Raelynn first captured hearts with her down-to-earth charm and an uncanny ability to make every lyric feel like a conversation between old friends. As a two-time ACM New Female Vocalist nominee and a hitmaker whose songs—like ‘Love Triangle' and the platinum-certified ‘God Made Girls'—have become staples on TikTok and Reels, she has built a career rooted in authenticity and emotional honesty. Her genuine storytelling and southern spirit shine through in both her chart-topping work and her ability to connect with fans across digital platforms, giving her a rare blend of mainstream success and grassroots appeal.
Now, Raelynn ushers in the holiday season with the release of her new EP ‘Jingle Jangle Rock,' a festive collection that blends her bold, unapologetically Southern style with the warmth of Christmas traditions. As she reflects on the past decade of her career—which began with her breakout EP ‘Me' and now sees her returning to The Valory Music Co.—it’s clear she’s not just celebrating the season, but also coming full circle. Whether on stage, on the road, or through her heartfelt holiday songs, Raelynn has crafted a space in country music that’s as welcoming as it is unforgettable. We caught up with her recently to talk all about it.
Thank you for your time today, Raelynn – it's lovely to touch base with you about your career.
Of course! Thank you!
Let's start with the new music and work backwards. You've just released your Christmas EP, ‘Jingle Jangle Rock.' What inspired you to create a holiday project this year?
Jingle Jangle Rock, baby! I've been wanting to do one for so many years. The title was always going to be ‘Jingle Jangle Rock.' I am a Trader Joe's girl and around the holidays they have all these different kind of sweets. There are these chocolate covered pretzels called Jingle Jangle Pretzels and that formed the basis of my idea for the song. I got in the studio with my buddy, Bob DiPiero and my girlfriend Amy Stroup and we wrote that song. From that point on we created the project around it and it was such a dream come true.
We've started with this and I think I might want to maybe add some more songs to it next year. We hunkered down in May and it was all turned in in late August, early September.
Was it odd recording Christmas songs in the middle of summer?
Oh, for sure! (laughing) I decorated my producer's studio for Christmas but he still had other writes and people coming in to record things during that time as well! (laughing) It looked like a Cracker Barrel Christmas in his studio – I had all those funny pillows that say things like ‘Let it snow anywhere but here.' I think sarcastic pillows are hilarious!
I really love ‘Redneck Christmas.' Tell me more about that song.
Thank you! I'm obviously a redneck. One of my cousins lived in a trailer, my other cousin lived in this really bougie house, we had all kinds of kinds in our family. It doesn't matter who or what you are, you are all going to celebrate Christmas in your own way and that's what the ‘Redneck Christmas' vibe is about.
My favourite line in that song is ‘We've got beer cans and popcorn hanging on the tree,' you know? That's how it is down south and Jesus is free to come here to celebrate too. That song celebrates fun, dysfunction and the redneck side of Christmas.
You switch moods completely on ‘The Barn,' which is a really heartfelt song. That line – ‘it's where I watched my daddy try and keep it together' is so impactful.
I think we all had that special place, growing up, that changed our lives. I used to go there and think about my dreams and I grew a lot as a person when I was growing up. There's also that parallel with a barn and Christmas too because it was where Jesus was born. He was born in such a lowly place, a stable and so I wanted to relate that to my upbringing. It doesn't matter where you come from, you can have big dreams and work hard to try and bring those dreams to reality.
I love this song because it is very much what Country music is all about, which is honest storytelling. There were so many important moments that happened in the barn for me and it correlates with the story of Mary, Joseph and Jesus too. Mary had to trust a guy and give birth in a barn – she was one strong lady!
What does Christmas look like in your household? Your daughter, Daisy, must be just getting to the age now where she is getting really excited about the whole thing?
She is! She's such a little spitfire who brings us so much joy. Children bring such a childlike spirit to the holidays that you don't have when you are an adult. To be able to see Christmas through her eyes re-ignites the magic of it all. Just being around her at Christmas is so cool and magical.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of ‘Me,' your debut EP. How do you think you've changed and evolved as a writer, musician and person in that decade?
The spunk is still there! (laughing) I know that the more you sing, the better you get and I've spent a lot of time in the last ten years out on the road. I'm learning how to place my voice in certain songs so that I preserve my voice and pace things out a little. My songwriting has changed as I've gotten older because I've grown and got more confident about what I have to say. I started in this industry when I was 18 years old and I'm now 31 so I have different things to say now then I did back then.
