The debut album by Maddie & Tae, Start Here, is set for release August 28, which is later than initially scheduled. With the rush of success following No. 1 debut single “Girl In A Country Song” the duo had little time left in their schedules to concentrate on the album. “What we had was good,” Maddie affirms, “but we knew it could be so much better. Our label understood when we went to them to say we needed more time.”
“We wanted to get the feel, the sound of it, and the music right,” says Tae. “You only make your first album once. We’d put so much heart into this, so many writing trips to Nashville when we were kids, building this music to be something special. We knew we were close, but we needed the time to step back and breathe, and get it right!”
The album features 11 tracks produced by Dann Huff.
Maddie & Tae also revealed the album’s cover art, captured by California photographer Allister Ann, known for her work with the Civil Wars. For the easygoing photo shoot, the girls spent the day wandering around Nashville to snag the front and back cover shots.
“The thing about us that really defines Maddie and I,” says Tae, “is we’re not those girls who want to spend a lot of time getting our hair done… We’d rather be out on a four-wheeler, playing guitar or just hanging out, having fun. That’s what the songs are made of. We thought the pictures should look like that, too—and it’s harder and easier than you’d think.”
“We did our own make-up, threw some clothes in a duffle bag and took off,” recalls Maddie. “Allister is so fun and easy, it was like a slumber party—except we were moving all day. We went to an ice cream stand, got out a friend’s old Bronco, just whatever struck us. You can see it in the pictures. Suddenly, there were shots where it really looked like us, and it was super-fun and awesome and just the best day!”
The upcoming BMLG album has already yielded a gold single, “Girl In A Country Song,” and a video which racked up 23 million VEVO views. The duo is up for three CMT Awards next week, for Breakout Video of the Year, Duo Video of the Year and Video of the Year.
About the Author
Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at lhollabaugh@musicrow.com.View Author Profile
