Maddie & Tae Reveal Challenging Year, Depression Battle With Loss of Record Deal

Maddie & Tae had a challenging 2017. The duo, made up of Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye, shared a heartfelt video with their fans, detailing the unexpected difficulties they faced last year.

"We wanted to know how to make 2017 an awesome year, just all around," recalls Dye of their original goal for last year. "How could we make it a year different from anything we've ever experienced, and push ourselves and allow ourselves to grow? And so, funny enough, we decided to call 2017 the Year of Uncomfortability. We wanted to make ourselves uncomfortable, intentionally."

Dye went on to explain that what they intended by that statement was to write in new ways, perform in new ways, and basically step out of their comfort zone. Unfortunately, that's not exactly what happened. Instead, the duo kicked off the year by recording five new songs for what they thought would be their sophomore project on their label, Dot Records, when the record company unexpectedly folded in February. Although the story ended on a high note, the young women admit it was a hard season for them to experience.

"Fast forward to the good part: Universal Music Group Nashville signed us," says Marlow, "and I have never been more sure God is real, and that God has a perfect plan for me, and for everyone."

Still, the loss of their record deal led Marlow down a challenging path, and one she wasn't sure would have a happy ending.

"If I'm being honest, I went through a really pretty tough depression after the label thing happened," Marlow admits. "I was always the person that had a plan, had it figured out, and I had never been dropped on my a-- before. That was really hard, and my self worth was tied into it, my purpose, everything."

But, thankfully, everything is looking promising for the duo. With a new record label, and a new album "110% coming out in 2018," Maddie & Tae are now grateful for every step in their journey so far.

"I truly look in the mirror and love who I am today because of the pain that I had to go through to get here," Marlow says. "I'm not going to allow my trials to defeat me, I'm going to let them build me up and learn from them and take as much wisdom as I can from each trial."

Maddie & Tae's freshman Start Here record was released in 2015. The album included the chart-topping single, "Girl in a Country Song." Purchase Start Here on Amazon and iTunes.