Maddie & Tae to Release New Album Ahead of Carrie Underwood Tour

Maddie & Tae will hit the road with Carrie Underwood next year, serving as the opening act on her Cry Pretty Tour 360. But before that, the duo, made up of Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye, will release their next project, a concept album, which will be their first on Mercury Nashville.

"Making a concept album for us was so much fun and, actually, unexpected," Marlow tells All Access. "We didn't plan on making a concept record. It tells a story top to bottom. When we started having meetings to discuss what we wanted the second record to say and what we wanted it to sound like, it just so happened that all of the songs we felt so connected to and gravitated towards were relationship songs, so we thought to tell a story with all of them, since they all hit home for us. So, we rolled with it."

Marlow is currently engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Jonah Font, which could have inspired at least some of the content on their next set of tunes.

"It's through the eyes of a relationship; in the beginning of the record, the first song is 'Friends Don't,' then there are a couple songs about not knowing if you're in it or not. Then, they're in it to win it, and they're in love, so there are a couple in-love songs. Then, it goes into the heartbreak, where the relationship ends, and the character is heartbroken and lost. Then, the end of the record, there are a couple of redemption songs, where she's finding her confidence and ain't takin' no crap, basically."

Maddie & Tae wrote their current single, "Friends Don't," after a conversation Marlow had with her little sister. But the record could also include glimpses of Dye's heartbreak, after she ended a relationship with fellow singer, Jackie Lee.

"We say that the girl in this record is a combination between Tae and I, because we both went through a lot of different personal struggles, then through our professional struggles together," Marlow says. "But, we stayed so close through it all. We combined both of our different experiences from the past two year. We haven't named the girl in the album yet, but she's a combination of the two of us."

Maddie & Tae found themselves without a label, when their first record label, Dot Records, suddenly closed. But they soon found a new place to call home, and were determined to work harder.

"I think there was maybe a moment of questioning whether we were cut out to do this, because it hit us so hard," Tye tells PopCulture.com. "Our self-worth was definitely tied up in it, and we were confused. Your human emotions get the best of you sometimes. We definitely thought, 'Is this our path? We know we want it to be our path, but maybe this isn't what we're supposed to be doing.' But no matter what, we still kept our heads down and stayed true to us, and kept writing songs, and kept engaging with our fans."

No word yet when the album will be released. Download "Friends Don't" on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Michael Tran