Retired Super Bowl champ Jason Kelce pointed to a holiday treat made by his mom as a worthy inclusion in his hypothetical last meal. Brother Travis might agree.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
Day: March 12, 2026
As spring football is off and running for college programs, college and NFL fans alike also have their attention turned toward the 2026 NFL Draft, hosted this year by Pittsburgh on April 23-25. In this week’s Let’s Debate, our college football experts are examining both spring football and next year’s NFL Draft. So before spring football ends with finalized rosters for next season and before 2027 NFL mock drafts are ever-present, we’re examining which college players have the most to prove this season and which players might be off the board first in 2027. Which player has the most to prove to his program this season? RJ Young: Darian Mensah, Miami QB Mensah breached his contract with Duke, made a mess that needed to be settled outside of court, only to walk into a program as the presumed starter at Miami, where the acts he follows include a former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and the first quarterback to lead the Hurricanes to the national title game since Ken Dorsey 25 years ago. Mensah led Duke to its first ACC title in 36 years, and he has developed into one of the better quarterbacks in the country. But with this being his third stop and the second where he has made headlines — first for signing a two-year, $8 million contract and second for breaking it — he can’t afford to play poorly in 2026 both for Miami’s sake and for the sake of his NFL Draft stock next season. Michael Cohen: Makhi Hughes, Houston RB Around this time last year, Hughes was one of the hotter names in college football after his headline-grabbing transfer from Tulane to Oregon. He’d put together back-to-back 1,300-yard seasons for the Green Wave in 2023 and 2024, twice earning first-team All-AAC honors, to entrench himself as one of the best young tailbacks in the country. When he entered the portal last winter and subsequently committed to Oregon, it was presumed that the Ducks were landing the future bell cow in their backfield. But it never quite worked for Hughes at Oregon. He was unable to carve out a role in a talented backfield spearheaded by Noah Whittington, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., never tallying another carry after the win over Oregon State on Sept. 20. It was no surprise when Hughes announced his intention to enter the portal a second time, and now he’ll have to work his way back to prominence at Houston. [NFL DRAFT: Fernando Mendoza Leads QBs in Top 100 on Big Board] Which player would you select first in the 2027 NFL Draft: Jeremiah Smith or Arch Manning? Young: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR, and it’s not close. Only one of these players has proven he’s a generational talent at his position, emerging as the best true freshmen since Trevor Lawrence at Clemson in 2018 to lead his team to the national title. Only one of these players has repeatedly dismantled his opposition in one-on-one battles, beaten double teams and helped swing the balance of power from the SEC to the Big Ten — the league that is home to the last three national champions. The stats for Smith are there with back-to-back seasons with more than 1,200 receiving yards, leading the Big Ten in 2024 and 2025. But more important is the ability to change the fortunes of an NFL franchise with one selection. Cohen: Arch Manning, Texas QB Even though all signs point toward Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith likely having a better pro career than Texas quarterback Arch Manning — the words “generational talent” continue to be thrown around when people discuss the Buckeye great — the latter is a far more logical choice, given the unparalleled impact of his position in the modern game. There’s a reason why the last wide receiver to be selected No. 1 overall was Keyshawn Johnson in 1996. And there’s a reason why 21 of the ensuing 29 top overall picks were quarterbacks. No matter how talented, how explosive, how indescribably unique any non-quarterback might be, they’ll never influence winning and losing as directly as a team’s signal-caller. Selecting Manning at No. 1 overall, while risky, at least gives a general manager the opportunity to unearth a truly franchise-altering player. The same just can’t be said for a wide receiver — even one as phenomenal as Smith. In Let’s Debate, our experts tackle and explain the hot-button issues fans care about.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s typical to hear lots of screaming inside Jerry’s World during Dallas Cowboys football games. This weekend, there will be the scream of INDYCAR engines around AT&T Stadium (home of the Cowboys) and Globe Life Stadium (home of the Texas Rangers) as drivers navigate a 2.73-mile course for the first time in series history. There are 14 turns — nine right-handers and five left-handers. The inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington (noon ET, FOX) will present a challenge as no driver has experience on the course. It will also present an event with the marketing and branding force of the Cowboys behind it. Here’s what to know about the race. New INDYCAR Arlington Start Time The original start time for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington was 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, but INDYCAR moved the time up to noon ET in anticipation of weather. FOX’s race coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. How Will Drivers Prepare? Typically, the drivers practice and determine setups in a simulator where the track surface has been scanned and then the data is supplemented from what teams learn on a race weekend. But there have been no scans of this track’s surface. So the simulator track is determined through GPS. That makes it difficult to recognize bumps. And until the walls were placed in the last few weeks, no one really knew their exact location. [POWER RANKINGS: Who is on top heading into Arlington?] Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 20 car for ECR, answered my question during a Zoom this week on just how little he knows from the simulator. “The track scans are very high quality, but for a place like this that’s brand new, you don’t have a full surface scan,” Rossi said. “You only have essentially a GPS scan with walls kind of placed around the perimeter. “Both Honda and Chevy have kind of the same track model, so you don’t have any sort of the bumps modeled or grip differential depending on surfaces.” So how does it help? “It’s a great tool to at least know what corner comes next,” Rossi said. “But in terms of brake points and grip levels, how fast you can actually go, the line, where bumps are, that sort of thing — everyone will be figuring that out together kind of starting from zero.” What Else Can They Do To Prepare? Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 car for Arrow McLaren, said he never even got a chance to do the simulator. But some fans have posted online laps on YouTube from what they’ve been able to create. “I’m curious to see what it’s going to be all about, and I do think it’s going to be a little chaotic,” O’Ward said. “People are going to be getting creative. They’re going to stuff their nose where they shouldn’t, and it’s going to create roadblocks.” What Is Unique About This Course? Most of the street circuits are shorter ones, typically around 2 miles. This one is the longest for INDYCAR at 2.73 miles. The other street courses: Markham (2.19 miles), Long Beach (1.968), St. Petersburg (1.8), Washington (1.66) and Detroit (1.645). That makes this one a little more unique in that they will be doing laps of around 90 seconds instead of 50 seconds. There are enough viewing areas that give a look at multiple track locations that fans shouldn’t feel as if they are waiting forever for the cars to come by. “[The short courses are] not very interesting for the fans,” Arrow McLaren No. 7 car driver Christian Lundgaard told me. “It’s certainly not interesting for us as drivers. We aren’t really enjoying the layout of the track. And I think here we will. “And I think that’s the big difference is this is actually exciting. And I think what the promoters and the series have done for this place is it’s not just a race, it’s a venue, and everything that follows around is what will make the difference.” Rigorous Schedule Last year, the 2025 season kicked off in St. Petersburg and then had two races over the next eight weeks. This year, it is opening with three races in back-to-back-to-back weeks — St. Petersburg, Phoenix and now Arlington. [INSIDE THE GARAGE: Team Penske Relishes Phoenix Sweep] It makes for some road-weary crew members, but at least there is a feeling of momentum. “I think what’s more draining, from a mental and just energy standpoint, is traveling around is what really drains you,” Lundgaard said. “The work doesn’t stop. And I think at the end of the year, that’s when you really feel it. “But I’m just excited to be here and put on a show.” Are These The Same Cars As Phoenix? Kind of. The front wing and rear wing are different for road and street courses than they are for the ovals. Teams also would use different dampers (suspension pieces). Teams worked on their cars Sunday at Phoenix before leaving Arizona, the crews will likely going home to Indianapolis for a few days and the team haulers already headed to Texas. Is Alex Palou Good At New Courses? Yes he is. Alex Palou, the three-time defending series champion who currently is fifth in the standings after two races, has won the last two races at new tracks: Last year in the first points race at Thermal and 2023 at the new Detroit course. [KEVIN HARVICK: Open-Wheel Crashes at Phoenix ‘Could Have Been Prevented’] Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural race on the Nashville street course in 2021. What Is New About Qualifying? In the final “Fast Six” round, instead of having a six-minute session with drivers running as many laps as they can get in with the best last counting, each of the six finalists will get only one lap. Only one car will be on the track at a time, allowing for more exposure of each of the six drivers vying for the pole. Are there any hometown drivers? Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 car for AJ Foyt Racing, lives in the Dallas area and expects to have plenty of support. “I think it’s bigger here than Indy for me,” Ferrucci told me and other reporters last week. “I have more people there. And it being my home race, I personally have close to 100 people that are coming.” O’Ward, who hails from Monterrey, Mexico, moved to the San Antonio area when he was 11, so Texas is kind of his home. “This is the closest that I have to home, and it really is, but I don’t necessarily think it’s because it’s close to Mexico, but just because this is where I see a lot of the people that remind me of home — the language and a lot of friends and family are coming this weekend,” O’Ward said. INDYCAR rookie Mick Schumacher’s family has a horse ranch in Texas, so he has spent some time in the state as well. Are There Any Rangers Or Cowboys Coming? With the Rangers in spring training and the Cowboys out of season, it is still to be determined if any active players are there. Rangers great Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and Cowboys great DeMarcus Ware will give the command to start engines for Sunday’s race.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
Officials with the Alaska National Guard said plans to deploy a trained rapid response force this month to support federal authorities in Washington D.C. has been pushed back to May.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy in November approved the U.S. Secretary of the Army’s request for 100 service members to deploy to the nation’s capital as part of a joint federal task force this month. The effort is part of a national directive by the Pentagon to all 50 states to prepare National Guard service members to train for “civil disturbance operations.”
