Maddie & Tae wrote “Girl In A Country Song” on St. Patrick’s Day, signed their record deal while recording it – and yet, just two weeks before Thanksgiving – the duo’s debut single is Top 5 at Country radio and certified GOLD by the RIAA for sales exceeding 500,000 digital downloads.
It’s not quite a Cinderella story, as Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye’s incisive writing has been praised by Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post and USA Today, but it does make the young women from Sugar Land, TX and Ada, OK, respectively, the fastest rising female act in eight years.
“We had no idea people would respond like this,” says Maddie. “We wrote a song where we looked at how the girl in these songs must feel… It’s hard, being expected to be in those Daisy Dukes and that bikini top all the time… Tae and I wanted to show people the other side.”
Showing, beyond telling, has also seen “Girl In A Country Song” wrack up in excess of 12 million VEVO hits. The stereotype twisting clip, which features country dudes in the same scanty outfits doing the same cliché poses, prompted NPR’s Ann Powers to proclaim, “they’re songwriters, powerful harmonizers and in the video for ‘Girl In A Country Song,’ natural comediennes…” and CMT just made them part of their Next Women in Country program.
“It is like a dream coming true,” Tae continues. “You work your whole life… You keep doing the things you know: singing and writing, keeping at it. Then all of a sudden, it starts to happen – and you keep working, and you keep hearing the most unbelievable things! The response everywhere we’ve been has been incredible from radio – and especially the fans… Now this? To be in the Top 5 and have a gold single…that’s crazy!”
Having already drawn comparisons to Dolly Parton, Shania Twain and Loretta Lynn, elevated newsweekly The Atlantic marveled, “cheekily appropriating much of the sound of modern country, the two young women directly quote well-known bro-country lyrics and titles…,” while Rolling Stone tapped the pair as one of 10 New Artists You Need to Know across all genres, saying “a light dusting of sugar and spice and everything nice over country hooks sharp enough to draw a little blood.”
“It makes us pinch ourselves a bit” Maddie echoes. “We moved to Nashville with a big dream. Right out of high school, and you believe it can come true, but you don’t know. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around it, because it’s so big… But, man, it’s so great, too. When we’re out on the road, seeing people’s faces, hearing them sing the song back to us…wow, this is real!”
“Or when fans show up at the airport right after our gig, thinking we’ll be there…” Tae picks up. “You don’t think things like that will happen! We’re just two girls who love music and have been trying to figure it all out but we are so grateful life lead us down this path.”
With “Girl In A Country Song” continuing to pick up momentum, it’s looking like it’s going to be quite the holiday season. For fans of Nashville’s girl power pairing, their self-titled EP debuted at #1 on Billboard’s New Artist Chart and is available on iTunes and Google Play. Or wait until Maddie & Tae bring their irrepressible blend of plucky, high-powered acoustic-driven country to every single fan who wants to hear their music.
