“Ain't About You” singer HunterGirl had a “pinch me” moment recently as she prepared for this week's CMA Fest, where she'll perform on the Chevy Vibes Stage on Friday (June 7) and perform on the CMA Closeup Stage. on Saturday (June 8).
“I was rehearsing with a band and thinking about being 14 years old and playing shows — little Hunter would lose her mind thinking about all the cool things going on right now,” HunterGirl said in a chat with Advertising sign at the BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville offices.
Those “cool things” include more than just being runner-up in his 20th season American Idol two years ago, she was announced as part of this year's CMT's Next Women of Country class in January and debuted at the Grand Ole Opry in March, while also gearing up for the release of her major label debut EP, Tennessee Girlout Friday (June 7) on 19 Recordings/BBRMG/BMG Nashville.
Born Hunter Wolkonowski, HunterGirl grew up 90 minutes south of Nashville in Winchester, Tennessee. She earned her stage name by being the only girl named Hunter in her elementary school class. Inspired in equal measure by the confessional songwriting of Dolly Parton and the ferocity of P!nk, HunterGirl moved to Nashville right out of high school, studying at nearby Middle Tennessee State University while playing Nashville's downtown bars. She won an international Nashville Songwriters Association competition — and then it was time to expand her career American Idol in 2022. HunterGirl grew up listening to Luke Bryan's 2013 Crash My Party album, so her tenure American Idol Almost a decade later it's come full circle, with HunterGirl playing for and mentoring Bryan himself.
“He always told me, 'Keep writing songs and always stay true to yourself,'” HunterGirl says of Bryan. “He's just been such a champion for me since I've been on the show and I'm so grateful to have him in my corner.” He will also be opening shows for Bryan this summer.
Her EP includes “Ain't About You,” which made HunterGirl the first female country artist in three decades to write her own debut radio single.
“Ain't About You” — which peaked at No. 53 on Hot Country Songs — captured the deflated feeling familiar to so many Nashville aspiring artists as they watch friends and fellow artists reach career milestones and embrace the 26-year-old now as a clear-eyed purveyor of emotional depth.
“It was the most honest and vulnerable song I've ever had,” he says. “I wrote it in my bedroom and I didn't think anyone would hear it. That song and people's acceptance of it changed my songwriting because I realized that people needed to hear the not-so-pretty parts of your life, the really hard things that I was afraid to say. After that he made the choice [songs for] the EP is a lot easier, because I'm like, “I'm going to be myself and hopefully it touches someone else out there.”
The six-song EP weaves together what HunterGirl calls “blue denim jacket songs” and “leather jacket songs.” She explains: “The blue jean jacket songs feel like I'm sitting in my bedroom talking about my story, and the leather jacket songs are the ones that make me feel like I can take on the world and feel strong. So the EP shows different sides of my personality.”
“Bad Boy,” an uptempo rocker with lyrics gushing over a tattooed, cigarette-smoking guitarist, is an unmistakably “leather jacket song,” says HunterGirl.
“I wanted to write a song about my terrible taste in men,” says HunterGirl, who wrote the song with writer-producer Lindsay Rimes and Greg Bates. “I was out after a show and a guy pulled up on a motorcycle, and later I started singing the line, 'I got it bad for a bad boy.' I took the idea to them and we just got into the studio and had fun.”
Advertising sign spoke with HunterGirl, June's top country of the month, about her new EP, songwriting, her passion for supporting the military and more.
“Ain't About You” was a solo write-up for you. Why is songwriting such an important aspect of your art?
I write every day. I just dump my day into my calendar or notes app. I feel like I have to write my songs just because I've been through different circumstances and I feel like I can talk about them with my audience. I feel like every time I write a song, it lets me sit with everyone else and go, “Hey, this is me as a person.”
Do you have a favorite verse on the EP?
I love the line in “Pretty Much” that goes, “Who decided what was beautiful?” Even as a young lady, I worried about my appearance — “Am I wearing the right outfit?” — or when your friend takes a picture and you're afraid to look at it. I'm finally getting to a point in my life where I'm like, “I just want to be myself, say what I want to say, and be who I want to be — and if you don't like it, that's fine.”
A standout on the EP is “Clockworks,” which you wrote with Rimes and JoyBeth Taylor. What do you remember about writing this song?
JoyBeth brought up the title and idea for 'Clockworks' and I thought, 'Oh my God, that's my grandfather.' We were just talking about all those moments I wish I could relive. I feel like things move so fast and I forget to live in the moment sometimes. Every time I sing this song in my set, it's a reminder to live in the here and now. I dedicate this song to my grandpa and I feel like everyone should take that trip or make that phone call and tell people you love them as much as you can.
You come from a family of military veterans. How does this affect your work with military organizations?
Yes, my grandfather, my great grandfather, six of my great grandfathers, all of them. I grew up around military people. I started working with veterans when I was 17 and started writing with organizations like Operation Song, Freedom Sings and A Soldier's Child. A lot of times when we write these songs and record them, and then the families hear them, it's the first time the families hear about some of the things they went through.
In 2020, I started a women veterans class on Zoom and it became a community of support. I think when veterans come home, they can feel lost, and that's what my grandfather and others in my family have felt. Giving back to veterans is important to me because I've seen how much writing a song can change a person.
When did you first realize you had musical talent?
I started singing at the age of three, singing with my grandfather in church. I wrote my first song when I was nine and some of my first performances were talent shows and county fairs. I played parking lots and car shows, I played them all. Even though they had no musical background [my parents?] he just told me if I wanted to do this, I had to work hard. My family worked a lot of jobs, so I saw how hard they worked and that was ingrained in me as a child.
Did you take guitar lessons or were you in bands at school?
I learned piano first by ear, then I wanted to learn bass because I wanted to be in a band and they needed a bass player, so I sang lead and played bass. Then I learned guitar so I could write on the guitar. I want to get back to bass. My bass is still at home and I think my mom will say that during CMA Fest.
You moved to Nashville and studied music business at Middle Tennessee State University. How do you feel this prepared you for your career?
I feel like I learned a lot about music and who I am as a person. The songwriting program is great there, too [Grammy-nominated songwriter and MTSU associate professor] Odie Blackmon is amazing and [MTSU dean of the College of Media and Entertainment] Beverly Keel has been a champion for me and all women. I think I hit the pass for every bar [Nashville’s Lower] Broadway, going to school doing shows seven days a week.
I started my classes very early, about 7 a.m., and then I would go to Broadway, play eight to 12 hours, and then drive back to Murfreesboro [Tennessee] to do it all again. I don't know what kind of coffee I was drinking then. I remember sometimes someone would say, “Play something you wrote.” Playing covers for eight hours and then singing your own song? God bless such people.
What was the first song you fell in love with?
I remember hearing Dolly Parton's “Coat of Many Colors” for the first time, just sitting there watching with my dad and Pa. They loved Dolly. I remember thinking, “I hope I can write a song like that one day.” You feel every word he sings and he says such complicated things in the simplest way. You feel like you're talking to your best friend.
What was the first concert you went to?
I went to the Southern Ground festival here in Nashville, with the Zac Brown Band. It was so much fun and I got to see Willie Nelson play so that was incredible.
Who would you most like to work with in the future?
I'd love to work with Dolly or Reba McEntire at some point and on the other side of the spectrum, P!nk, for sure.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/huntergirl-country-rookie-of-the-month-1235701259/
