Hailey Whitters Crowned “Corn Queen” Ahead of New Album
Hailey Whitters has been one of the brights spots in mainstream country for some years now, with plenty of fans in independent and traditional country circles also digging on her music. She’s not afraid to write and sing an actual country song, while earning some worthy mainstream recognition, including a trophy for the ACM’s New Female Artist of the Year in 2023, as well as CMA and Grammy nominations.
Now she’s readying her latest release to be called Corn Queen out June 6th on Pigasus Records / Big Loud Records. The 16-song album produced by Jake Gear includes collaborations with fellow Big Loud artist Charles Wesley Godwin, as well as Molly Tulle on the already-released “Prodigal Daughter,” and a song with Texas music supergroup The Wilder Blue.
Whitters might be on a major label, but that doesn’t mean she’s not willing to get down and dirty in service of her music.
“Fans started calling me the ‘Corn Queen’ because I’m from Iowa,” Whitters says. “At first, it seemed kind of silly, but the more I thought about it, the more I loved the duality of it. Corn is this simple, humble crop, and ‘queen’ implies royalty passed down through blood. I come from a long line of blue-collar farmers and construction workers. I’ve been out here for over a decade brushing my teeth in truck stop bathrooms, sleeping on hotel floors, driving myself from gig to gig. It’s not glamorous, but I’m proud of it. I like the idea of a queen with a little grit and elbow grease.”
Multiple songs have already been release from the album, including the impeccable “Casseroles” that explores loss and grief through the giving of casseroles to the bereaved. She’s also released the super country opening track “High On The Hog,” as well as the more contemporary-sounding “High On A Heartbreak.”
Whitters says about “Heartbreak,” “I wanted to write the antithesis of a heartbreak song, one about a heartbreak feeling good vs. feeling bad – almost like a guilty pleasure. This song feels like something you’d put on to get ready for a fun night on the town after a breakup. It feels like owning the heartbreak rather than feeling sorry for yourself.”
Corn Queen is now available for pre-order/pre-save.
TRACK LIST:
1. High On The Hog (Hailey Whitters)
2. Prodigal Daughter (feat. Molly Tuttle) (Hailey Whitters, Paul Sikes, Bryan Simpson)
3. Shotgun Wedding Baby (Hailey Whitters, Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Caroline Watkins)
4. Helluva Heart (Hailey Whitters, Trannie Anderson, Paul Sikes)
5. High On A Heartbreak (Hailey Whitters, Jessie Jo Dillon, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
6. It’ll Do (Hailey Whitters, Chris LaCorte, Hillary Lindsey, Jon Nite)
7. Hearsay (Hailey Whitters, Trannie Anderson, Paul Sikes)
8. Anything Like Me (Hailey Whitters, Trannie Anderson, Paul Sikes)
9. I Don’t Want You (feat. Charles Wesley Godwin) (Hailey Whitters, Jon Nite, Gordie Sampson)
10. The Nail (Hailey Whitters, Bryan Simpson, Ryan Tyndell)
11. Casseroles (Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, James Slater)
12. Wagon (Trannie Anderson, Ben Hayslip, Seth Mosley)
13. Wholesome (Hailey Whitters, Luke Dick)
14. White Limousine (Hailey Whitters, Jessie Jo Dillon, Jesse Frasure)
15. Corn Queen (Hailey Whitters, Bobby Pinson)
16. DanceMor (feat. The Wilder Blue) (Hailey Whitters, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
April 14, 2025 @ 8:09 am
Promising. Hoping the rest of the album will sound this good. Meanwhile, Jon Pardi was on The Highway a couple of days ago and the songs he previewed from his upcoming album sounded just as bro as the horrible title track that’s currently gaining momentum on radio. The battle for what remains of the soul of country radio is still nowhere near being won, despite Zach Top’s success. Radio ignored Hailey after “Everything She Ain’t.” Let’s hope whatever becomes the lead single from the new album gives her, and real country music, some new momentum.
April 14, 2025 @ 11:39 am
Hailey freaking rocks – love her!
April 14, 2025 @ 11:46 am
written and sung from the heart. I can just picture the folks in that house as she sings. Very touching lyrics
April 14, 2025 @ 12:15 pm
According to Craig Morgan, she is a Corn Star!
The title, “Corn Queen,” reminds me of this Toby Keith lyric from “Beers Ago,” “Where the man in the moon works his magic/On the second runner-up of the 4H pageant.”
April 15, 2025 @ 2:46 am
…three songs by hailey whitters that are hands down better than anything but two on the current mediabase top 40 charts bodes well for the forthcoming release “corn queen”.
this is the current foreign view with a prediction on her soon to come new album:
If the rest of the album matches the quality of these three early glimpses, one of the best mainstream productions of the year could be in store. “Casseroles”—yes, casseroles—is a love song to life, love, and friendship, via the detours of loss, grief, loneliness, and… the absence of casseroles. It’s country music of the highest quality. Hailey Whitters didn’t write it, Hilary Lindsey, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last June, did. It almost feels like the song was tailor-made for Hailey Whitters, as she sings it ever so convincingly.
“High On The Hog”, which has nothing to do with the colloquial escape from an absurd situation on a pig or Harley-Davidson motorcycles, is in this case a metaphorical American expression for an elevated lifestyle. Whitters wrote this one herself, disproving the old writing rule that irony doesn’t work—or is rarely properly understood unless announced on a big sign, which ironically only underscores the point. Beyond that, the song is, if not one of the best current summaries of aspects of life of a still career chasing country star, at least one of the most captivating and worth-listening tracks of this year so far.
“High On A Heartbreak” will be a test of the performance and marketing power of her label. Failing to get it into the charts would be a major fail. The track is a radio earworm, served perfectly. Country queen Miranda (Lambert) might look at her former body double, “younger sister” in singing, and reigning Corn Queen with much affection and respect.
(Country Style, Switzerland, exerpt from the Hailey Whitters cover story, May issue)
April 15, 2025 @ 7:48 am
She might not get the attention or plaudits that other young female country singers get but none of them have a stronger catalogue over the last five years. It’s one of my most anticipated albums of the year.
April 15, 2025 @ 7:22 pm
High On A Heartbreak is a good song, but I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to top the one-two punch that was Livin’ The Dream and Raised. I also really liked Color Up My World with Ben Rector. Hopefully The Highway picks up one of these singles from Corn Queen.