More Than Just Miranda Lambert and Anderson East Hooking Up
The country music media beat is such a wasteland of sycophants and soundboards all residing in a veritable echo chamber with the only purpose to their existence being to prop up the stilted facade Music Row wants the public to see. Jason Aldean runs around in blackface and doesn’t even feel enough heat to have to issue an apology. Brantley Gilbert’s PR team releases a statement saying he gave $10.5 million to Toys For Tots, and nobody stops to recognize that’s more than his entire personal wealth combined. It’s a miracle country media can say anything without reading it off of a press release verbatim.
Today the big news was that the recently-divorced Miranda Lambert is in a relationship with Americana upstart and throwback rock and roller Anderson East. US Weekly had what are dubbed as the “exclusive details”—which were nothing more than 12 words from two unnamed sources who say the duo has been dating for a month. That’s interesting, because dozens of people saw Lambert and East getting cozy during the final Live on the Green concert in Nashville all the way back on September 12th—some 3 1/2 months ago. Miranda was in attendance to see Anderson perform, and later the two scurried away with each other. The Miranda Lambert / Anderson East relationship was the best (or worst) kept secrets in Nashville in Q4. Everyone was too paralyzed to say anything in hopes their little periodical might be the one to land the “exclusive” details.
But really, whose business is it? Probably nobody’s as far as the personal matter goes. But as far as the music goes, the implications could be interesting, if not significant. Heading into the holidays, one of the biggest stories in both mainstream country and independent Americana was the impending arrival of a conceptualized record spearheaded by producer Dave Cobb called Southern Family. Both Miranda Lambert and Anderson East appear on the exclusive and star-studded track list that seems to take the usually segregated worlds of the mainstream and independent, and mashes them together. Major label artists Zac Brown and Chris Stapleton also appear on the record. So do the independently-signed Jason Isbell and Holly Williams.
Anderson East might not have the name recognition of some of the other names in the Dave Cobb producership stable, though of course all of that might be changing very, very soon. Anderson is, however, one of Cobb’s most important projects. Unlike Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, or Chris Stapleton, Anderson East is signed to Dave Cobb’s Elektra Records imprint; the same imprint the Southern Family concept record is being released under. Anderson’s much more a throwback rock and roller, bluesy and soulful type of performer than a country artist. But with the rise of acts like Leon Bridges and the Alabama Shakes, the rock and roll side of the roots world is experiencing a tremendous upsurge, similar to how the string band sector became hot a few years ago with Mumford & Sons—though this Muscle Shoals vibe feels much more sustainable in the long-term.
Did Anderson East and Miranda Lambert meet while working on Southern Family, with Dave Cobb playing Chuck Woolery? Perhaps that’s a good working theory until we hear the real story, but in truth they could have met anywhere. Anderson East has worked as a guitar and piano player in Nashville studios (though he doesn’t appear on any of Lambert’s records), and he’s opened for Holly Williams and Sturgill Simpson in the past. So even though he’s a relative unknown to the mainstream public, in the right circles, Anderson East is known quite well, and highly regarded to boot.
But forget all the sappy relationship stuff, and how it happened and where it might lead. Miranda Lambert ditching Blake Shelton and ending up with Anderson East might be the perfect illustration of the drastic role reversal 2015 has ushered in throughout the greater country music realm, and how 2016 could be poised to completely turn everything upside down. 2015 was the year Chris Stapleton upset everyone at the CMA Awards. It was the year Jason Isbell, Aaron Watson, and Blackberry Smoke landed #1 records.
Heading into 2016, the way we think about the mainstream and independent worlds in country music could soon become null and void, or at least flip flopped. The independent ranks, fueled by the likes of Thirty Tigers, consolidation around the Concord Music Group with labels like Rounder Records, Sugar Hill, and scores more, the re-launching of New West (and that’s just naming a few), puts independent labels and their artists on a strong footing moving forward to where the rest of the mainstream industry must start to recognize artists that aren’t residing on the majors or risk losing their relevancy in the marketplace.
