GRAMMY Award-winning global icon Wynonna Judd has released her latest single ‘Girl Who Could Sing‘ from her highly anticipated solo album ‘The Hard Truth‘, out 2nd October via ANTI- Records. Written by Judd, Cactus Moser, Clara Calaway, Melissa Forrette, and Brant Colella, the deeply personal track serves as a letter to Wynonna’s late father and finds her at her most raw and vulnerable. Wynonna, who never knew her father, was inspired to write ‘Girl Who Could Sing’, after his family discovered a drawer filled with newspaper articles and clippings of her, after his passing.
Throughout the song, Wynonna reckons with the complicated emotions of having a father she never knew and ultimately will never know, asking, “Did you hear the same lies, that kept us away?” and “Did my voice and my backbone both come from you?” She wonders, “Did you ever buy a ticket, did you come to a show,” questions that will forever remain unanswered. At its core, the song sits with loss, acceptance, and the ache of knowing that some answers are not to be found, only felt. Listen and watch the track’s accompanying video below, featuring Wynonna holding the exact press clippings her father had kept.
WATCH ‘GIRL WHO COULD SING’ VIDEO
LISTEN TO ‘GIRL WHO COULD SING’
“I was 30 years old when I learned the truth, that the man I called “Dad” my entire life, was not my biological father,” Wynonna explains. “It changed everything I thought I knew about who I was. By the time I was ready to meet him, he was gone. I never got to hear his voice, look him in the eyes, or ask him why. I’ll carry those unanswered questions with me for the rest of my life. ‘Was I ever really your daughter, or just a girl who could sing?’ is the question that hurts the most—because I’ll never get to hear his answer. What do you do with the questions you’ll never have answers to? My answer is simple… I sing about it.”
“Girl Who Could Sing” is featured on ‘The Hard Truth’, Wynonna’s new album coming out on 2 October on ANTI- Records. These ten songs feature her first-ever album co-writes and speak directly to the highs and lows of her life journey. The first half of ‘The Hard Truth’ centers on Wynonna’s bittersweet relationship with her mother and the struggle to find herself, remaining locked outside a life of her own even in the spotlight. The second half looks at the life and the self that Wynonna has worked to build on her own.
This album has a major contributor in the form of producer Cactus Moser, Wynonna’s partner in music and life. What they’ve created together is an unvarnished elegy to the dead and the missing, an album that pays tribute to choosing love in the face of suffering. “Being a part of this record and helping bring these songs to life as its producer, has been the most important work I’ve known,” said Moser. “We started with nothing but a feeling and emotion and ended up with an entire album that captures Wynonna’s story with a level of honesty she’s never experienced in her career. It’s the kind of record that makes a difference and reminds you why music exists in the first place.”
‘The Hard Truth’ is a tribute to deep sorrow and dogged persistence that strips away layer after layer of the lush production that defined Wynonna’s previous recordings, delivering her most personal and powerful work yet. ANTI- is proud to continue its tradition of embracing American legends and giving them a platform to reach new heights. Pre-order limited edition color vinyl in her webstore HERE.
WATCH ‘KENTUCKY QUEEN’ VIDEO
WATCH ‘AM I MISSING OUT’ VIDEO
PRE-ORDER ‘THE HARD TRUTH’
