Madeline Merlo, a Canadian-born country music songwriter and artist, has quickly established herself as one of the most promising artists in the genre over the past decade. Known for her soulful voice, compelling songwriting, and captivating stage presence, Merlo has garnered attention both in Canada and the United States, blending modern country with pop and soul sensibilities. Her new single, ‘Broken Heart Thing,' is one of her strongest yet and sees her duetting with the one and only Dustin Lynch.
Merlo's breakthrough came in 2014 when she released her debut single, ‘Sinking Like a Stone.' The song quickly climbed the Canadian country music charts, introducing Merlo as a fresh voice in the industry. Following the success of her debut, she released her first full-length album ‘Free Soul' in 2016, which solidified her status as a rising star, earning her recognition at the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards, where she won the prestigious Rising Star Award.
While Madeline Merlo has made a name for herself as an artist, her talent as a songwriter has also shone brightly. She co-wrote the platinum-certified hit ‘Champagne Night' for Lady A. In addition to her songwriting success, Merlo has continued to release new music as an artist, including her 2021 EP ‘Slide.' Her music continues to evolve, reflecting her growth as an artist and her ability to connect with audiences through relatable lyrics and catchy melodies. ‘Broken Heart Thing' is the first glimpse we have of Merlo's forthcoming EP ‘One House Down (from the girl next door) which is due out on October 11th so we were thrilled to talk to her all about it.
Thanks for your time Madeline, I know what a busy person you are. It's lovely to talk to you in ‘Broken Heart Thing' release week. Did you do anything special last Friday to celebrate the release?
Yeah. We had a show where me and my band got beers and pizzas. I made all of them stream it on their phones for the whole night! (laughing) Every stream counts, right? It was good to celebrate with the people that you spend the most time with.
Where did the inspiration for the song come from? Was it a solo write or multiple people involved?
There's about four or five of us on this song. It kinda started with the original writers and then it was brought to me and I made some changes and wrote a bridge – it was a really collaborative process. What really connected me with the song is that when you are coming off of a break up the hardest part is having to adjust to living in a different way. Maybe you were living together or messaging them all the time and then they are not in your life anymore – you have to go through something akin to a grieving process. I thought this song grasped that idea really well.
Me and my producer were talking and one of us said, ‘…..but what if it were a duet?' The song felt like it would be cool to do that way. No matter whether you are the breaker or the one being broken up with, both of you are having to adjust to a new thing so we thought it would be cool to put a male voice and perspective on it as well.
How did you arrive at Dustin Lynch for the male part and how did you reach out to him?
I've always been a fan of his, I love his voice and feel like he always manages to have so much emotion and texture in it. I had just recently got to work with him because I sang some background vocals on his record so I did have his phone number. We had also done a CMT ‘Fireside' thing where I had sang some background vocals for him as well so I felt like I knew him well enough to shoot him a text and say, ‘Hey, I have this song that I think you would sound amazing on.' It was a really quick kind of process.
It's just occurred to me, when you mentioned background vocals, that one of my favourite songs on Jelly Roll's ‘Whitsitt Chapel' album is ‘Kill a Man' which you have a huge presence on. That song should be billed as ‘ft Madeline Merlo' because you are all over it!
Thank you! My producer works with Jelly Roll and he asked me to come along and do some vocals and some ad libs but when I heard it I was, like, ‘This is soooo loud! I'm a beast in that track!' (laughing) Jelly always says he should have made me a feature when I see him, which is kind of him, but just to be in Jelly's world is enough. He always brings me up on stage and always name checks me when he talks about the song, it was the start of a great friendship between us.
‘Broken Heart Thing' is the first look at your new EP ‘One House Down (from the girl next door)' which is out in October. What can you tell us about the EP and what can we expect to hear?
I'm so excited about this project. I had the hardest time deciding what songs to put on this EP and I've never been in that position before. There are songs that I absolutely love that we didn't even put on this project! I was in crisis trying to decide!! (laughing)
I really found my sound and my people on this project and the songs really tell a story. The opening song will be ‘Broken Heart Thing' so that you start off in that emotional place and then by the end of the EP you end up where you are supposed to be. It's a journey. The title of the EP ‘One House Down (from the girl next door)' really encapsulates these songs in that it makes you feel just a little imperfect and always just kinda on the outside, looking in, like you are just never quite enough.