Mainstream radio is no longer the benchmark, and it’s no longer necessary for the success of an artist. Chris Stapleton’s Traveller might outsell all other country music releases in the entirety of 2015 in the next couple of months, and that’s without barely a lick of radio play. It’s not the artists who should be worried about being relevant by making it to mainstream radio, it’s mainstream radio who should be worrying about it’s marketplace relevancy if it continues to ignore some of the hottest artists. Mainstream radio is quickly becoming niche programming for a small, but dedicated sect of corporate-minded super consumers, who despite being a lucrative bunch to target, are shrinking in numbers steadily.
Meanwhile, Miranda Lambert is running around with some East Nashville-style throwback hipster rock and roller dude, and Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and Chris Stapleton are gracing GQ’s center fold. The truth is Miranda has always been more like us than them. Go back and listen to her first two records and see if you disagree. Some said when the Southern Family concept record first surfaced that she didn’t belong there. But her efforts to highlight worthy songwriters like Adam Hood, Chris Stapleton, Brandy Clark, Ashley Monroe, even Fred Eaglesmith, John Prine, Steve Earle, David Rawlings and Gillian Welch, and Patty Griffin show she knows right from wrong, and up from down. But the country industry needed a female superstar, and they needed one badly. And Miranda Lambert’s been willing to play along. At least up until recently.
At the CMA Awards, Miranda ditched her designer dress for a Chris Stapleton T-shirt halfway through the show. She looked like Cinderella after the magic had worn off. That’s where Miranda started when she was a no name singer and songwriter from east Texas struggling to get noticed. Now, perhaps, she’s back where she started. Symbolically, at least. It’s not about wanting the new Miranda Lambert versus the old Miranda Lambert. It’s about wanting the real Miranda Lambert.
Will the relationship last? Will it become some serious thing? Will we see Anderson East on the arm of Miranda Lambert at the ACM Awards, and once again will independent fans sit back and wonder what the hell happened to rooting for unknowns who seemed to never get a fair shake or the attention they deserve? Time will tell, but Miranda Lambert searching low instead of high for her new hubby, and all of a sudden watching yet another quality talent from the independent ranks start to trend higher, is yet another sign that things are beginning to open up, the gulf between independent and mainstream is starting to shrink, and the country music industry could drastically change in the coming months.
December 28, 2015 @ 7:55 pm
The biggest question going forward is the exact shape this new style of traditional country will converge onto, especially in the elements that it borrows from pop. Will it sound like Isbell, Simpson, Stapleton, or a combination of those 3 along with up and coming artists?
December 28, 2015 @ 7:56 pm
yur gunna wanna nock that won up andersan $$$$
role tide
December 28, 2015 @ 8:32 pm
And name the kid “South East”
December 28, 2015 @ 8:14 pm
Damn, that GQ thing is wild. People really are catching on.
I wonder if those three guys actually posed together like that, or if they just photoshopped ’em in.
I guess I’ll have to actually buy an issue of GQ if I want to read the story since it doesn’t seem to be online. And I suppose as a bonus I’ll get some fashion advice, or something. Ha ha.
December 29, 2015 @ 7:28 am
It’s just that one page. Nothing terribly deep as far as what is written. Next time you pass a magazine rack, just peruse the a copy of GQ. It’s got the guy from Inside Llewyn Davis on the cover.
It is wild to see that picture in GQ, though. I saw it the last time I was in the supermarket. To look at that picture while in front of the my supermarket magazine rack, which is just full of Celebrity America garbage magazines, was a bit surreal.
December 29, 2015 @ 9:24 am
I bought the magazine, then passed it on to my daughter. The notes (it could hardly be called an article) with the photo indicates they caught all three of them together in Seattle at some point and took the photo in an alley there.
December 28, 2015 @ 8:22 pm
SOAP!
There is some good stuff to use your time on Trigger. Fuck Lambert and the shetlandpony she rode in on FFS.
But, whatever floats yr floatable..
December 28, 2015 @ 10:39 pm
Don’t think I don’t understand there’s a soapy element to this story. Nonetheless, I think there was some very important points that needed to be made, and this story was a great context to make them in.
December 29, 2015 @ 1:47 am
Why the hatred toward Miranda Lambert? If you see her output over the years (especially her earlier work), you will realize why she deserves her current status as the dominant female star in country music.
