Speaking of the shelf, where do you keep your trophies?
Do you have a shelf?
Do you have a case?
Well, right now they're in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
OK, that's a good place, Kacey.
That's a good place.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Come here, Pep.
Come here. [GASP]
Puppy.
Who is this?
Is this Pepper?
Hi, Pepper.
Hi.
[RUMBLING]
Hey.
[LAUGHTER]
Kelly is starting off on a good foot already.
Clearly, she is so--
[LAUGHS]
She's very vocal.
She's vocal about what she wants.
Oh, she's precious.
Thanks, guys.
We were going to talk about this later in the show.
But since she's right there, how is she as a tour dog?
Because we thank all of our dogs in the credits of the show,
like every credit.
And we'll give a shout out to Pepper this week.
Pepper's obviously been great.
Yeah, she's done.
She's like, good bye.
I feel like it's been better out here than at home.
Maybe she's just a dog that needs a lot of stimulation.
She's a blue heeler.
So if there's any blue heeler owners out there,
they know what I mean.
They need a task.
And if they don't have a task, they're
going to create their own task.
So I think out here with all the stimulation, all the movement
and constant things to see and do,
I think she really likes it.
So it's been nice to have a little hotel buddy.
Oh, sure.
So tell us about the preparation for this tour,
the creative direction.
Did you dream all this up during quarantine?
Well, ever since the album was created,
I feel like it's presented itself
in a really visual way for me.
But working with the tour designer,
his name is Rob Sinclair, and I'm a fan of his kids.
He did all the Tame Impala tours.
And I just feel like they're such a vibe
and they're fun to watch live.
So I thought he would be a cool fit for me to bring this story
into life in a visual sense.
But yeah, it was intense after not being on the road
for a couple of years and getting back into--
even just singing every day like that.
I haven't been singing that much.
So it's been a challenge.
I do want to go back to something you said,
it's so visual.
And it makes me wonder, when you're thinking of the songs
and when--
I know that with this album in particular,
you said a lot of it was just coming
to you, like it was almost being channeled into you.
Are you seeing that in visuals almost instead
of hearing it as music?
Sometimes, yeah.
Sometimes an idea or even just like a word
will just pop in to my head and it doesn't really
have a whole lot of forethought or context.
It'll just like happen like a lightning bolt,
and I just got to pay attention to it and write it down
or it's gone forever.
That's the thing.
So do you journal constantly?
I'm not as good as I should be.
I just feel like sometimes you just got
to force yourself to sit on and do it.
But I do try to stay consistent with it, yeah.
Yeah, so we're loving the new album.
We love it.
Thanks.
Absolutely.
Love it.
Thank you.
How much of it are you playing in your live show?
I believe we're playing all but a couple of songs.
OK.
It was a tough set list to figure out,
because you do want to make everybody happy,
but you can't please everybody.
And ultimately, there's going to be people that walk away
going, damn, why didn't she play this song
or why didn't she play this song?
And so I think ultimately, figuring out
what creates the best rhythm and flow throughout the whole thing
is the most important even if that
means you have to leave a song or two out.
We know that album, Star-Crossed,
you've said it's incredibly personal, obviously.
But when you think about Golden Hour,
you said that's more of a highlight reel.
This is, kind of, the flip side of that,
and it continues to push the borders of country music.
And why is that so important to you in your identity
to be in the country genre?
So I grew up in Texas.
What comes out of my mouth always leans country.
I can't help that.
And I think that country, if you look at its roots,
it's a pretty expansive palette of a bunch
of different kinds of music.
And so naturally, I'm just inspired
by so many different things.
I grew up singing country and western,
but there's a whole wide range of other things
that I was growing up listening to.
Like it would be Shania and the Dixie Chicks one day
then the Spice Girls, NSYNC, Sade, Alison Krauss,
Fleetwood Mac that I would hear around the house, Neil Young,
Tom Petty.
