Maddie & Tae’s "10 Songs I Wish I'd Written" Honor
"Girl In A Country Song" Singled Out By Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Following Rave Reviews for Kick-Off Weekend of START HERE Tour
Nashville, TN (October 12, 2015) – After kicking off their first headlining tour at Manhattan’s Highline Ballroom, Boston’s Paradise Rock Club and Portland, Maine’s The Asylum, Maddie & Tae rushed back to Music City to attend the 45th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala at Music City Center. Beyond honoring Hall of Fame Inductees Mark James, Even Stevens, Craig Wiseman and Songwriter/Artist inductee Rosanne Cash, the triple CMA nominees found themselves singled out as one of the prestigious "10 Songs I Wish I'd Written" designees. “No one told us we were being recognized,” said a breathless Maddie after being called to the stage for the honor. “It was so crazy, because that song happened so fast, was released even faster – and somehow just keeps going. It’s hard to believe people are still responding to a song we were sure everyone was going to be mad about.” “Girl In A Country Song,” already singled out by the Nashville Scene’s Annual Country Critics’ Poll asSingle of the Year, became only the third debut single by a female duo to top Billboard’s Country Singles chart. Its gender-flipping video – nominated for CMA Video of the Year – has racked up over 27.5 million views, and is still sparking conversation. “And now this?!” Tae says. “It’s crazy and it’s awesome – and it proves that people do care what girls think, and how they feel. Girls are more than Daisy Dukes and shutting up in the truck. I think our song sorta says people agree.” Even more than joining songs by artists ranging from Keith Urban and Eric Church, Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swift on the list, the pair not only co-wrote their song, but they joined pop sensation Meghan Trainor as being the only writer/artists to see their debut single included for the very prestigious honor. “Like Tae said,” Maddie continued, “it’s crazy. We care about songwriting soooo much. The people in that room are the very best of the best. That they’d recognize our song like this, it kinda takes my breath away. This is everything we ever wanted, and seeing people we respect so much respect out music – there really aren’t words.” It’s been that kind of week for the platinum blonds who are also nominated for Vocal Duo and New Artistat this year’s CMA Awards. After spending the summer on the road as part of Dierks Bentley’s SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR, Maddie & Tae kicked off their first ever headlining tour at New York City’s Highline Ballroom to a full house of young fans who hung on every note, even knowing the words to unreleased songs like “Takin’ It Easy” and “Boomerang.” The critics agreed. Playing two notoriously hard markets off the bat, the platinum blonds impressed the media in no uncertain terms. Rolling Stone headlined, “Maddie & Tae Launch Headlining Tour With Precocious Wisdom, Wit,” raving the duo “ran through an exuberant, compact 18-song, nearly 70 minute set like a pair of seasoned headliners,” while Billboard offered, “a bridge between contemporary country’s pop-crossover imperative and the genre’s more traditional pillars… Country music may be the last refuge for fans of harmony: the power of interwoven voices has mostly been forgotten in other genres. Maddie & Tae’s harmonies frequently attract comparisons to the Dixie Chicks, though on stage they pushed towards Fleetwood Mac.” The next night the Boston Globe weighed in. “Country duo off to a good start,” read the headline, as noted critic Sarah Rodman wrote, “There has been a void in country music for a strong, female harmony group since the semi-retirement of the Dixie Chicks, and newcomers Maddie & Tae – Texas native Maddie Marlow and Oklahoman Taylor Dye – are stepping up to ably fill the gap.” Thursday night, the duo – who exuded sweetness, sass and swagger in equal measure – played the entirety of their recently released debut album, “Start Here,” for a giddy all-ages show at the Paradise that had even their littlest fans singing along.” “When we went out on that stage,” Tae said, “it was one of those times when Maddie and I just wanted to put every bit of our hearts out there, to give those fans every single thing piece of who we are. When they started singing back to us, it was the most amazing feeling – because they were singing our songs, but they kind of made them their songs, too.” “I don’t even know what to say about that,” Maddie added. “We’ve played so many shows since the single went to country radio, but the idea all these people had come to see us – because there was something in our songs that moved them? That is what made me love music so much, and the idea those people feel the same way about our stuff, what could be better?” As “Fly” crests the Top 5, Maddie & Tae prove that smart songs by young women have a place in today’s country music. With acclaim from The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, People and USA Today, the 20-year olds who picked up one of NSAI’s biggest awards will be on hand for The 49th Country Music Association Awards, broadcast live on ABC on November 4.