December 29, 2015 @ 7:26 am
My favorite album of hers is the one she released independently before she was on Nashville Star. That album had real country music on it.
December 28, 2015 @ 8:38 pm
That dude had one of the best records of 2015. He’s like a southern Van Morrison. I can see why she likes him
December 28, 2015 @ 8:55 pm
Ah FFS, just what the world needs, more of the Commitments.
December 28, 2015 @ 8:48 pm
I don’t know anything about the guy. He seems way better than any rumor that had to do with Miranda and Sam hunt being an item.
December 28, 2015 @ 8:54 pm
I thought she was gettin’ friendly with Sam Hunt. There’s a sickening thought…
December 28, 2015 @ 9:12 pm
Saw Anderson East open for Isbell in Roanoke, VA a month ago. He was very good — interesting voice, excellent six-piece band including two brass players. And he hung out in the lobby to meet anybody who was willing to talk with him for the remainder of the night. Isbell was stellar, but I didn’t leave feeling like I had seen a country music concert. I don’t think Isbell or AE can be labeled by genre. Great show from start to finish.
December 28, 2015 @ 9:35 pm
Yeah it should explain why I personally call Jason Isbell my generations shot at Neil Young, because Neil Young was never defined by genre either he could either be Country or Rock, I mean he briefly fronted Pearl Jam alongside Eddie Vedder for a time. Same thing with Isbell he could be Country or Rock and it would sound fantastic. Anderson East I may have to check him out at some point.
December 29, 2015 @ 1:41 am
Saying that someone is both rock and country is highly redundant in the modern era. Country and rock have been one and the same for about 15-20 years now.
When I was buying songs for my country playlists, I was struck by how distinct the post-2000 sound was from the pre-1995 one, in that the former was heavily influenced by rock and the latter featured a far “purer” style. I realized that I love both of those sounds, but for very different reasons and moods (just like I also love 80s pop-rock). It was just weird to listen to Patty Loveless and Lady Antebellum back-to-back. That’s what caused me to separate my country playlist into traditional and pop-country categories.
December 30, 2015 @ 6:28 am
Isbell is influenced by a different era, as is Cobb and all these guys. Country and rock have courted really since Cash and Presley whooped ’em up together under the urging of Sam Phillips 60 years ago. And of course Gram Parsons, the Byrds, Dylan with the Band, and the Stones invented what we call “Americana” now. The music from the last 20 years is of no interest to the likes of Sturgill, Isbell, or any of these guys. It’s not about “rock” or “country” – it’s about “real” or not.
December 30, 2015 @ 10:32 pm
I would argue that Sturgill is thoroughly country, with some blues influence. Isbell is a mix of country and folk. Neither of them significantly relies on a rock sonic style from any era.
December 28, 2015 @ 10:35 pm
“She looked like Cinderella after the magic had worn off. ”
she could’ve just got out of bed wearing a potato sack and combat boots and i’d still be all over that.
December 28, 2015 @ 11:53 pm
Miranda was at the Live on the green concert to see her steele player’s band Steelism. I was next to her for a while watching them, she was w/ girlfriends. She might have hung w/ Anderson later but she said she was there to see Spencer Cullum Jr. Anyway her personal life is her business but an true singer songwriter is who I imagine she would be with. I for one am really looking forward to her new album next year, the Southern Family cd & possible new Pistol Annies music. Exciting to think of where country is heading.
December 29, 2015 @ 7:18 am
Welp, I like this version of the story better than the one that had Miranda hooking up with Sam Hunt. By the way, Blake was the one who ditched her according to reports, not the other way around.