I'm not one of those artists that reach a certain age and then wish they could take down all their old music. No! I love going back and listening to the journey and listening to who I used to be, that's the best part about music – we change and we evolve. I have fans who have been with me since the beginning and who have changed and evolved along with me – I now meet a lot of women who watched and supported me on The Voice and now are moms, like I am. We have so much in common and it's really cool to be able to share those experiences with them.
That decade, from 2015 to 2025, has seen Country music change so much. What changes in the industry have impacted you personally and creatively?
We were all just experimenting a lot with Pop Country a decade ago, which I love, don't get me wrong, but I grew up on old school Country music. The pop side leaned into my age back then and Taylor Swift was changing the industry one song at a time but the songs that always hit me the most were the ones by artists like Alan Jackson and the Dixie Chicks, you know? It's been really cool to see newer artists tap into those roots and bring back that 90s and older sound, so many of these new artists have inspired me to do the same. 2025 is full of that old Country sound that I grew up listening to.
It feels like there's more freedom for artists in 2025 than there was back in 2015?
I'd agree with that!
What do you consider to be your signature song and what song are you most proud of having written? I keep coming back to ‘Love Triangle' to answer both those questions but you're the expert!
That's the song that I would have picked! I saw the guy that I wrote it with, Jimmy Robbins, just last night at the CMA awards. That song was my stake in the ground writing something real. When you are bubbly blonde you can get pushed into a box where you are only expected to write from a certain point of view but that was the first song that I wrote about going through the real experience of my parents' divorce, feeling like I was stuck in the middle of it.
I was super confused and sad and I didn't even now that I could write a song like that before I wrote it. Jimmy and Nicolle Galyon brought that out of me. I didn't realise it would touch so many people – it still comes back time and time again on TikTok on a regular basis too. That song connected me to my fans on such a deep level.
You mentioned it blowing up on platforms like TikTok, which weren't around ten years ago either! ‘Boyfriend' and ‘God Made Girls' have had their own viral moments on that platform as well – is that fascinating to you how these songs have their moments with a younger audience?
Yes, it is fascinating! The funniest part is that some people on there are like, ‘Man, her voice sounds honking' and I'm like, ‘Hell, I was 18 years old guys, don't judge me!' (laughing) Love or hate social media, and I'm someone who can a little overwhelmed by it all, it gives you a way to put your things out there and just connect directly with your fans. I just wish people weren't so mean with their comments. You can try and act like it doesn't offend you but we are all human and it hurts sometimes, you know? It's amazing that songs you put out years ago can have their own little moments again, that part is really cool.
Something else that is really cool is that you've just signed with Big Machine on their Valory Music imprint. How does it feel to be back, full circle, where you started in the first place?
I feel like I am home. I also feel like they are the best people to take my career to the next level. When I first moved to town I didn't have any friends and family here and Big Machine were both to me. I lived in the halls of these offices back then and even in this room that I am speaking to you now, I did my first dress fitting with CEO Scott Borchetta's wife, Sandi. We needed a bunch of dresses for me to try on for the ACM's and Sandi helped me with that!
To be able to partner with Scott again is a full circle moment and some of the heads here were just regional when I started with them back them so I also know a lot of the people here who have been on their own journeys.
You've released very different sounding songs with them this year. ‘Heaven is a Honky Tonk' is great, ‘Fall Together' is lovely but very different, stripped back and intimate. Looking ahead what can we expect from you, musically, in 2026?
I want to release songs that are very authentic to me, very Country and very vulnerable. Even on songs that might be more uptempo I want to produce songs that have an edge and a heart.
We're aiming for a full album next year, we're almost there. We just have a few gaps we're trying to fill right now but we're getting close.
Are you writing you people that you know and trust or are you pushing yourself into new partnerships with newer writers?
I would definitely say I am pushing myself into new areas. One of the guys that helped create the sound for this project and really inspired me was Aaron Gillespie, who was the drummer for a band called Underoath who were a screamo rock band! He slid into my DMs and said ‘Hey, I know I am a rock guy but I am a country guy at heart and I'd love to write with you.' I was such a fan of his drumming that I was really intrigued. He's my guy when it comes to music now.
You've got one slot left on the upcoming album and you get to write with somebody you've never worked with before. Who would you choose?
Dolly Parton. I'd love to write with her, I'll write whatever she wants to write! If she wanted to write about a wiener dog, I'd write about a wiener dog and put that on my record! (laughing)
Check out Raelynn's super new Christmas EP ‘Jingle Jangle Rock' now and keep an eye out for her in 2026!
