Catching Up With Danielle Bradbery
Since winning NBC’s ” The Voice” back in 2013, Texan born Danielle Bradbery’s career has gone from strength to strength. Her 2017 sophomore album ” I Don’t Believe We’ve Met” put her on the map as not just the incredible vocalist she had already proved herself to be but as a talented songwriter too, penning seven of the ten tracks, and along with a fantastic stage presence she is surely one of the most exciting artists in contemporary country music.
We have featured her many times here at Belles and Gals , and it was great to get the chance to chat with her recently to ask her about her latest single ” Never Have I Ever” , her recent collaboration with Diplo and Zac Brown and her future plans. What a pleasure she was to interview too!
1. LH Hello Danielle, many thanks for you time today! Where are you at the moment?
DB Hi Lesley! I’m currently in Nashville, Tennessee.
2. LH We have a lot to talk about in just ten minutes, can I start by saying we’ve been following your career for some time now here at Belles and Gals, what aspect of it are you enjoying the most?
DB Oh man, there is a lot to choose from! But you know I think it’s just interacting with my fans . And then equally just making the music that you want and love, that’s such a unique feeling and getting to share that with my fans. Finding ways to have it relate to them …that’s all just one big moment and I’m so thankful for it and i’m just enjoying it so much. I just can’t wait to continue to make more music and hopefully have an album for everybody…
LH Oh great, new music was going to be one of my questions further down the line!
3. LH You just mentioned about relating to your fans, and your new single ” Never Have I Ever” is definitely very relatable as well as being very catchy. Can you just talk me through the inspiration and the writing process behind the song please?
DB Yeah! Laura ( Veltz) actually had the title, we just started talking about what that could be about. We’d never heard of a song called ” Never Have I Ever” that we know of, we just started talking about life and it kind of turned into relationships and we were like hey, is this going to be a relationship song? I have a boyfriend and the beginning stages of meeting him was kind of like of the inspiration behind this song because it was so unexpected, he made me feel like no other guy has, and that’s what the song is about! When you thought you were so tough, you wouldn’t let a guy walk all over you, and then you meet somebody and its like gosh, I’m letting all this happen!
4. LH I think your vocals are particularly outstanding on this song, very raw and emotional, is it easier to put your heart and soul into something you’ve written and is personal to you than it is with a cover?
DB Sure! I think it matters, when you are a part of writing it the recording process is a lot easier! You’re singing a real life story about yourself that people are listening to, that’s something I kind of try to do all the time so the listener can really hear me out. So I’m glad you like that! I hope everyone else feels the same!
5. LH Also you made that great dreamy video to accompany the song, that must have been a particularly personal one as well, filmed in your home state of Texas with your mom as your “glam team” due to the various lockdown restrictions. That must have been a crazy, challenging experience?
DB It was very crazy and interesting! I was quarantining in my hometown of Houston and we were trying to plan out how we were going to do this video. The closest option to us was Austin Texas, maybe a 3 hour drive from where I live, and we tried to do a video with only five people!
LH Well your mom did brilliantly, but you’re pretty glam anyway so she had quite an easy job!
DB Aw, thank you!
6. LH And I see that Big Machine have added the track to their recent ” Pride Month” album, but will it form part of an upcoming EP or album release from yourself?
DB For sure! We are planning a new EP or album or whatever it will be, we have songs lined up ….I’m super excited about that and as soon as I get more details myself we’ll definitely share that with you guys!
LH Oh great news, we will be more than happy to get that information and share it on the site!
7. LH And the single impacts on country radio on 13th July I see, still a challenging part of the business for female artists…..have you noticed anything improving in that respect lately Stateside?
DB I have actually. A lot of women in the country music industry are getting a lot of love, and I think finally ( well hopefully, I hope I’m right!) people are respecting each other more and playing more women. Personally I have heard a lot more women on the radio, there have been more women to have number ones. The support I’ve had from radio and platforms like that have always been so great lately and yeah my fingers are crossed, and so fast it seems a really positive turn in all of that which makes me so happy.
8. LH We’ve only got a couple more minutes so I just want to ask you briefly about your collaboration with Diplo and Zac Brown on the track “Hometown” for Diplo’s recent album. That must have been such a cool project to be part of, how did it come about?
DB It was super cool! I was very shocked when I first heard i was going to be doing that …..shocked in a good way, i was so excited….I’m a huge fan of both Diplo and Zac Brown. I was in LA writing and eventually performing at Stagecoach so it happened to be perfect timing when i was there to put my vocal on this song. They were just super welcoming and we just kind of got it to happen ….and now looking at how it’s doing it just makes me so happy!
LH And with Diplo having such a massive following, what a great opportunity to introduce your music to a wider audience!
DB Oh yeah! I grew up listening to different kinds of music, so I’m very excited about that!
9. And just one final question before my time is up, I bet like many artists you’re itching to get back out on the road again when it’s safe to do so…..can we expect to see you back here in the UK when that’s possible?
DB Yes, y’all will for sure ! I was planning on coming out there before all this shut down, so we’ll definitely be planning to make my way back over there!
LH Oh great, as always we will welcome you with open arms!
DB Thank you!
LH Thanks again Danielle, enjoy the rest of your day and we’ll look forwards to keeping up to date with your new music and all your news.
Interview conducted by Lesley Hastings (twitter.com/lesleyhastings)