December 29, 2015 @ 8:04 am
While I agree Miranda has talent, the Stapleton T-Shirt seemed like a total hipster grab to me. The tide is turning and look who tried to jump back on the boat of “I’m against the mainstream and roar for independence”. Miranda craves popularity as much as Blake does and now she is trying to catch the wave going back the other direction. I am not denying that she is talented, however I think some of her best cuts are by other songwriters. We criticize Eric Church, but in my opinion his output has blown hers away up to this point, however she was able to convince the independent world that she is part of them to some extent, so her rope has always been longer. She has won awards over the last few years with mediocre at best albums, any other mainstream artist would have been beat up for those albums. I do expect her music to get much better now, because just like those Kevin Spacey commercials, she is able to recognize when a trend is going into a certain direction and the fact is, Miranda does do that direction well. She is much better when she is playing music towards the independent world than the mainstream world, so in that aspect this is a great development from a musical standpoint. My main gripe is I don’t think she is some trailblazer at all, her team used an excellent marketing strategy to make her different than the pack and then they used it have her run with the pack and now they are going back to their origin. Her wearing a Stapleton T-Shirt is the equivalent of FGL rocking a Johnny Cash T-Shirt at an awards show, it is cheesy as hell and an obvious attempt to seem cool. At least the music will be better though.
December 29, 2015 @ 9:24 am
Do you know that Stapleton has sang backup vocals on at least one song on her last 3 albums? She even has cut a Stapleton song- so this was her supporting a friend. Trailblazer is also something that is perfect for her. Think back to 2004/2005 & think about female singer songwriters. Miranda was able to write her entire album out of the gate at a time when that just didn’t happen. She was actually playing an instrument on stage when mainstream females just stood, sang & looked pretty. She continued writing the majority of her next 2 cds. In 2010 once she got some clout she started Pistol Annies for fun & as a way to spotlight her gal pals in the hopes that they would get a deal. Surprise both have released solo cds. Just got off an all female tour she headlined to continue her girl power movement. Look everyone doesn’t have to like her but Miranda has continued to make a path for other artists especially females!
December 29, 2015 @ 12:56 pm
Yes I do know that, however my point Is how many awards show before that was she rocking that shirt. The dam was about to break and everybody knew it, he was within minutes of blowing up and that is when the shirt came out. Not disputing the fact at all that they are friends. I think that you have every right to view her as a trailblazer, because all artists hit us differently. I was just not a big fan of a lot of those songs, but as I said Miranda is better when she is playing to the independent world, because that music fits her best. I don’t think she is terrible, I think she is good. I don’t think anyone can deny that Miranda has been chasing popularity in recent years, just like FGL and other artists, which is obvious In the songs she is trying to release to radio. They are awful. She has been as much of the problem in recent years as the other artists we bash all the time. I have no doubt her next album will be good, because she is going to go back the other way, because she can see the popularity shifting toward that. I think one of the things that bothered me most about Miranda is the simple fact that she has been able to churn out average to below average albums over the last few years and still be rewarded for them like they are different from the female pack. Carrie Underwood has been putting out better albums than Miranda and I am no fan of Carrie Underwood at all.
December 29, 2015 @ 5:52 pm
As a trivia bit, Stapleton reportedly wrote “Nobody’s Fool” when he was just 18, so as far as I know, it is the oldest of his songs that anyone has recorded.
December 29, 2015 @ 2:03 pm
At least this one didn’t call me an Old Fart.
She’s been guilty by association, in my mind, at least, of every wrong Blake Shelton ever did to Country Music, and there were many many wrongs committed by that fellow.
December 29, 2015 @ 2:24 pm
I can’t take you seriously when you compare Miranda to FGL! Really? Come on man. I get Carrie fans are always mad at Miranda but whatever. Yes some of her singles haven’t be my favorites off the cd but the albums as a whole are great, so I will agree to disagree. How many mainstream superstar artists have a Texas swing or old school sounding songs on albums….no one else. Also more of her traditional leaning songs are on Annie records. Miranda had her Stapleton shirt blinged out and was planning on wearing no matter how many he had already won. Her stylist talked about not getting another dress b/c she wanted to support real artist/music. Yeck even Stapleton tweeted about it and commented to her stylist. Obviously I’m a Miranda fan so I will agree to disagree. 🙂
December 29, 2015 @ 3:38 pm
Who compared Miranda to FGL?
To be fair, her radio contributions have all been rehashes off the same angry woman songs, except “Automatic.” It’s even a recurring theme with her Pistol Annies work.
I just wish she could feel the other emotions and write songs about them too.
