Finally, song number two is officially live! “Only for the Summer” is a song I was never sure about in the beginning. It is a combination of stories with my favorite co-writers. It feels like time for this story to be told. The carelessness of falling in love — not wanting to think about the future. Only for the Summer is such a special song, a song that is supposed to define a very specific moment in time. Listen here. I’m ecstatic you get to hear it, and above all, I hope you can find your own story in this.
Country Rebel has given me the chance to sing one of my favorite country songs. I remember listening to this song on repeat after hearing it on country radio. This is my little version of it — so I hope you like it!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why I choose to be an artist. To put it simply, I want to give reason to why I chose this path. When I think back to why I got into music, the answer is simple: I’m inspired by so many artists around me. This is a place where I can express gratitude/inspiration of all the people that have inspired me or have done things a little different. So here it goes… (bear with me!) The first one: Russell Dickerson.
There’s so much to admire about the chart-topping singer, not least the quality of persistence. Years of hard work paid off with the power ballad “Yours” becoming his first number one on the country airplay chart – after 39 weeks on release, steadily creeping up the list. The 30-year-old Nashvillian has written hundreds of songs and touring for ten years. He’s endured rejection from industry executives along the way but continues to stay focused and dedicated to his craft. This persistence paid off through this breakthrough record.
The story behind “Yours” is simple and sweet. The song is about Russell‘s love for his wife (Kailey) who stays by his side during all the long miles on the road. You can often see her at the merch table, and taking photos of fans with her husband.
The song has amassed over 30 million streams on Spotify, three million views on YouTube and featured in New York’s Times Square. He soon his the road for a national tour in support of Kelsea Ballerini and Billy Currington although currently, is finishing his next studio release. Russell looks like becoming the next big country star – and he so deserves it.
We often view our own position in the industry or with friends with a “why not me” or a fear of rejection. I always think it’s important to remember that when we view success, we see it only from the top. We forget about the years of endurance, the countless rejections, and the time it takes to master your craft.
Kelsey Lamb performed this morning on Ty, Kelly, and Chuck with NashFM. Country radio with Ty, Kelly, and Chuck is well known for putting songwriters in the hot seat. Each artist/songwriter gets a chance to write a song about a current trending topic and then gets ten minutes to throw together a song. Today, Kelsey’s topic is celebrating Amazon Prime Day or as she knows it, Christmas in July. View the view from their Facebook page below.
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Sidney! Special announcement — I’m headed your way. I’ll be performing at 8PM as an opener for Nick Hickman at the Fremont County Fair. I’ll also be a judge for the Share the Fun talent show where one lucky winner will get to perform at the Iowa State Fair in August. Can’t wait to see you there!
And we’re live with the official behind-the-scenes for Little by Little! “Little by Little” was the first time I was able to have full creative control when filming a video. My first original song has been such a journey to release and I can’t believe how incredible it feels to put yourself out there. I’ve mentioned before, Stormlight Pictures did such a stellar job at depicting exactly what I saw in my head for making this song come to life. The most important element of this song was that I needed anyone to listen to it and know exactly what I felt, even if their situation wasn’t the same as mine.
I knew “Little by Little” would be my first single when I started writing it with Erik DiNardo and Jesse Labelle. I saw a vision for how I wanted to present myself to the world. It was important to make an effort to find the right team for my first music video. Logen Christopher and his team at Stormlight Productions helped me bring this vision to life! It was filmed in Nashville, TN in two locations. The team began filming in a grocery store in East Nashville. We finished the video in this adorable cottage just blocks away. When I met with Logen to discuss the storyline I literally told him “I want this to be cute, young, and flirty and tell the story of the song” and that’s exactly what happened. This story portrays a young couple who is excited about their relationship, making decisions together and just doing cute new things you do when you’re excited! Obviously, we had to bring donuts into the mix. Surprisingly, I didn’t even think of that myself…Logen surprised me with that one and now I think I might just have to do that in every video now.
I’ll end this post by telling one of the more awkward things on set. Originally, we planned on doing a cute bubble bath scene where I’m singing. The water didn’t heat, the tub was shallow, and the bubbles weren’t getting frothy enough. So, I’m sitting in this tub in a swimsuit, with cameras surrounding me as I freeze. There is someone standing next to me with a whisk trying to make the bubbles get bigger in the midst of all of this. Bottom line, I looked too awkward to use the scene…and fingers crossed no one ever sees that.
Stay tuned for ‘Behind the Scenes’ and if you want to see all of this before everyone else — sign up for my mailing list for exclusive sneak peaks.
(Also thank you so much to “The Morning Hangover” for mentioning my debut music video. It’s always a super nerve-racking thing to put yourself out there sometimes. Seeing my name next to so much amazing talent is a dream come true.)
Kelsey has officially released the official music video for “Little by Little” exclusively through Teen Music Insider. The narrative of the song perfectly echoes the sentiments of the song, which is taking a step in a relationship when the other person may not be ready. The music video shows the excitement of moving in with someone for the first time. Click here to view the video.
Last year I went to my CMAFest concert and stood in the middle of a crowd on Broadway with two of my best friends. We watched Luke Bryan sing from a rooftop while Preds played for the Stanley Cup. This year I was fortunate enough to be singing at the Spotlight Stage and I met so many new friendly faces! To say that Country Music Week is the best week of the year would be an understatement. A huge thank you to every single person who stopped to take time and watch me sing at Music City Center. Til’ next year!
If you’re feeling the CMAFest blues head over to the official CMA Spotify playlist.