Lindsay Ell Opens up About Childhood, Love and Loss on Upcoming Album

Lindsay Ell just dropped “I Don’t Love You,” as the debut single from her upcoming, still-untitled sophomore album. The song, which is the only one on the record she didn’t write, is a snapshot of her feelings for her former boyfriend, Bobby Bones, one of several painfully honest songs she is getting ready to share.

“I’m super proud of this new music,” Ell boasted to Entertainment Tonight Canada. “I can’t wait for fans to hear it. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever gotten on an album. I’m talking about things about my childhood I’ve never talked about before … And yet, at the same time I feel like I’m at this point in my life; I just turned 30 last year, and I’m just like, ‘OK, it’s about stepping into your own power and not being ashamed of that.’

“And with that comes being vulnerable with your story, and everything’s that gotten you to where you are today, what makes you who you are,” she continued. “And so I feel like if I don’t share that whole story, I feel like I’m holding back a part of myself.”

Ell’s freshman The Project was a success in both her native Canada and the United States, with her song “Criminal,” becoming a No. 1 hit in Canada, as well as a Top 20 in the United States. With that to her credit, Ell is ready to embrace more of who she is with her next set of tunes.

“I feel like I have a lot to say in this next album,” Ell acknowledged. “A lot has happened in the past two years of me celebrating that birthday last year, going through a public breakup, going through all the ups and downs. I think anytime when you go through something that is like a breakthrough moment in your life, you have to go through every stage of that grief, of acceptance, denial and then getting through to the other side feeling, that whole newfound confidence. I just felt like ‘I Don’t Love You,’ was the most real thing I needed to say right now to first off, start this new record, start this new plateau.

“It’s an outside song and as a songwriter that’s a very difficult thing for me to do,” she continued. “And yet, I love the songwriters in this town and I will forever put down a flag for them and be like, ‘Nashville has some of the best songwriters in the world, and if I can lift them up, and if I can find a song that fits my story, then I will definitely record it.’ “I Don’t Love You” is the only outside song on this record but it just felt like the first right thing to say.”

Ell was just nominated for two ACM Awards, for Music Event of the Year, for “What Happens in a Small Town,” with Brantley Gilbert, and New Female Artist of the Year, a category she shares with Ingrid Andress, Gabby Barrett, Caylee Hammack and Tenille Townes.

The 2020 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 5, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: Getty / Erika Goldring