Sugarland Wrote ‘Still the Same’ For Their Loyal Fans

Sugarland released their comeback single, “Still The Same,” at the end of 2017. The energetic track tells the story of the group’s journey through the years, noting that while they’ve changed during their time apart, at heart, they’re still the same.

Speaking to Big Machine Label Group, Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush explained that when they were writing the song, they wanted to describe how they were feeling at the very moment they sat down to write.

“It is one of the more present songs, I think because we just walked in the room and said, ‘Alright, where do we start?’” Nettles shared. “And that’s the first line of the song.”

Bush chimed in, “First line of the song, and then the second line of the song happened right after the first line of the song and we just kind of volleyed back and forth and we were just like, ‘Well, I guess you just write what you know.’

“Well what do we know?” he added. “We know we haven’t seen each other in a while.”

Nettles admitted that the pair was nervous to be back writing together, so they wanted to address that in the song as well.

“It was also this moment for us, too, to be like, ‘Okay, let’s talk about the white elephant in the room,’ you know what I’m saying?” she said. “We’re nervous here, we haven’t been with each other in years to write or in general. Let’s talk about that.”

Still, they made sure to think about how a listener who wasn’t familiar with Sugarland’s story might perceive the track.

Nettles explained, “We were talking about our specific experience, but we also were aware [of], what if you were just somebody listening to this song and you weren’t the uber-fan that knew our whole story?”

“What if this was your first Sugarland song?” Bush wondered, while Nettles asked, “Can you like the song without knowing our story?”

“Still The Same” is Sugarland’s first single in seven years, and is the first from the group’s upcoming album, which will be released this year. They will also hit the road this summer on their Still The Same Tour, kicking the trek off on May. 4 in Durant, Oklahoma. Brandy Clark and Nashville star Clare Bowen will serve as openers for the first leg of the tour while Lindsay Ell and Frankie Ballard will join the second half. Dates are available on their website.

Download “Still the Same” on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Twitter / @Sugarlandmusic