December 29, 2015 @ 6:45 pm
You should check out songs like “The House That Built Me” (the #1 song for four weeks back in 2010 when country radio was actually good, and that year’s CMA Song of the Year), “Over You” (a big #1 hit in 2012 and that year’s CMA Song of the Year), along with “Only Prettier”, “Heart Like Mine”, “Famous In A Small Town”, “Bring Me Down”, “More Like Her”, and many others.
Yes, radio has recently been focusing largely on her angry songs, but that’s not necessarily her fault. She has released deeper singles as well, like “All Kinds of Kinds”, that just haven’t risen very high on the charts.
December 29, 2015 @ 7:21 pm
“All Kinds of Kinds” was a weak, meandering banal type of song, and “House That Built Me” was creepy. Who in their right mind thinks it’s okay to just show up, tell a stranger you lived there and ask to go inside? I live a few miles from the house I grew up in, I saw it go through six or seven different owners, get left to rot, get rebuilt, and never once thought of asking to go inside.
and Country Radio sucked in 2010, “If I Die Young” and “Hillbilly Bone” are prime examples of this, and “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking” and “Fire on the Rooftop” or “Stuck Like Glue.”
How about “Bombshell Stomp?” was that good in 2010?
I remember my favorite CD at the end of 09 was Grandpa Jones’Greatest Hits, and going into summer of 10 I was listening to Doug Kershaw’s “Easy.”
December 29, 2015 @ 10:37 pm
New guy here.
I agree with Fuzzy about most of Miranda Lambert stuff being crap. However, “If I die young” is freaking amazing and “Who are you when I’m not looking” isn’t half bad. Also, I recognize that Blake Shelton is an ass.
December 30, 2015 @ 6:57 am
“If I Die Young” is amazing.”
Kimberly Perry has a cartoonish tone to her voice, and she can’t hold a note. She has very questionable range and control to boot.
Half the problem with that song is that not all the lyrics make perfect sense, as if they just looked for something that sounded cool and rhymed but didn’t add anything of meaning to the song.
It also isn’t much of a Country song.
December 30, 2015 @ 12:45 am
Creepy or not, “The House That Built Me” was one of the finest country songs of the last 10 years, in both melody and lyric, and most country reviewers would agree. Every so often, a song comes along that gorgeously encapsulates the philosophical heart of country music and its message of rootedness, and this song played that role perfectly.
The songs that you mentioned are not generally representative of 2010. Here’s a list of the #1 country hits from that year:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_country_singles_of_2010_(U.S.)
From the perspective of a traditional country fan, that list is of immensely greater quality, both lyrically and melodically, than today’s country radio. A song like “The House That Built Me” hitting #1 at all today, let alone for 4 weeks in the summer, is simply inconceivable. I also can’t imagine songs like “Consider Me Gone”, “The Truth”, “A Little More Country Than That” (a very traditional track), “Temporary Home”, “Highway 20 Ride”, “The Man I Want to Be” (another very traditional track that I remember fondly), “Free”, “The Boys of Fall”, or “Roll With It” coming anywhere near the top of the charts today.
December 30, 2015 @ 6:53 am
I agree that it’s better than today’s radio, but much of it is still of very poor quality.
The melodies underlying many of those songs are extremely disappointing, for instance “More Country Than That” or “Man I Want To Be.”
These songs, by and large, are barely Country sounding, a lot of them have an easy listening or soft rock feel.
I opened that list, you conveniently forgot to mention “Water” and “Rain is a Good Thing.”
How again are these songs better than what we have today? They’re still awful.
But at least they’re not Cole Swindell songs.
December 30, 2015 @ 2:37 pm
Yes, country music at that time strongly resembled soft-rock. I actually made that point about post-2000 country in another comment on this thread. It’s why that era is called “pop-country”.
But the real reason why country music back then was so much better is the same reason why I originally fell in love with the genre: sentimental realism. If you listen to the songs I listed, what do you hear that is so foreign to country radio today? Well, first there is the strong sense of melody and warmth in the music that simply does not exist in today’s harsh, rhythmic country radio environment. Secondly, there is the emphasis on stories with deep emotional meaning, unlike today’s endless focus on partying and fleeting sexual moments.
To put it more fundamentally, country back then was music for the soul, whereas country today is music for the body.