By email on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Alaska National Guard said the timeline has been extended.
“The Alaska National Guard remains in contact with the Pentagon, through the National Guard Bureau, and continues to move through the established processes to support Joint Task Force-District of Columbia,” said Dana Rosso, a public affairs officer with the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which houses the Army and Air National Guard divisions.
“The current activation timeline has been refined to May 2026,” he wrote.
As of January, there were roughly 2,700 National Guard members stationed in Washington D.C., which the Trump administration has said is to help drive down crime. Service members are expected to be stationed there through the end of the year. On Tuesday, an additional District of Columbia Army National Guard brigade was activated “to coordinate military support to civil authorities and protect critical infrastructure in the nation’s capital.”
A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office declined to comment on the extended timeline on Wednesday.
At the time the request was announced, Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard and Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said in a letter to lawmakers that 100 service members were in training for the mission to be “aligned with nation-level requirements.”
“The team will consist of Alaska Army and Air National Guard personnel trained in mission sets that may include site security, roadblocks and checkpoints, civil disturbance control, critical infrastructure protection, and personnel security,” Saxe wrote.
But the process for how the deployment was requested and approved still isn’t clear.
Dunleavy’s office could not find a copy of the U.S. Secretary of Defense that requested the deployment, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said Wednesday. When asked if the request was made verbally, Jeff Turner, Dunleavy’s director of communications, referred the question back to the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The division did not answer a request for comment on Wednesday.
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the Joint Armed Services Committee, is a veteran of the Alaska National Guard and was among lawmakers that raised concerns in November when the announcement was made. He questioned the legality of the directive in an interview on Wednesday.
“Until they get something in writing, then there’s no actual deployment to prepare for,” Gray said.
“I think it’s a big misuse of the American taxpayer dollar to fly any soldiers from Alaska to D.C. for what we know is a trash pickup mission in many ways, and it’s a waste,” he added. “It’s just a waste of taxpayer dollars. So I hope that it continues to get pushed off indefinitely and that it never happens.”
Members of the Alaska Organized Militia board an Alaska Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter, assigned to the 207th Aviation Troop Command, while traveling from Bethel to Tuntutuliak, Alaska, during storm response operations after Typhoon Halong on Oct. 23, 2025. (Courtesy photo)
Officials with the Alaska National Guard said plans to deploy a trained rapid response force this month to support federal authorities in Washington D.C. has been pushed back to May.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy in November approved the U.S. Secretary of the Army’s request for 100 service members to deploy to the nation’s capital as part of a joint federal task force this month. The effort is part of a national directive by the Pentagon to all 50 states to prepare National Guard service members to train for “civil disturbance operations.”
By email on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Alaska National Guard said the timeline has been extended.
“The Alaska National Guard remains in contact with the Pentagon, through the National Guard Bureau, and continues to move through the established processes to support Joint Task Force-District of Columbia,” said Dana Rosso, a public affairs officer with the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which houses the Army and Air National Guard divisions.
“The current activation timeline has been refined to May 2026,” he wrote.
As of January, there were roughly 2,700 National Guard members stationed in Washington D.C., which the Trump administration has said is to help drive down crime. Service members are expected to be stationed there through the end of the year. On Tuesday, an additional District of Columbia Army National Guard brigade was activated “to coordinate military support to civil authorities and protect critical infrastructure in the nation’s capital.”
A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office declined to comment on the extended timeline on Wednesday.
At the time the request was announced, Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard and Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said in a letter to lawmakers that 100 service members were in training for the mission to be “aligned with nation-level requirements.”
“The team will consist of Alaska Army and Air National Guard personnel trained in mission sets that may include site security, roadblocks and checkpoints, civil disturbance control, critical infrastructure protection, and personnel security,” Saxe wrote.
