In excerpts from an extended interview conducted recently over the phone, she speaks frankly about family, religion and the state of country music today, offering candid insights of artists from Hank Sr. and Hank Jr. to Taylor Swift and Cat Stevens.
Get to know Holly in-depth (told mostly in her words) during Part I of this two-part story that continues June 10 with a closer look at the new album. Y’all just might get to like her, really like her.
OK, so she admits it. Country is in her blood but don’t discount her because other music pumps through her veins, too. Can you blame her for resisting the temptation to join the good ol’ boys club?
“At the time (before her first release), now there’s more singer-songwriters in the genre, and at the time it was a lot of Shania Twain and Faith Hill ... very pop-oriented, and I really felt like, my influences are Neil Young and Bob Dylan more than standard country singers; I was always attracted to the off-the-beaten-path songwriters, and so part of me was going, ‘I feel uncomfortable trying to say I was influenced by male country singers when I really wasn’t,’ even though I respect them. Keith Urban, for example, put me on tour; he’s unbelievably talented and a great songwriter. I love listening to his music. And the Merle Haggards and the Willie Nelsons and all those I loved.
“So much of me just saying I want to tour with artists outside (the genre); I feel like my fan base is the type that likes us in the theater and listens and not necessarily like the country fan base so many times is seen as only liking the singles and not really the album-type listeners. So I think it was both me and the label at the time.
“But now I really think there are plenty of country audiences who want the other side of it. They can appreciate their Taylor Swift pop stuff and a Keith Urban guitar as much as they can just me and an acoustic kind of show. That’s the goal there, and I think there’s room for that now.”
Since her career began in the Nineties, the world of country music has grown and evolved enough that maybe there’s a place where Holly can comfortably reside. But is bigger better?
“Even now there is so much competition. Jewel came here and Darius Rucker came here. I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the other singer-songwriter kind of females came here.” (Recently, it was reported that Ghost Whisperer star Jennifer Love Hewitt was planning to record country music.)
Article comments
1 - dtwsfan
Nice feature and love Holly's detailed comments. Hope her new album succeeds and there's a place for her in country music.
2 - ashley
Very interesting interview. Really enjoyed reading about those that inspired her.