As an added note, the reason why I did not mention “Water” or “Rain Is A Good Thing” was that they both could possibly make it to the top of country charts today (although both would be among the better songs currently on radio simply due to sonic style). The fact that the songs that dominated country radio for a majority of 2010 could not even make top 10 today, though, shows how much the format has changed.
December 30, 2015 @ 2:37 pm
Yes, country music at that time strongly resembled soft-rock. I actually made that point about post-2000 country in another comment on this thread. It”™s why that era is called “pop-country”.
But the real reason why country music back then was so much better is the same reason why I originally fell in love with the genre: sentimental realism. If you listen to the songs I listed, what do you hear that is so foreign to country radio today? Well, first there is the strong sense of melody and warmth in the music that simply does not exist in today”™s harsh, rhythmic country radio environment. Secondly, there is the emphasis on stories with deep emotional meaning, unlike today”™s endless focus on partying and fleeting sexual moments.
To put it more fundamentally, country back then was music for the soul, whereas country today is music for the body.
As an added note, the reason why I did not mention “Water” or “Rain Is A Good Thing” was that they both could possibly make it to the top of country charts today (although both would be among the better songs currently on radio simply due to sonic style). The fact that the songs that dominated country radio for a majority of 2010 could not even make top 10 today, though, shows how much the format has changed.
December 30, 2015 @ 6:33 pm
I’m not sure what you mean by melody and warmth. A lot of those songs don’t have strong, whistleable melodies.
I remember an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies in which Jethro decided to learn the violin (fiddle) to pick up women, and when the teacher tuned the instrument, he asked what the name of the song was. The response was “I’m Tuning Up, You Oaf” to which Jethro responds “That is a catchy title, what are the words?” “There are no words.” and Jethro says “Then it’ll never be a hit, you can’t even whistle the melody.”
“Water,” “Rain is a Good Thing” and “If I Die Young” are all extremely weak without the layers and layers of production. A “Good” melody works with just a voice and guitar or voice and piano and a drum kit.
What you call sentimental realism I would call extremely sappy and sometimes downright dumb. “Who are you when I’m not looking” masquerades as deep, but it’s really pretty underwhelming as a song, and “When I Die Young” is still, in essence, a teenager’s “Nobody listens to me” rant, as evidenced by “Funny how you’re dead when people start listening.” and the “Oh Oh”s annoy me.
December 30, 2015 @ 6:44 pm
Do you have an opinion on the songs that I listed? Sure, they may seem sappy, but only if you dislike emotionally deep songs. In my opinion, they are pretty close to the ideal of how country music should be.
And I’m glad that you brought up production. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with too much production. The question is whether or not the sonic style elicits an emotional response. The pre-bro style of pop-country passes that test with flying colors.
December 31, 2015 @ 7:04 am
‘Highway 20 Ride” isn’t very good, “Consider me Gone” is a reasonable piece of work but not one that I think is particularly exceptional.
I love emotionally deep work, like “Flagship of the Fleet” or “A-11” or “Yesterday When I Was Young.” The problem is that the pre-Bro era was not very emotionally deep, they’re fundamentally the same animal as the soccer-mom Country from half a decade earlier, except instead of being loud and fun like “Talk About Me” it tried to be serious, but the end result was at about the same emotional level.
I think that too much production is almost invariably a bad thing. The problem with adding too much of any one thing is that any individual expression is wiped out. Too many harmony vocalists, three guitar players when only one was needed, etc. only detract from the individual expression of each. That’s why Bluegrass consists of a five-piece band, but only one of each instrument: the ideal is that each piece is completely individual.
That’s why a majority of SCMs most-championed artists have smaller backing bands.
December 31, 2015 @ 3:40 pm
Think that’s horse shit just looking for responses….
Airstream
Roots
House
Makin plans
…. The list goes on of great songs. Girl can jam. I’ve seen her play a lot. Compared to many if the “plug and play” women in country music Miranda is a bad ass
December 31, 2015 @ 3:55 pm
She can’t hold a note. A lot of her writing encompasses the same basic emotional themes, and a lot of it is superficial.
