this point to try to lose my anxiety. I'm gonna start seeing someone more and finding coping Technique's all tools, lots tools,

you know, you find the tools I have. I have been on all kinds of medication, and some of them made me crazier, some of them made me non existent, I mean, and then I finally, I'm finally in a place where I don't have to rely on that anymore. Um, I would get so bills and get so messed up the next day that I wouldn't I would remember the day I would part. You have many time I drop off with the gas thing in my car because I just didn't remember a pump gas and drive off and

I was like, this is it. I have to stop. I've never taking sleeping pills, but I've taken like they're awesome. But I'm sure that's what people say about any of that stuff. Like I was just like, I've never done coke, it's awesome. There's I've never like I have another people say it's awesome, and I just know I can't. I know I have actually said I'm not a drug person, just not into it either because of my day add I have had alcohol, but it's it's not my thing.

I can't imagine you drunk. I hope it takes you down a bit, not up. Um. It is something I like to cry and it makes me emotional. Um. I just try to limit it because it ruined my dad's life, and a lot of it's genetic because I saw my I went to a family when my dad was in rehab. I went to a family counseling where they all these different families were in this room, and everybody's family member had something else wrong with him, but you know, wrong

wrong with them. Had another yea, that's you. That's a good point, had a different substance problem, had a difficulty. Yeah, because just because you're an alcoholic. You're not. My dad's a great person, any less of a person. Yeah, it's just you're a broken person. We're all broken people. We just deal with it differently ways. And I learned so much in that about myself. Like if I m AM really close with you and I talked to you regularly,

like every day. Like my boyfriend, for example, if I can't get in touch with him and I know he's supposed to be somewhere where I can get in touch with him, I panic because I think something's wrong with him. Instantly. I think he's hurt or not, that he's doing something he shouldn't be doing that he's not. Okay, I'm not jealous, So you're worried. I'm aware. I mean, like, if he's driving to Chattanooga, he's from Chattanooga as well, he's driving home and I can't talk to him, at some point,

I think the worse. And I learned that from my mother, and they told me that in this because if my dad had been out drinking and we hadn't heard from him in a while, we would go looking for him, or you know what I mean. So I like learned these behaviors and I didn't know that I didn't know that. I learned that until this like canceling things. So it's crazy. Yeah,

I have had I've really done anxiety medication. I mean don't unless you felt like like I used to have panic attacked to the point where I thought I was dying, Like I thought I was having a Harvard heart attack. It's the scariest thing that when my parents went through the divorce, I had them daily, but I was it was like right after my dad had gone through Reyah, and I was so scared because typically they'll give you like xan X or something along those lines, and you

can get addicted to them. So I was like so scared to go get medication. And I finally got through that, but it was a dark, dark time in my life. And I just think, yeah, I get that standpoint of like not wanting to do those things. I want to do them. No, no, no, lauren A, I want to do everything. It's not that fun, like that can't be true. That can't be true. It's fun during it, Like I've I've never really been blackout drunk. People get black out,

and that's not been something that's happened to me. I would like that. I think would like that, but I've definitely drank probably more alcohol than I should. Like it's just not drinking it responsible. Who cares. It's like I don't smoke weed, but I have no It should be legal in my mind, Like how can something gross from

the earth not be legal? People would cancer symptoms and I'm gonna tell you bring that up, this is this is a crazy because first of all, I think I'm the person that can go, person can go, and I've never touched it, but I think it should be legal. Now that being said, I'll give you an example. I'm gonna go back to Amy, who's one of my best friends, and her mom Dotty cancer a couple of years ago maybe and she just celebrating any but maybe it's a year.

I don't know. Two years ago sounds right, so um, But what happened was Amy is super to the right, super conservative about everything, and her mom got real sick with cancer, and I mean, we all cared about Judy Amy's mom so much and she was in pain, and they started using medical marijuana and Amy was so against it, and then she was like, for the first time, I

get it. She was like, it's the only thing that makes my mom's life tolerable to her the only thing, and Amy went, I'm completely on board now because I see firsthand what this medically can do well medically, I think definitely should be Listen whatever makeup, I don't care, make everything legal. Who knows what's gonna happen with Donald Trump? Who knows down the street by some crack called the Day, I Kid, I I Kid Lauren Lena. Um, So if

people want to download your music, they can everywhere. Everywhere. It's all download stores. There's a big L and A and a heart painted on a wall. That's the picture, right. Yeah. I just picked out the artwork for the album, but that's not that's not out yet. But I'm saying that they can't get up now. They can't get that now. What I'm saying, what are you thinking about that? When does that in your mind? What do you think of? The album comes out like a time in the monst

three months of the year, the first quarter. Yeah, that's cool. So you have an album. Um, they can get your stuff now. And road Less traveled as a single, that's by the way, twenty one. What was your highest song before this one? Do you know? Yeah? Ro ro Let's travel. Here's a little Georgia peaches for you. Here's the song. It was also my nickname in college. Eighteen inches. Here you go. What's it right? That's such a good song. Yeah,

I love that song. We were in Oh Preston, I'm loksh were playing some of their older stuff and it was like, God, the song is so good and I was like, and it's you know, there are great songs that sometimes the time just isn't right and if it were to come out at a different time, it would be a complete I Next Boyfriend was a great song and like out streamed out. I mean it was like

anything I'd ever done. Here's the thing about streaming, though, if that's pretty political with playlists, they put them on playlists. Everything's political, radio political, streaming political. Well, you can go in and look at how you get the numbers there. That's true. That's a good thing is from an artist, like as an artist on Spotify, are these different places I can go in and see which ones are kind of manufactured and which ones are legitimate and where their legitimate.