But the process for how the deployment was formally requested and approved has raised questions from lawmakers.
Rosso said by email Thursday the request was made by phone call.
“The request for activation of the Alaska National Guard to support Joint Task Force – DC came via phone call to Governor Mike Dunleavy from the Secretary of the Army following the President’s Executive Orders from August 2025,” he wrote.
Dunleavy’s office could not find a written copy of the U.S. Secretary of Defense that requested the deployment, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said Wednesday.
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the Joint Armed Services Committee, is a veteran of the Alaska National Guard and was among lawmakers that raised concerns in November when the announcement was made. He questioned the legality of the directive in an interview on Wednesday.
“Until they get something in writing, then there’s no actual deployment to prepare for,” Gray said.
“I think it’s a big misuse of the American taxpayer dollar to fly any soldiers from Alaska to D.C. for what we know is a trash pickup mission in many ways, and it’s a waste,” he added. “It’s just a waste of taxpayer dollars. So I hope that it continues to get pushed off indefinitely and that it never happens.”
Editor’s note: “This article was updated on 3/12/2026 at 12:30 with more information from the Alaska National Guard.”
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So much for Alix Earle, we guess. Maybe.
Tom Brady is a former footballer who is sometimes the subject of outrageous dating rumors.
The latest rumor seems a little more grounded.
Did he and the ex of a controversial music mogul hit things off at a swanky LA party and leave together?
Alleged new couple alert!
Page Six reports that Tom Brady and Yael Cohen Braun, ex-wife of controversial music mogul Scooter Braun, appeared to cozy up at a recent party.
The gathering was a celebration of NFL star Tony Gonzalez for his birthday.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez hosted the party at their Los Angeles residence.
Notably, Tony and Lauren are exes. They welcomed a child together in 2001.
Clearly, things are amicable. And perhaps their good vibes were rubbing off on the party guests.
Diversity drives community evolution. Exchanging cultures and lifestyles helps us all learn more about the 🌎 world.
Here are some inspirational words for #CelebrateDiversityMonth from @yael Cohen Braun, Co-founder of @letsfcancer.#MAKERSWomen pic.twitter.com/K8JpyrlhUh
— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) April 20, 2023
According to the report, 48-year-old Tom and 39-year-old Yael were “huddled up at the bar together” during the party.
And it doesn’t sound like it stopped there.
The same report says that Tom and Yael departed together.
Obviously, that could technically mean anything.
Many people may interpret that as a sign of advancing familiarity. Leaving an event together — particularly a party — can be a display of intimacy.
Both had fairly famous divorces not too long ago
In 2022, Tom and his ex-wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, divorced.
Following that split, both eyewitness reports and wild speculation have linked him to a wide array of women.
These women have included model Irina Shayk, though those months were in early 2023.
More recently, folks have spotted him in the proximity of TikToker Alix Earle.
In the interim, rumors have repeatedly tried to land him and Kim Kardashian in an entanglement. That never seemed to manifest in reality, however.
Scooter Braun denies rumors that Taylor Swift’s “Vigilante Sh*t” was inspired by him and his ex-wife, Yael Cohen:
“No, ’cause I talk to Yael every day. My ex-wife is one of my best friends. Me and my ex-wife laugh about that stuff — we don’t even call each other ‘ex.’ That’s… pic.twitter.com/yacaLCc7uG
— Unplugged (@wiztohfem) July 20, 2025
Meanwhile, Yael split from her controversial ex-husband just one year sooner than Tom and Gisele’s split.
She and Scooter broke up in 2021, finalizing their divorce in 2022.
We mention that Scooter is controversial. That may be an understatement. And it isn’t just about Taylor Swift’s beef with him.
Scooter is accused of being a Zionist — though we should emphasize that he does not seem to be a war crimes apologist amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Most recently, he and Sydney Sweeney have been linked. Reports say that the two were taken aback by the backlash. More recently, the two allegedly split.
Does leaving a party together mean anything?
So, what’s happening between Tom and Yael?
We obviously do not know.
Neither of them have made anything official — even in the form of a denial.
Sometimes, people leave a party together for reasons that have nothing to do with boning each other’s brains out. It happens!
If these two really have hit it off, perhaps we’ll know more about them very soon.
