Ingrid Andress on New ‘Good Individual’ Album and Touring With Keith City

Ingrid Andress is, by most measures, probably the most profitable upstarts in mainstream nation music over the previous few years. After her debut album, “Woman Like,” got here out in 2020, the Michigan native was nominated for finest new artist on the Grammys in addition to by the CMAs and ACMs. She’s a considerate live-wire and a media darling — these media together with the press, late-night reveals and, sure, nation radio. Her first single, “Extra Hearts Than Mine,” was a double-platinum breakout hit that went high 5 at nation radio, and a current duet with Sam Hunt, “Wishful Consuming,” went high 10. She lands coveted tour spots, like her present one opening enviornment reveals for Keith Urban all the way in which into November.

So possibly her sophomore album, “Good Individual,” shouldn’t really feel as very similar to a threat because it does. However in actual fact Andress has been beating some odds all alongside — by being a girl in nation, to start with, but additionally by being a largely balladic singer-songwriter in a format that, as a rule nowadays, means to throw a celebration. She takes some extra probabilities on the brand new album by structuring it to suit the current arc of her private life, filling the primary half with romantically cautious songs that ultimately land at a breakup on the midway level… with songs concerning the achievement of discovering a brand new love having to attend for the again half, as a result of Andress needed to roll them out simply as issues occurred IRL. There are few apparent instrumental nation tropes, so she’ll face much more “Isn’t this pop” questions (though that didn’t cease the success of the primary album).

She appears fairly fearless about any of these items, anyway — no less than till the second in an interview when she confesses, “I hope individuals prefer it and hope individuals aren’t too hung up the label of it, you understand? That’s most likely what I’m most terrified about. However,” she provides, “it’s gonna be high quality.” If being a “good individual” — or good artist — really does rely for something, it most likely will. Andress spoke with Selection whereas she was in L.A. to premiere certainly one of her new songs, “Really feel Like This,” co-written with Julia Michaels, on Jimmy Kimmel’s present.

You’re out on tour with Keith City — that looks like it could be a great matchup? You’ve bought a whole lot of ballads, so that you couldn’t go in entrance of any sort of crowd and have the ability to belief you’d get some attentive ears.

Sure, it is rather uncommon. I’ve to be very strategic, sadly, relating to excursions, as a result of my music is extra introspective and speaking about deeper emotions. And more often than not, once you go to a present, you’re attempting to flee your emotions. So it’s a kind of issues the place it’s important to actually be intentional. his followers are superior. I’ve been attempting songs from the brand new album each evening simply to see individuals’s response, they usually’re a really attentive viewers, which is very nice.

Have you ever had just a few experiences the place it was the mistaken headliner, or a pageant the place individuals have been too drunk and loopy to sit down nonetheless?

[Laughs knowingly.] Sure. My first summer season again, 2021, was all out of doors festivals they usually have been all nation music, and there have been so many moments when everyone was simply taking a look at me and I used to be taking a look at them, and we have been all like: “Why are you right here?” And I’m like, “I don’t know!” [Laughs.] Everybody was wasted, simply wanting to listen to like a beer and truck music, and I used to be speaking about not being the lifetime of the occasion as a result of somebody broke up with me, and everybody’s like, “What is occurring?” So the extra that I play, it makes me admire my followers extra, as a result of I’m beginning to perceive that it’s important to be in a sure head house; it’s positively not your run-of-the-mill “come out and drink and occasion.” I imply, it’s, but it surely’s additionally not. I really feel like I nonetheless placed on a great present and trick individuals into considering that it’s joyful.

Your new album is attention-grabbing to expertise with out foreknowledge or preconceptions. As a result of it is kind of break up into two halves, and for the primary half, you might be sitting there considering, “Wow, I actually admire her braveness in making this a 100% sad album!” Whereas possibly permitting that you just may pull some surprises within the second half. After which, certain sufficient, the extra optimistic songs begin coming, and also you understand that it actually does have a story arc, the place songs a few breakup are adopted by songs about discovering new love. There are individuals who’ve finished that earlier than, but it surely’s very, very uncommon.

Yeah. Who do you do not forget that did that?

You’ve most likely by no means heard it, as a result of it’s obscure, however the one which involves thoughts is an album referred to as “North” by Elvis Costello, the place the entire first half of the album appears to be about his divorce after which the second half is about him assembly and falling for Diana Krall.

OK, I can’t wait to hearken to that. I simply wrote that in my notes. Wow, nice minds… I get how that will be obscure, as a result of more often than not, particularly these days, everybody’s like simply, “Hook ’em firstly. Rope ‘em in.” And I’m sadly not considering that manner. So it’s like, if you can also make it previous the unhappy half, then we’re good to go.