She relies too much on her physical appearance. Even her Pistol Annies career involves all three of them dressed to impress, as if they’re music isn’t strong enough to be judged on its own merit. (as much I detest her solo career, Pistol Annies put out some great stuff.)
She’d be a background performer, if she even got a record deal at all, in any other decade in Country Music, because the only reason people think she’s good, and the only reason she wins these awards, is because the industry has no idea what its doing, and compared to the stumbling stupid idiots who populate the Top Ten she’s not half bad.
Compare her to any other era in Country Music and she’s so obviously outclassed that she stands out like a dead nun in a mail room.
Miranda isn’t fit to drive Lorrie Morgan’s tour bus.
December 31, 2015 @ 4:17 pm
Whatever….. Like arguing with a telephone pole….should know better.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but to say she’s a product of the era is a joke and just shows you have no understanding of her background, how she came about of know anything about her music.
December 29, 2015 @ 3:40 pm
Why do we need to care who’s dating whom, and for how long? Are you going ragmag on us? I already unliked a country page on my FB for printing this crap!
December 29, 2015 @ 8:31 pm
Jen,
I work very hard on these articles, take this effort very seriously, and assume an intelligent audience. I had people accusing me of turning into a ragmag seven years ago, and still somehow I’m still in a position to be able to turn into a ragmag today. I feel very strongly that this article is about much more than who is dating who.
December 31, 2015 @ 3:34 pm
Oh slow down and read the article or go somewhere else
December 31, 2015 @ 4:37 pm
Oh go soak your head in yellow water!
December 29, 2015 @ 5:13 pm
I saw Anderson East open for Sturgill in February. I thought he was good. Reminded me a little of Parker Millsap.
December 30, 2015 @ 9:43 am
I think the fact that Miranda didn’t do a full on Blake/Gwen style “new relationship” press release speaks volumes to her maturity. She is showing class every step of the way here. Meanwhile her 40 year old ex and his almost 50 year old new girlfriend are acting like Kardashians. Seriously, what 46 year old woman posts gifs of her BF kissing her cheek over and over? Their behavior screams “look at me, help me stay relevant!”
RE the other topic:
Cue the record companies dusting off every dude with a grizzly beard and long hair to try and pump out as many Stapleton knock offs as possible. Not that this would be a bad thing, if they have his talent, but I have visions of someone calling Dan+Shay and asking them how they feel about beards.. And I don’t mean dating one.
December 31, 2015 @ 3:32 pm
I’ve always defend Miranda around here. She’s got roots and can down right get it on.
Trig, couldn’t agree more.
January 2, 2016 @ 9:23 am
Great piece of writing! Miranda can sing, play guitar and write songs. What’s more, she’s a fan of good music and songwriters. And she’s from Texas, but I digress. 🙂 I knew something was afoot when Jason Isbell tweeted at her following the CMAs to compliment the song she wrote and performed that night, Bathroom Sink. Probably the last song from that whole album her label would have picked for her to sing that night. So badass. I would die if Dave Cobb produced her next one.
March 9, 2016 @ 11:38 pm
Wow! I don’t know about Mirandas personal life, as I don’t believe gossip, however the Blake/Gwen show has shown me what an ass he is. I love Mirandas music, some songs better than most, but she can rock it like no other woman in country, and slow it down as well.
I feel she will go much farther now that she got rid of Hollywood Shelton. I loved the song Bathroom Sink that she sang at the CMA’s. I think it said so so much about things I’ve felt myself, I FELT that song. I imagine many many people did, and to sing that song, with those lyrics the night Blakes Girlfriend decided to start the PR show? The class Ms Lambert has displayed by NOT returning any volleys shows a strength I am impressed by.
I’m looking forward to what she comes out with next.
September 24, 2018 @ 10:57 am
You’re an idiot. Blake Shelton filed for divorce because Miranda cheated on him. She sang about how she cheated, and Blake sang about how he got betrayed. It’s that simple. He was very respectful of her to not say anything about what she did to protect her career. He could’ve destroyed her reputation in one sentence but he didn’t. And yea he has a relationship that’s shown on national television, but what do you want him to do about it? Break up with the woman he fell in love with? Quit the show? Keep her off the show? No. It amazes me how many unaware idiots comment on this site.