Tom Brady: Is He Boning Scooter Braun’s Ex? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
March is filled with drama, but for a pair of blue-blood brands, it might come down to the longest wait in sports: Selection Sunday. The Texas Longhorns and Indiana Hoosiers both find themselves squarely on the bubble heading into Selection Sunday. According to FOX Sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy, Texas remains among his “Last Four In” following a loss to Ole Miss in the opening round of the SEC Tournament. Sean Miller’s team owns six Quad 1 wins — more than several SEC contenders — but five losses in its last six games have left the Longhorns sweating. Meanwhile, Indiana’s late slide might have pushed the Hoosiers to the wrong side of the bubble. A double-digit loss to Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament was their sixth loss in seven games, dropping them into DeCourcy’s “First Four Out.” With that, DeCourcy shares his latest NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament projections: EAST REGION SOUTH REGION MIDWEST REGION WEST REGION And it’s never too early to check in on the bubble. According to DeCourcy’s projections, VCU, SMU, Texas and New Mexico are the last four teams in the tournament, while Auburn, Seton Hall, San Diego State and Indiana are the first four out. As for conference representation, the SEC leads the way with 10 teams, while the Big Ten has nine teams. The ACC and the Big 12 each have eight teams in DeCourcy’s latest tournament projections. The Big East and the West Coast have three teams represented, while the Mountain West and A-10 have two teams. Selection Sunday is three days away, and these projections will inevitably evolve. For now, DeCourcy’s latest bracket forecast offers a clear snapshot of who’s rising, who’s falling and which programs are already building the résumés they’ll need when March Madness arrives.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Categories
Country Next: Lakelin Lemmings
Lakelin Lemmings is just 19 years old, but she has already spent more than a decade chasing her dreams. Growing up in West Tennessee surrounded by music, she discovered her passion for country at an early age. That desire to create in her own way has carried her all the way to the release of her debut EP, Get Around Boy, in which she embraces her small-town roots and tells her story on her own terms.
The songstress got her first taste of performing at six years old when she entered various talent shows and took the stage at local festivals. She was homeschooled at the time, allowing her to dedicate more time to voice lessons and developing her craft for songwriting. By the age of 12, she was writing her own music in Nashville, by 17 she had signed her first publishing deal. Last June, she entered a new chapter when she inked an artist deal with Quartz Hill Music Group.
There has never been a doubt in Lemmings’ mind that this was her calling. She was immersed in the music scene early on, between her dad, Phillip, being a touring country guitarist and the sounds of Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and more filling her home.
“There’s no plan B. Even now, I’m like, I hope this works out,” Lemmings told Country Now in an exclusive interview.
With her just-dropped EP, Get Around Boy, Lemmings wanted to give listeners a clear picture of who she is as an artist. The five-track project blends autobiographical moments with heartfelt storytelling, capturing the reality of chasing dreams, and navigating faith and relationships.
At the heart of it all is her mission to create music that connects with girls in the same way she felt with songs from female icons like Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood. She hopes to provide her listeners with the same kind of confidence and comfort while letting them know they’re never alone.
Keep reading the Q&A below to learn more about Lakelin Lemmings, from her musical upbringing to finding her own space in Music City, lessons learned along the way, and more.
What kind of memories do you have of these early performances? Were there ever any nerves or it was always just a natural thing for you?
For sure I was nervous. I still get nervous to this day. But yeah, one of my earliest memories was I sang “You’re Looking At Country,” Loretta Lynn. It was one of the first country songs I ever learned. And I sang at this place called Red Bones Grill & Bar in Jackson, Tennessee. When I was six years old, it was a random karaoke night. And they threw me up on stage. And I think I knew in that moment, I was like, “Yeah, this is kind of cool. I might do this for a living.”
You were writing and recording in Nashville by the time you were 12. How did you navigate that at such a young age?
I don’t really know what other 12-year-olds did. I’m like, I’ve been working for a while now. But no, I think it was great. I wouldn’t change a thing. And I’m glad that I got an early start and knew that this was what I wanted to do because I mean, now I’m 19 with a record deal and traveling the world and doing the thing and it’s super fun.
What did you learn from growing up in a musical household and watching your dad play guitar? How did that help you later on?
Yeah, him being involved in the band and stuff, obviously he was out of the band when I was younger. He actually quit the band because I was being born. Sorry, dad. But he always played the guitar in the house and went to play in church and stuff so me and my sister actually grew up singing in church in the choir and that kind of thing. And so that was obviously an influence as well. And then I was homeschooled, so I didn’t really go to school and do all the extracurriculars and stuff. My parents put me in voice lessons and I started doing that and just really grew to love it and started writing and kind of the rest is history.
