The Nashville-based Country Singer/Songwriter Abby Lindsey releases her reflective and tender debut single, "She Knew Better."
Turning to songwriting to help cope with life's trials and tribulations, Lindsey dived deep into the realm of songwriting, whether it was for her own career or someone else's. With her debut single "She Knew Better," Abby Lindsey goes deep into a disheartening message that's sure to strike a relatable chord. Writing this song the day after a past lover married someone else, Lindsey explained that it was a tough pill to swallow. Thus, leading her back to the drawing board to create a tune full of heart, desire, and regret.
"She Knew Better" gracefully opens with melodic and slightly echoed piano keys, all while Abby Lindsey's breathy and calming vocals enter the song with elegance and strength. As she begins describing a dreary situation with lyrics like "-She knew what she wanted and how to get it, and I sure didn't," we can't help but feel our heartstrings being tugged on one at a time.
Abby Lindsey shifts back and forth into this dynamic delivery where she powers through with strength, while also reflecting on the struggle she's endured. The supporting instrumentals swell to deliver this heartwarming atmosphere through drifting electric guitar, soulful piano keys, and mid-tempo drums.
Ending the song with energy and intensity, Abby Lindsey has perfectly crafted this heartfelt debut single to physically release pent up emotions that haunt her, and "She Knew Better" serves all the healing we can sonically receive.
Listen to "She Knew Better" here.
Hello Abby, we are so thrilled to have you with us at BuzzMusic. We love how you introduced yourself to fans through your heartfelt debut single, "She Knew Better." What can listeners learn about you and your music from listening to the single?
I hope listeners learn that transparency and honesty is something I will always share with my audience. To me, good music is conveyed with realness and raw emotion -without that, I personally can’t connect to a song, so how would the audience? Speaking of honesty, hopefully, they learn from my mistakes and tell someone how they feel so they don’t have a she/he knew a better moment!
How long was "She Knew Better" in the making? Did you face any challenges when writing your heartfelt lyricism that depicts struggle and turmoil?
I wrote this song over two years ago with my fabulous co-writers & friends - Amy & Lydia - the day after my life-long love married someone else. Talk about bittersweet. I sat on it for a few years because, honestly, I wasn’t ready to release the song which was my closure with him. Luckily, I met and fell in love with a wonderful man in the past year and came to terms with letting this little songbird leave the nest. The process though was actually super seamless despite the message. The emotions were so raw and fresh the day we wrote it, the song poured out in like an hour. It flowed so organically and came out better than I ever imagined and I think it’s because I was just so blatantly honest with myself and my co-writers.
Did you perform any of the instrumentals yourself within "She Knew Better"? What was the creative process like with regards to the song's sweet instrumentals?
I actually didn’t. My fabulous producer, Josh Barker, was the mastermind behind the instrumentals. He played everything from the piano intro to the banjo, and the base track itself that he built from scratch. My strength is not in the instruments, unfortunately — I think I can play like four guitar chords on a good day (haha!), so I just stuck to harmonies on this one. One day, I brought the song to Josh and we sat at his piano in his vibey studio in the basement of his house and he just started playing the piano loop you hear at the beginning of the song… and I just sang to it. We immediately got in the booth and laid down scratch vocals and then built everything on the track together from there. I was raised on 90’s country so I LOVE the sound of a banjo or steel guitar so I knew I wanted to incorporate that sound into this song. I feel like it’s such a good balance of the things I love about country music instrumentally, while still capturing the modern essence of country music today. I’m so proud of it!
Since moving to Nashville with only $50 in your pocket, could you enlighten us on how you managed to kickstart your career and land where you are today?
Network. Network. Network. Honestly, where it all kick-started for me was when a college friend of mine introduced me to one of her family friends that had been writing in Nashville for decades and he took me under his wing and introduced me to a lot of awesome people — one of which is who I wrote She Knew Better with. Since then, my circle of musician friends and network has expanded so much - all because of that one fateful connection!
With everything happening in the world, music is connecting and bringing people together. What has been one of your favorite releases this year and why?
My family, unfortunately, lost our matriarch to cancer earlier this year - my Mamaw. She was everything to me and losing her has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face. Patrick Droney released a song earlier this year called “Glitter” and it wrecked me in the best way. He compares grief to glitter and the mess it makes in our life, literally and figuratively. I play it every time I’m in the car and I just sit in my grief for a minute. I turn the volume up and sing at the top of my lungs and remember my Mamaw. And honestly, it makes me feel better. Music is healing that way - that’s really what made me want to do this forever and this song made me remember that all over again.