On The Row: Ingrid Andress Discusses Her Road To Nashville, And The Power Of Being “Lady Like”

Ingrid Andress with MusicRow Magazine owner/publisher Sherod Robertson.

With her debut offering “Lady Like,” Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville artist Ingrid Andress presented herself as a strong individualist. The Colorado native’s “Lady Like” focuses on flouting gender stereotypes, which she first experienced when she entered public high school, after having spent her middle school years being homeschooled alongside her siblings.

“It was really shocking to me how many unspoken rules there were about ‘If you’re a girl you do this, and if you’re a guy you do this.’ I’m from a large family, and I grew up doing whatever I wanted and expressing what I wanted,” she tells MusicRow. “I played street hockey with my neighbors and I played with Barbies, too. This song was written about that moment when I realized that you don’t have to apologize for what you do and how you do it. You’re allowed to just be who you are. Just because everyone else feels like they need to be a certain way, that doesn’t mean you have to, and I believe that for both genders.”

During a recent visit with MusicRow Magazine, she offered early listens to more music, which reveal Andress as a keen perceiver of both today’s culture and of her own perspectives. She penned both “Lady Like” and her latest, “More Hearts Than Mine,” with Sam Ellis and Derrick Southerland.

The lush pop ballad “More Hearts Than Mine” takes pride in her family, detailing their big hearts and quirky, caring ways as she asks a lover to understand how a romantic breakup would affect more than just the two of them.

“I’m from a family of seven people and we are all very close. It’s a very sacred part of my life. When you start dating someone and it starts to get serious, you have to introduce them to your family and that thought never occurred to me for some reason. I just thought, ‘My family will be over here and whomever I meet will be over here and they are never going to meet.’ Then it was coming up on Thanksgiving or something, I processed that situation by writing this song.”

Ingrid Andress with MusicRow Magazine staffers.

She also played the yet-unreleased track “Both.” “I saw how relationships are starting to become extremely casual and I think a lot of people don’t want to admit they are unhappy with it. I think most people actually do want to be in a good relationship, but these days it’s uncool to be serious with someone. I wrote this song to remind people that you are allowed to stand up for what you want in a relationship and that’s everybody’s right.”

Andress, who grew up playing piano, moved to Nashville about five years ago and has been writing for Universal and Arthouse, Kara DioGuardi’s publishing company. She met DioGuardi through a pop songwriting class DioGuardi led at Berklee College of Music, and through that connection got the opportunity to write with Frank Rogers in Nashville.

“Nashville is the songwriting capital of the world so I moved here. I remember I got here in September. [Rogers] was like, ‘I’d love to write with you, but I’m booked until February.’ I had no idea that was how it worked. So I waited tables until we could write together. That day he said I need a publishing deal. I quit my job waiting tables the next day,” said Andress, who spent time waiting tables, pre-record deal, with Devin Dawson, who is now her label-mate at Warner Music Nashville.

Along the way, Andress earned writing credits on songs including Charli XCX’s “Boys” and has written with artists including Alicia Keys, Sam Hunt, and Fletcher.

“I learned how to write songs the Nashville way, which taught me so much. I’ve always loved the storytelling aspect of country. So I learned how to do that here and I took that with me to pop sessions. I would be like, ‘We need a concept before we start,’ and people are like, ‘Oh, no, just riff on the mic.’ And I’m like, ‘No, concept!’” she said, laughing.

Andress also discussed having her co-writers often produce the songs they worked on. “I wanted to do that instead of just picking one producer to do a whole album. I think there is something sacred about what happens in the room when you write a song. Capturing that is more important to me than having it be this conducive sound by one guy that wasn’t there when you wrote it.

“There’s a lot of untapped talent on Music Row that I feel needs to be showcased, so why not start with me and bring up my friends? I’m not taking away from those big producers because they are there for a reason but my personal style is to keep it within the posse.”

She says she’s most excited about being able to tell her own stories through her music.

“After being a songwriter for other people for so long, sometimes you get to write your own story but not often. So being an artist, I love telling stories that are my own.”