Maddie & Tae just released the cinematic video for their latest single, “Die From a Broken Heart.” Duo members Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye co-wrote the song, from their One Heart to Another EP, along with songwriters Jonathan Singleton and Deric Ruttan. The song was written when Dye was recovering from a painful break-up, which she chose to act out in the video.
“I actually am very passionate about acting,” Dye told PEOPLE. “I’ve always had a little bit of an itch for it … We wrote the song from such a personal space that I felt like I could really draw from that. And if this was to be my ‘acting debut,’ if you will, then this would be the perfect story to tell.”
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Dye had just ended her relationship with fellow singer-songwriter Jackie Lee when the foursome got together to write what became “Die From a Broken Heart.” Although Dye didn’t reveal that the song was at least partly inspired by her own break-up, she wanted a way to share that part of her history with her fans.
“Honestly, I felt like a really big hypocrite,” Dye admitted. “We released this song, and while we were talking about it, no one knew what I was going through when we wrote it because I hadn’t really expressed that. I hadn’t told anyone that, hey, this was really hard for me. Everyone was being so vulnerable and sharing their stories, and I felt like I should give them the same respect.”
It was Marlow who encouraged Dye to touch on her emotions when writing “Die From a Broken Heart.”
“We came up with this super vulnerable phone call between us and our moms, and we just started talking about our heartbreaks, what those conversations sounded like and started putting that into the song,” recalled Marlow. “But I knew what Tae was going through, and so I was kind of trying to protect her from having to go super-deep to where it was going to ruin the day, but also let her heal a little bit through songwriting.”
Dye managed to tap into the emotions for the video, even though she has been happily dating songwriter Josh Kerr for over a year.
“He has opened my emotions like a friggin’ floodgate in the best way,” Dye acknowledged. “I feel like I’m able to articulate my emotions and not feel so ashamed of going there, and he’s been the one to teach me that. So literally the day of the video shoot, I was just so thankful that I have him in my life. He makes me feel so comfortable to go there emotionally.”
Maddie & Tae will rejoin Carrie Underwood on the second leg of her Cry Pretty Tour 360 next month. Find dates at Maddie & Tae‘s website.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Monica Schipper
