When fans listen to Alana Springsteen's recently released album Twenty Something, they will hear the thoughts, reflections and life lessons of a woman navigating life in her 20s. From heartbreaks, to losing friends, to people pleasing and finding herself, Springsteen covers it all in this 18-track odyssey. While the songs come from the perspective of someone in their 20s, the lessons learned throughout the album can encourage listeners in any stage of life. In fact, the reflections and themes Springsteen sings about in the three-part album seem to come from someone with a wealth of wisdom, yet Springsteen is only 22 years old.
"I think I've always been an old soul," Springsteen tells Wide Open Country in an exclusive interview. "It's something people have told me since I was a little kid... I started writing when I was really young. I was in love with words from when I was 6, 7, 8 years old. I would write poetry. Once I started playing, I put the two together, and it broke open this whole new world for me. I think songwriting allowed me to learn so much about myself because, for the first time, I was able to put words and melodies to these feelings that I was experiencing."
With the vehicle of self-reflection that is songwriting, Springsteen moved to Nashville at age 14, where she signed a publishing deal and began working towards her dreams. She made her introduction to country fans with her two-part History of Breaking Up project, released over 2021 and 2022. Now, Twenty Something undoubtedly cements her as an artist unafraid to dig into the uncomfortable and vulnerable truths of life.
Springsteen released the album in three parts: Messing It Up, Figuring It Out and Getting It Right. Working with storied songwriters and artists such as Mitchell Tenpenny, Shay Mooney, Shane McAnally, Liz Rose and more, she took the revelations and lessons she's gathered throughout her young life and turned them into song. The project kicks off with something every girl in her 20s needs: a sassy breakup tune. She accomplishes this with the upbeat and confident "You Don't Deserve a Country Song."
The Virginia native sings about matters of the heart elsewhere in the album, like in "Tennessee is Mine" and "Here's to All My Exes," but the project also covers topics not often heard in country music. In "Chameleon," she tackles one of her "biggest insecurities," which is her tendency to people please. Then, in "When We Were Friends," she sings about a different kind of heartbreak: the loss of a good friend. The album's 13th track, "Taylor Did," is an ode to Taylor Swift — one of her biggest inspirations — bringing together all the other dreamers and fans who have been inspired the country and pop icon over the years.
"She's such an honest storyteller and has a way of making you feel just understood," Springsteen says of Swift. "There's a line in the song that says, 'She was always there for me like a friend I had never met,' and I always felt that way growing up, like she was talking about my life."
Springsteen ends the journey of the album in the same way one ends a prayer: with "Amen." Written by the singer along with Delacey, Sarah Solovay and Ido Zmishlany, "Amen" finds Springsteen asserting her independence and taking ownership of her life, even if she doesn't follow the traditional path.
"I'm sorry to my mama, but I'm gonna live the way I wanna so I know this life was mine in the end / And I give myself permission to go and make some bad decisions because I'm only trying to find out who I am," she sings in the chorus.
"I finished the album with ['Amen'] because after all the messing it up and all the figuring it out, this is where I've ended up," Springsteen says. "I'm in this place where I'm finally giving myself permission to live on my own terms not do anything to please anybody, but just do it because it's what's truly in my heart. Just chasing the most honest, authentic version of myself."
Although Twenty Something lets fans in on the deepest corners of Springsteen's heart and mind, she says she's not an "open book," but rather a bit of an introvert. The process of the album, however, allowed her to truly get to know herself, and she hopes the project encourages listeners to do the same.
"I think the only thing worth chasing is the most honest, authentic version of yourself. I'm always challenging myself to do that, but with this album specifically, I knew what I was in for," Springsteens says. "When you theme an album around your 20s, it challenges you to get really vulnerable and be raw because your 20s are that."
"I hope when people hear it, it inspires them to go on that journey for themselves and have the courage to really get to know themselves — the good things and the not so pretty things — because that makes you love yourself more, and how can you love someone that you don't truly know?" she adds.
Springsteen will bring Twenty Something to her fans across the country on her first-ever headlining run, The Twenty Something Tour. The tour kicks off at Nashville's Exit/In on Oct. 25 and runs through Dec. 10 in Pittsburgh.
"I've dreamt about doing this since I was a little kid, and it feels different when they're just coming to see you," Springsteen says. "I cannot wait for these shows. I'm going to make sure every one is special, and we're going to make so many core memories together."
See tour dates here.