Was there any one writer, in particular, that you really gelled with on the project?
Gosh, there's a few! Seth Mosley and James McNair are on two of the songs. Emily Weissband wrote the title track and really unlocked the concept of it. I thought it was going in one direction but she flipped it. I was going to make it sad, as I am want to do in my songs (laughing), but it became this totally uptempo, liberating song. Emily made that song what it was.
Sam Ellis is on a song called ‘Middle of the Bed' which is an idea I'd been sitting on for a minute and not wanting to screw up! He completely got where I wanted to go and that song became, probably, the one on the project that is my favourite.
You have music dating back to 2014 in ‘Sinking Like a Stone' on Spotify. When was the last time you played that song and how have you grown as a writer in the ten years since?
(laughing) It's crazy! It's so funny when I see a music video from back then, I'm such a baby! I used to play that song with a ukulele, just by myself, and it was so cute and wholesome. It was my first single up on the radio in Canada so it gave me a moment I will never forget. I haven't played it in a while, now, though.
Really great artists focus on their songs. Look at someone like Taylor Swift – she's an incredible performer and artist but it's her songs that make her special. Moving to Nashville and focusing on my voice and how to convey what my story is and what I want to say in the best way is how I've grown I would say.
In that decade you've been releasing music the genre and the industry has changed so much. You started out in Bro Country times, then there was Stapleton & Combs through to Wallen and Shaboozey now. How has those changing sounds effected you as a writer?
It's hard not to be influenced by certain things. Artists like Rascal Flatts and Stapleton or Maren Morris really influenced me because they have or had an R&B edge to what they do. It made me feel like there was a place for me. All the runs and vocal gymnastics that Rascal Flatts did is what I like to do. There was an introduction of a little Pop and then we went into this Americana / Folky place which is really cool to see. It's great that the sub-genres are being accepted into Country music now.
Artists blowing up in 30 seconds on TikTok has also been a new thing that I've had to adjust too because, obviously, that platform didn't exist when I first started out.
Would you say it's easier to reach people with your music now or much harder because there are so many more people trying to do it?
Yeah, both at the same time. It's amazing that there are these tools and platforms out there to help you market yourself which means you can market yourself every single day. But then the flip side of that is that it's crowded and a really saturated market. I mean, there's something like 200,000 songs posted onto Spotify every single day! That's a lot! (laughing) It's hard to try and stand out be different. I've come to realise that I have to stay in my lane – I can only make my own music and keep that at the centre of everything I do.
I really loved your song ‘Tim & Faith' from last year. It made it onto be ‘Best of the Year' playlist. Such a clever concept and great song. Did Tim & Faith ever hear it?
I was told that they heard it and that they liked it. They haven't reached out personally…..Going on from what I was just saying about the internet, I was, like, ‘If you like it, please say something to your followers!!' (laughing) I love that song too. It was great to put all those references to their songs and lyrics into my song and it has become one of my favourite parts of my set when we play it live.
Another interesting thing you did last year was release a cover of Keith Urban's ‘You'll Think of Me' which is the second biggest mystery in Country music behind whether the girl survives in Tim McGraw's ‘Don't Take the Girl' in terms of does she take the ‘cap' or the ‘cat' – I think I hear you singing ‘cat.'
I did sing ‘cat.' I will say I did a whole thing on that, searching the internet to try and definitively found out what Keith sang. I did find an interview where Keith does say it's ‘cat.' (laughing) I do, however, still get comments from people who insist it's ‘cap' and I'm, like, ‘I swear Keith said it's ‘cat.' (laughing)
Man, I love that song. I did it as an Amazon original song at first. I think it's cool when males cover a female's song and vice-versa so I wanted to sing something by a man and put my own identity on it. It's a super well-known song but it hasn't been over covered or over done so I thought it would be perfect for me.
Check out Madeline Merlo's new duet with Dustin Lynch ‘Broken Heart Thing' which is available in all the usual places right now.
