Danielle Bradbery isn't afraid to do things her own way, and she prides herself on that trait. The 26-year-old singer that fans first met on The Voice ten years ago is readying a new group of songs that will kick off a brand new era in her career. She has released a steady stream of songs in recent years, including "A Special Place," "Monsters" and "Runaways" within the past year. Bradbery says there are plenty more tunes where those came from, and she's in the process of assembling them into a new album soon.
"I'm sitting on a whole bed of music, and I'm so excited," Bradbery tells Wide Open Country in an exclusive interview. "Me and my team talk about how many songs we're sitting on right this second. The goal is to release an album and hopefully really start to buckle down on dates and what that will look like. These releases of songs I recently put out is just a little bit of a taste for the fans, and honestly, just me wanting to put music out and show everybody what I've been working on."
In "A Special Place," a Maren Morris-penned tune released in September 2022, Bradbery shows her bold and unapologetic side. The song finds her singing about the consequences an ex-love deserves after a sour relationship. The rock-tinged production and Bradbery's matter-of-fact delivery contribute to the song's independent message.
Bradbery's latest crop of tune's includes some vulnerability, also. At first listen, the piano-driven "Monster" seems to be about a woman stuck in the toxic cycle of a bad relationship. However, Bradbery explains that the song was inspired by an entirely different enemy that she knows personally.
"It was a song about anxiety and the monster being that anxiety or mental health or whatever that monster may be in anyone's life that you just can't detach from," she says. "I was excited to finally write something so organic and that I personally needed. Then I got to release it, and hearing the stories and seeing what fans have felt from it has been truly incredible."
The final song making up her latest releases is the smooth "Runways," which invokes images of free-spirited love on a cool summer night. It was written by Will Weatherly, Melissa Peirce and Sara Haze, and Bradbery knew she needed to record it the moment she heard it.
"When I first heard 'Runaways,' it was so fun, and it was so drum heavy and something that I personally, genuinely jammed out to as if it wasn't even going to be mine," Bradbery says of the song. "... I always release breakup songs or these slower emotional songs, so I just thought it was something that was a cool change for me and my music."
The latest group of songs all share a common theme that Bradbery says will continue on her upcoming project: maturity. The singer says she's ready to share a different side of herself with her fans, and she's not afraid to dig in.
"With the new music and the songs that we're sitting on, there's a different perspective there," she says. "There's more about life, and even the feel and the sound of the songs are a little different than maybe what I've done in the past ... I think it's a little different than what fans have heard before, and it's more of the woman side of Danielle Bradbery."
In addition to working on new music, Bradbery has been busy on the road, and she recently teamed up with Smirnoff ICE to perform on the brand's Relaunch Tour alongside the All-American Rejects. The concert took place in June in Dallas, Texas, and it benefitted Women in Music, a non-profit organization working to open opportunities for women in the music industry.
"The night was all about women in music, which, obviously, I'm a woman of country, so I thought that was an even more perfect fit," Bradbery says. "It was just a party. It was so fun, and to represent a woman in country that night was very, very cool."
"As a woman in music, I feel like there have been times where it hasn't been the easiest," she adds. "I feel like all across the board that was a whole conversation for a very long time, and it still kind of is. For an event just to be a representation of a woman in country, a woman in music, I thought was pretty powerful and hopefully I've represented well."
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Bradbery will continue her busy year by hitting the road with Jordan Davis, whom she calls "hands down one of the best," on his Damn Good Time Tour. The tour begins Sept. 7 in Columbus, Ohio and ends Sept. 23 in Mashantucket, Conn.