Are you able to speak about what went into the decision-making to construction the album the place it’s concerning the finish of 1 relationship first and the start of one other one subsequent?

Yeah. So, I’m a really personal individual and guarded, and I’m a kind of songwriters the place I’m like, “Oh, everybody’s writing about love. It’s silly.” I want to assume that I might write about different issues. However happily and sadly, I’m an emotional individual, and it’s actually onerous for me to not write concerning the issues that I’m going by way of, as a result of writing for me may be very therapeutic and it helps me course of my feelings. So once I was writing these songs, I had no concept that I’d organize them in the way in which that they occurred. Once I’m writing, I don’t assume huge image; I simply assume, what’s good for this music? However once I was selecting the songs for the album, I thought of how I really wrote these within the timeline by which every part occurred. So I really feel like that tells a narrative in and of itself, ordering them that manner.

Ultimately, I’d love to write down about one thing aside from relationships. And I believe I’m at a degree the place I’ll for the subsequent album. However this one was such an enormous… like, a lot life modified for me up to now two years, which I really feel prefer it occurred to lots of people. I do know lots of people that break up up through the pandemic as a result of when you spend numerous hours with any person with none intermission, you actually begin questioning like, oh, do I really actually love this individual?

That sort of set me on my journey of like, properly, am I joyful? What am I doing with my life? After which I spotted that I wasn’t joyful, and needed to course of that. Now I’m at a spot the place I really am joyful — and that’s very new for me, as a result of I really feel like most of us assume that life is difficult and depressing. Which it’s, however there are moments the place it’s really actually stunning, and I really feel like we don’t care sufficient about that.

It’s attention-grabbing that you just’re not often pushed to write down about love or relationships.

Yeah, by no means. By no means, ever. Nevertheless it’s like a kind of issues the place you may’t lie about the way you’re actually feeling. I used to be actually reluctant, truthfully, to share this timeline with everyone, as a result of it’s so private and it is rather relationship-based, and I really feel like everybody does that. So satisfaction sort of kicked in and was like, “We’re a songwriter! We will write about no matter we wish.” However typically it’s higher to only be susceptible and simply let it take its course. That was a wrestle for me at first, as a result of I used to be like: That is such a straightforward, low-hanging-fruit matter.… I simply couldn’t fake to be excited about anything proper now.

I used to be considering, “This subject material feels prefer it’s in a Julia Michaels wheelhouse,” even earlier than I noticed she had a co-writing credit score on the album.

I believe I’ve been in Nashville lengthy sufficient to sort of suss out like who my individuals are, and even not in Nashville. Like I’ve come out to L.A. to write down for the previous 10 years of my life. So attending to work with Julia Michaels for the primary time and realizing that we are actually the identical individual was superior. it was really a stupendous, magical day. We have been each falling in love with individuals on the identical time, and I really feel like we actually captured that. I introduced Shane McAnally in, too, and the primary time we met was really in his workplace, as a result of I’m extra of a vibe individual. I don’t care what number of No. 1s you’ve; I simply wanna know if we are able to vibe within the room. Which might be not a terrific marketing strategy, however right here we’re. However I vibed with him. There weren’t that many new writers on this album, although, to be trustworthy, as a result of Sam Ellis and Derek Sutherland are my OG songwriters the place I really feel like I can stroll in and inform them something. I don’t really feel that manner with everyone. I want I did.

Some writers actually favor writing unhappy songs as a result of they’re so highly effective and vivid, and possibly that’s simpler to tug off in some methods, too. Do you get extra artistic achievement out of writing the unhappy songs or the joyful onds?

It’s so unlucky that extra introspective songs are labeled as unhappy. As a result of I really feel like all of us have these ideas sooner or later. And I really feel like I’m beginning to be taught that questioning issues and viewing issues from a special perspective is how my mind works, and the world has labeled it as unhappy. I don’t really view it as unhappy, which could be bizarre; I view it as simply being human. No person in the actual world is joyful on a regular basis. And if they’re, they’re most likely on mushrooms, which I really like for them. To me happiness is simply as essential as unhappiness, which is why I arrange the album to begin darkish after which finish mild, as a result of you may by no means have one with out the opposite. However I gravitate in direction of quote-unquote “unhappy songs” as a result of I simply really feel like I’m really attending to the center of the matter. To cite Don Henley.

I needed to ask about style, which might be not your or anyone’s favourite topic…

Oh, fireplace away. [laughs.]