So that does help. But it outperformed most of my stuff. Ever Where did that one? Did that one chart? It went to like, no, it did chart, but it went to like forty eight or something. Yeah, you know, I just think it was the wrong time. It's the wrong time. Now is the right time. Like I'll take it. Listen, look how you go. I do say all the time. You one of the best vocalists in town. And this is a town with freaking fantastic singers. And I get to be around all of them. I get to be

around you guys. And now you know, there's Carrie Who've got to sing with before on stage, which are crazy. She's like alien what she sings. There's Chris Stapleton who sits sit beside me and say, and you're just like, what the You're in that category. You're in that category of of that and with the bread's the bread Eldridge is there. There's a level of of pure vocalists and you're in that A plus vocalist category. And now it's just finding. You're you're just finding your spot. Now, like

where are you in that? In that spot? And you're you're finding it. And I think it's honesty. You're find you're finding the honesty is just the way to go. And you know what, here's the thing about honestly. If you lose on honestly, at least you're honest. That's and if you lose on not when you're just putting out crap, you're like, oh man, I should have been honest. If you lose on honesty what I've discovered in my life, you're you're going okay with that because you've done the

best you can do well. I will say that when Next Boyfriend didn't work, it hurt me more than the other ones because I didn't write them. But I was also way more proud of it, you know what I mean. And this whole record is that way. If if you read this, Troubled does Tomorrow. It's my highest charting ever and it's one of my favorites ever, and I'm so proud of it. And you've taken a forward step. That's

always important. You've taken another forward step. My favorite song that you've ever written was a song called Recess on the Raging Kiddiets records. Yeah, now Lauren didn't sing it on the record, but we set on my couch and wrote this song called Recess but try one of the Raging Kiddiets record and Lauren was singing. I was like, you can't sing it. The High God. I can never sing this, Lauren, so we had to change it. I

can I'm staring at o'clock. It's a way too slow. Yeah, swings, gonna drop the rings, gonna clown them all, Cindy marking back the tatters, what we like. I can't wait for it. I remember studying on the couch and I was like, here's I want to ride. We're talking about all these ideas. Recess went back and forth forth, and Lauren starts to go, I can't wait for I'm like, Lan, I could never do that. I can't wait for vs. Hey. I was like, screw this, and not only can I not do it?

I got some we no when we pull it back, and then when and got Nikeya to sing it because I still cann't do it. You're possible, Lauren, Lena, You're dear to me. You're dear to me. Thank you for being and I hope you know that is very sincere. Thank you, and I appreciate you've been always been super supportive, and you're super supportive of so many people that need it. And I think that's wonderful because you have a platform to help and you do so I appreciate that. Well

tickled me. Pink can call me Willie? How about that? All right, we're Lauren Lena is awesome film. Listen to Laurence dot You' like what a were gonna do? We We're gonna just talk. I was like, yeah, I SA, it's about hour and you just things just come out. You don't expect him too because you're just comfortable. We're just chatting, feel good. What would you do if you're they're like not really your friend and some some aren't my friends, but you know what, we get to know

each other through it. I didn't know Ryan Hurt until he came to the house, and I was a fan of Ryan. Yeah he's awesome. Yeah he's awesome. And that's why I was like, dude, come to the house. And Ryan's a very spirit guy, like he the earth is that you know everything in it. And so we would text all the time, just back and forth, and so I was like, you gotta come in because I just want to like get in your brain. We weren't we

never met. And he came in and we sat and there's one of these of Ryan and I just talking about music, and he left. I was like, man, that's like I don't like, I don't know him there today, but that talk I was just like that, like I feel I felt connected and so I don't know I've ever had one that we walked out and when it was like I just think you can find that part of a human where you're like, well this is a

really cool. I mean we're in the most comfortable chairs, which they don't think that's not on purpose, of course, I'm like going to rock myself. You relax and you hang out and there's a dog running around these like Lauren, You're awesome too. Many many more successes and many of more days of friendship between us. Yes, alright, download Rod left travel please and if Lauren's out, she by the way, she will be at with Martina McBride. Yeah, there was

a big announcement that you and Martina are going next year. Yeah, first quarter. So look for Lauren out with Martina and soon enough you'll be headlining. I got no doubt about it. All you need that one song, Like look at Cam she has one song and it was so big though she gets to go and she she's headlining her own tour right now. It's amazing. And so you got it. You're ready, just get pissing this one going, Lauren Anna, thank you for listening to episode twenty two of The

Bobby Cast, and that's all we got. See you next time, guys,