Trisha Yearwood Credits Being Older With Not Feeling Pressure as She Releases New Music

Trisha Yearwood is currently enjoying a Top 40 single with “Every Girl in This Town,” from her upcoming Every Girl album, out in August. With 12 years since Yearwood’s last studio album, Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love, was released in 2007, most people would feel some amount of trepidation as they reintroduce a side of themselves through music.

Thankfully, Yearwood isn’t most artists.

“It was the first time I’ve made new music in a while,” the 54-year-old told PEOPLE. “It was really fun to make this record. Sometimes it’s hard not to think past it, because there’s all this pressure of what are you going to do to get out there. But because I am older and I have been doing this for a while, I didn’t have any of that pressure. I just had the freedom to make a record that I love.”

It’s been 11 years since Yearwood had a charting single, with “This Is Me You’re Talking To,” released in 2008. The Georgia native admits she didn’t expect to be back at radio, but she is grateful for the warm reception.

“I’m so excited to see the initial response of the single because it’s been so overwhelming — like way above expectation,” confessed Yearwood. “I’m enjoying seeing people really embrace it and seeing girls and women really fist pump this song. That makes me feel really good.”

Yearwood previously opened up to PopCulture.com and other media about her return to the airwaves, which is something she hoped for but didn’t expect.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m very surprised to be one of the women that’s on the radio right now,” Yearwood conceded. “I’m really excited about it. Honestly, I didn’t set out to make a certain kind of record. I didn’t set out to do any kind of anything except find songs that I love. And when I started this project about a year ago, I had no expectation except that I want to enjoy myself in the studio. This is one of the first songs I heard and I just loved it. I didn’t have a plan.”

Yearwood just launched her own decor line, Birch Lane. She will kick off her Every Girl Tour on Oct. 3 with a series of shows at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Every Girl is scheduled to be released on Aug. 30. Pre-order the record, and find tour dates at her official website.

Photo Credit: Getty / Desiree Navarro