You achieved another big milestone at 17 when you signed her first publishing deal. How did things change for you after that?
I mean, going to Nashville since at the age of 12, I was like, I don’t really know a whole lot about the music industry, at that point still. And I was like, how do I do this for a living and to make money? And so when I got offered my publishing deal, I was like, whoa, I can get paid to write songs. This is a job. I don’t have to work at Sonic. So yeah, I was super blessed, super fortunate to get that. And then progressed into the record. It’s been crazy.
What do you feel like has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned either from another artist or just from your experience growing up in this world?
Laney Wilson once said on an award show, I can’t remember which one, but it was like, “if you’re going to be a dreamer, you got to be a doer.” And I 100% agree because even though this career is very fun and I’m very blessed and fortunate with different things, it is hard work and it’s a lot of time away from family and friends. But if you really love it and you’re really passionate about it, then it’s all worth it.
Talk about signing your record deal last summer and how it felt to have that new level of support behind you?
I signed the publishing deal when I was 17 and then actually had my meeting with the label when I was still 18 Ash Bowers, my producer had started working at the label and he was like, “I’m going to get you in for a meeting, but no promises. I don’t know. But I’m trying my best.” And I went to the meeting with Benny Brown, Jason Sellers, Paul Brown, and I think I was supposed to sing three songs. I only ended up singing two because after the second one, Benny, the head of the label, he was like, “I think I heard you. ” My parents actually came with me to that meeting, which was really special. And he was like, “I can tell you have a good background, a good head on your shoulders, and obviously a beautiful voice.” So he was like, “Let’s do it. ” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, okay.” And after speaking to some people, they’re like, “That’s not normally how it goes.” And I was like, “I don’t think so either.” But I was very happy with how it turned out. And after that, we just hit the ground running. I had photo shoots and content shoots, and I’d already been writing a ton. So just picking out the right songs to put out. And we picked “American Dreamin’,” which I think was a great debut single. And threw that on the radio for the first time. Shortly after that, it was just like, what is my life? I’m thinking this might actually work out.
When you were putting together your latest EP, Get Around Boy, what kind of vision did you have for it?
So with the EP, I wanted to be very specific and make sure there was a song for everybody and a song that represented me as, I mean, my career really, because this is the first project I’ve ever put out. And so I wanted people to hear it and be like, “Okay, so this is what she’s about.” So obviously I have “American Dreamin’,” which is the story of my life and talking about chasing my dreams and it’s just fun and upbeat. And you have “What Are We Doing”, which is kind of the situationship anthem. So for people my age or people older, younger, it doesn’t matter, I think we’ve all been through a complicated relationship…And then you have “Parking Lot,” which is kind of another story of just growing up in my hometown, not having much to do, but just hang out with friends in the parking lot. And then you have “Get Around Boy,” which is kind of the story of two high school sweethearts being torn apart. And the girl has a dream she’s chasing. Wonder where I got that out idea. And the boy stays back home, but she kind of thinks about him everywhere she goes. So it’s a beautiful little…t wrapped up in a bow and I’m very proud of it.
Talk about the only song you didn’t cut for the project, “Keep The Faith.”
I’m very fortunate to cut that song because that was the only song that I didn’t write for this project actually. But the incredible Lori McKenna and Jaron Boyer and Phil Barton wrote that. I think Carrie Underwood had it on hold at one time, maybe a rumor, I don’t know. So I was like, the fact that I got to cut that was amazing.
Can you share a bit more about your mission to put out music that lets other girls feel seen and why that is important to you?
It’s so important to me because I think growing up for me, music was kind of my therapy and music was kind of what I reached to in times of need. And I remember just hearing voices like Carrie Underwood with “Jesus Take the Wheel” and Miranda Lambert and Dolly Parton, Reba, all these amazing female voices that, at a time where I needed it, they made me feel like I wasn’t alone and they made me have confidence. And so I really want to just be another one of them and just kind of be a light to those that need it.
What advice would you offer to other female artists who are just starting out in pursuing their dreams?
If you’re just starting out, make sure you’re passionate about it and make sure you love it because it sure is hard, but it’s rewarding. And for me, this has always been a God thing. I knew that this is what God had called me to do, and so who am I to deny him? But yeah, just love what you do and do with all your heart.
The post Country Next: Lakelin Lemmings appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
True story: Jelly Roll once tried to buy his childhood home. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
True story: Jelly Roll once tried to buy his childhood home. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country