There's just like a ton of different influences there.
So yeah, I don't know, I think I'm always
going to be experimenting with different styles that
inspire me.
And I think that my true fans respect that.
I could have made Golden Hour again if I really wanted to.
But I really don't think that my fans would
have really respected that, or I wouldn't have
respected that about myself.
I don't really believe in doing something
again just for the sheer sake that it worked before.
Well, and you mentioned the fact that this
is incredibly personal for you, that this album is really
what you were living through.
And you were super vulnerable.
How scary is that?
You're used to putting your heart
on your sleeve with your songs.
But like you mentioned, Golden Hour was this highlight reel,
so it was all happy and Rose Colored Glasses and this isn't.
So were you terrified to put this out?
Well, there's always a bit of melancholy in my songs.
Even if it's like a happy song, I can't help that.
There's always like a slight depressive undertone in there
somewhere.
Happy sad.
There's a little bit of that in Golden Hour too, yeah.
But yeah, it is scary being vulnerable and opening yourself
up to the opinions of others, the criticisms of something
that is a very deeply personal moment in your life.
But it was an album that I had to make regardless
if anybody else liked it.
So it made me feel good to make it.
It was cathartic for me.
It was a release for me emotionally.
So that's really, at the end of the day, all that matters,
I feel.
Do you want to talk about what's happening in country music
right now?
We're seeing a bit of a revolution.
We're seeing a lot more people that
are being welcomed to our table, and that's
what we are really all about that here, especially
at Amazon.
And you have always been a champion of that.
We still have a long way to go, but I
feel like we're moving in the right direction.
And I want you to talk a little bit about that,
because you've been one of the first to say, hey, we want
everybody to come to country.
Yeah, definitely.
Look, if you're talking about country music,
it's a genre built on what's supposed
to be real songs about real people, real life.
And there are roots in this genre that spread way
into gospel, and folk, and bluegrass and all kinds
of music from all over.
And I just feel like one thing that I've
been really happy about is that people feel like I think
they're invited to a party that they may have not felt
invited to before when they come to one of my shows.
And I don't know, I just think it's
really cool to see the genre widening
in a lot of different ways.
But yeah, like you said, I do think that there is a long way
to go, because for me, it's not just about inclusivity like
in the LGBTQ community.
But I'm so glad that there's more country artists of color
or songwriters of color.
I feel like there's hopefully, a widening of even song matter
inclusivity, like what we're singing about,
what the songs are sounding like, just
diversity across the board.
So I think maybe that you do have to take baby steps.
And I think there's always going to be
people that are close-minded in any institution or genre
or whatever.
But I think that it's really cool to be alive at a time
where things are being pushed forward
even if it is in a small way.
Well, you've got a show tonight.
So what's your pre-show routine?
After we hang up here, what are you going to do?
So I hang out here.
I like Keke with the glam team next door.
And we get ready, we have fun picking out the outfit
and crafting the look for the night
and maybe sipping on a little bit of something
to get ready for the show.
I like that.
I know, that sounds fun.
Can we come?
It is fun.
And then at some point before the show,
before I get pulled to walk to the show, the band and I,
we all line up tequila shots, and we all cheers each other
and say, have a great show and we do a tequila shot together.
Oh.
OK, now we really want to go.
Yeah.
We want to be a part of that.
We're really in it now.
Listen, all the best tonight.
We're going to see you here in Nashville, February 11.
I'm so excited.
Yeah, this show is gorgeous.
I'm really proud of it.
And I feel like I've made it a point
to make sure it's got enough beautiful eye
candy for everybody.
But you're not going to get-- the songs aren't
going to get lost in it.
So if you're coming and you're wanting
to listen to the lyrics, listen to the songs, I got you.
But it's also going to be really pretty.
Well, we're so excited.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Good to see you.
Thanks guys.
You as well.
I'll see you on the Nashville day.
Bye.
[MUSIC PLAYING]