You handled it once you have been releasing your first album — like, how nation is it? Why is that this not pop? And with this new album and these new songs, they appear very squarely to be basic pop, in some methods. And but, if this music you’re making now was really focused on the pop radio format of at this time, even on ballads, there must be a whole lot of very particular 2010s manufacturing results placed on it to make it slot in. And it might not elevate your songs so as to add all that 2022 pop manufacturing stuff.

It might not, no. So, the style factor has been introduced up loads to me, as a result of individuals hear this file they usually’re like: What is that this? And that’s truthfully — no pun meant — like music to my ears. As a result of I believe what I really like a lot about nation is the storytelling, however what I hate about it’s how limiting it’s for everybody. And I believe much more individuals would love nation if we talked about issues that have been taking place within the nation that additionally have been relatable to everybody, all over the place. So to me, it was an enormous deal for me to sort of put the style hat down the place it’s similar to: What’s good for these songs?

And that’s a very scary factor to do. However on the finish of the day, the tighter you dangle on to a style, the faster it’s gonna die. Similar to with jazz, the tighter you retain the circle, the much less and fewer individuals are gonna need to learn about it. Generally I really feel like nation music remains to be doing its identical parade and identical rodeo of “that is who we’re.” And I’ve met a whole lot of these followers and folks, and it is so actual — there’s nonetheless a tradition there. However every part evolves, whether or not individuals need it to or not, you understand? We used to not have cell telephones, and now all of us have cell telephones and everybody was in opposition to them firstly and now all of us have them. So it’s important to let issues evolve. And I do know it’s scary and I do know unfamiliar issues are terrifying. However that’s a part of being alive. You need to by no means really feel such as you’re simply resting in a single place.

I do know that nation music prides themselves in simply being the identical factor, however there’s a approach to do it to the place you may nonetheless honor the custom of it whereas nonetheless making it related. In any other case you’re gonna simply kill your individual style. And I hate placing it that manner. However I hate listening to individuals say that they hate nation music, and I’m like, why? “Nicely, it’s all beers and vehicles.” And I’m like, “Yeah, it was a lot greater than that. I promise. It isn’t simply all that.” And it’s the identical with any style to the place, once you oversaturate individuals with the identical sound again and again, individuals are gonna begin to make assumptions. That’s simply what we do as people. However nation, when finished properly, is definitely actually good. It’s actually good. And it tells the story in a manner that makes individuals really feel like they’re going by way of it, though they’ve by no means been by way of it earlier than. And that’s what I’m attempting to maintain alive.

I’m completely OK with individuals coming at me being like “This isn’t nation,” as a result of I’m certain, based mostly on their references, they’re right. However I’m not chaining myself to something. I’m simply doing what I do. I’m not attempting to vary a style. I don’t assume everybody ought to sound like me. I’m simply doing my factor. And the earlier individuals understand that I’m not right here to shit on nation, the higher, as a result of I really actually like it. I really like the great components about it. Artwork displays life, and I believe everybody’s a bit misplaced proper now, and everybody’s afraid of change, which we must be, as a result of we’re people. However image me as a painter. I’m portray what has impressed me from the style. And if you happen to don’t need to dangle it in your front room, that’s OKt. You don’t need to hate it. You don’t need to do something. You may simply not dangle it in your front room, and that’s all there’s.

You’re on tour with Keith, any person who mixes issues up loads and doesn’t have any purity check for what he does. Have you ever had an opportunity to have any conversations with him about what you do?

Sure. I’m studying a lot from him, and it’s been actually enlightening to see how he makes each present really feel prefer it’s his first time taking part in. That’s an artwork in and of itself. He cares a lot about his followers, and he’s additionally so meticulous about his set record and altering it up each evening. Now we have talked loads, and I’ve realized we have now the identical character high quality to the place we’re each simply gonna be curious until we die. He’s been doing this for so long as I’ve been born, and he’s nonetheless attempting to determine new methods to revamp his set or the manufacturing or something. He’s simply consistently looking, and I really feel like that was one of many first moments once I realized I wasn’t alone in that, as a result of typically individuals pin that as reckless or unstable. It’s like, no, we’re simply genuinely artists who’re consistently searching for inspiration. Like, you by no means actually make it, if you concentrate on it.

It’s good that you just get to be out with any person who looks like a kindred spirit.

It was very refreshing. I wasn’t anticipating it. I truthfully didn’t know what I used to be gonna stroll into, however his followers are very attentive and he’s simply so pretty. He performs his guitar for like 4 hours a day — it’s wild — simply testing new amps, and you’ll inform he actually loves what he does. And that’s one thing that I really feel like… to not shit on TikTok artists, but it surely’s like, there’s a grind to this, and I don’t assume most individuals know what that’s like till you’re in it. So to see any person who’s been doing it for thus lengthy nonetheless like it may be very inspiring to me.