Miranda Lambert: How Honky Tonks, Heartache, and Her Mom’s Pep Talk Fueled a Record-Breaking Career

Key Takeaway

Turn setbacks into feedback loops. When Miranda Lambert’s early auditions and competitions did not go her way, she did not treat the outcome as a verdict on her potential; she adjusted her song choice, presentation, attitude, and preparation, then showed up again. Today, choose one recent disappointment, write down what specifically did not work, change one controllable variable, and schedule your next attempt. Consistent reps plus honest adjustment build readiness before the big opportunity arrives.

Episode Overview

Miranda Lambert traces her path from a shy East Texas kid and honky-tonk performer to a record-breaking country artist. She explains how bar gigs taught her audience awareness, why losing Nashville Star gave her creative freedom, and how a commitment to authenticity, truth-telling, mentorship, and room for life has sustained her career.

Full Transcript

Transcript of Miranda Lambert: How Honky Tonks, Heartache, and Her Mom’s Pep Talk Fueled a Record-Breaking Career from How I Built This. Auto-generated from episode audio; may contain minor errors.

Hello, this is Guy Rose and welcome to The Great Creators. Here I chat with some of the most successful artists, musicians, and performers of our time. And today on the show is singer, songwriter, and country music star Miranda Lambert. This is like my only chance to tell my true story through songs. Miranda Lambert has won more Academy of Country Music Awards than any other artist in history. She is proud to be a Texan who started out performing in local bars in East Texas. At 19, she placed third in the national competition Nashville Star, which led to a 20-year contract with Sony Music.

Now Miranda is on a new label with a new album called " Postcards from Texas ." So, without further ado, here's my conversation with country star Miranda Lambert. You grew up in a fairly small town, Lindale, Texas. Um, mom, dad, brother, and a very functional family. You were very close to your mom and dad growing up. I had a great relationship with them. And I... I mean, they stayed that way. It was a small- town East Texas childhood: Friday football, Sunday church. I had a real example of this kind of life in a small town.

And your parents. I know your dad was a police officer, but then your mom hired him into her private detective firm. So, you had your own "Magnum, Private Investigator" at home. I say I start with... yes. I grew up with a normal childhood , but my parents were private investigators, and that's completely abnormal. It was a really interesting way to grow up. Yes. And what did they do? They were hired by anyone to find out information, for example, if a business partner suspected another of fraud, or they collected similar data.

There were a lot of cheating cases, a lot of child custody cases, a lot of... fraud, yeah, it was quite diverse, and I think they were a popular company because they worked as a couple, husband and wife. There were things that Dad was better at, and things that Mom was better at. When it came to women, my mother had more of a knack for such things. And so... Yes. Yes. I mean, they've been doing this my whole life. Was it a dangerous job? Well, it's just, you know, your dad was a police officer, so he had experience, but you never know for sure, right?

People can go crazy if they notice you're following them or tracking them. Well, my father worked in the drug enforcement department. He worked undercover until he became simply a private detective . So I guess nothing seemed more dangerous to him than, you know, busting drug deals in Dallas. So, I guess he was ready for this, well, this kind of life. But definitely, you know, our normal dinner conversations weren't like normal small town conversations because my parents were with us. This is me and my brother. He is five years younger.

His name is Luke. And, um... he was around, they were around us, but at the same time they were doing loud surveillance while we were at school. And then they would come home, and Mom would bake us cookies, you know . So they learned to combine both . And they had, I mean, high expectations for you, right? For example, they saved money for college. The expectation was that you would go to college, find a job, and have a normal, stable life. Yes. Well, you know, I think every parent saves money so their child can go to college and pursue their dreams, but I struggled in school my whole life.

Looking back, I realize that I just learn differently, and I think that's part of creative thinking. Some of us just don't learn like everyone else. And in a small town public school, everyone in the same class does the same thing, you know what I mean? And it feels like it's a completely different time now. And I like that for today's kids because there are so many more classes and attention now for kids who learn differently than others. So, um, in high school I started to realize, barely getting through the program, that, okay, I'm going to have to deal with this, because, first of all, I'm just not interested in it.

School wasn't that, it wasn't... it wasn't interesting to me. And, um, I really like to learn. I'm still like that , but only if I'm not interested in the topic. Yes. Do you understand what I mean? So, I think that's when this conversation should have started. Tell me about the music in your home. I know your dad was into music. He was in a band with other police officers, I think. Right. And so it was. My dad is exactly the one I learned from...He taught me how to play the guitar.

He had a band early in his police career called " Contraband." Quite aptly . He just played guitar and sang my whole life. He is a truly great songwriter. I grew up on it, you know, sometimes I thought some of the Merle Haggard or John Prine songs he played were his own when I was little . So he always played guitar at home, and that's what lit a spark in me at an early age . Although I didn't get into it seriously until my teens, I just grew up around it .

What music...You mentioned John Prine and Merle Haggard. What other music did you listen to? What did you hear at home as a child and teenager? Oh, many different kinds. My mom loved soul and a lot of country. There was also southern rock, like Creedence Clearwater Revival, David Allan Coe, we listened to a lot of original songs. Guy Clark was very popular in our house. I think I started early with original songs, because that's what my dad played, you know, and that's when I...I think the first time I cried listening to a song was when I was 10, and it was...

Do you remember which one? Yes. It was Guy Clark's song "Desperados Waiting for a Train," it's so sad, and I cried, and my dad looked at me like he understood, because that was the moment I realized the emotions a song could evoke. Yes. What about pop music? I mean, you grew up in the ' 80s and '90s, and it was on the radio, and Lindale is like an hour's drive from Dallas, right? Yes, it's about 80 miles . Yes. So, did you listen to pop music?

Did you listen to Mariah Carey or anything else that was popular in the 90s? I can't remember now . But I adored Mariah Carey . I also caught the boy band era because I was a teenager, or almost a teenager, when it all started. So I had Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees. I even had a sleeping bag from New Kids on the Block. It was something special . So, there was pop music , but I remember that I always, except when I was with friends, with girlfriends at a party, listened to country music—either on the radio or from my dad's record collection.

I mean, I listened to pop music like any kid...you know, at dances or in the car with friends, but other than Mariah, I didn't often choose it on my own. Hmm, who was the first country artist you felt a real connection with where you thought, "Wow, this person speaks to me differently"? You know, this is a difficult question because I have to name Emily Harris because it was a female voice and... Yeah. She had such an incredible catalog of songs and such an amazing way of getting her point across, and I think when I was 15, 16, 17 , I started listening to girls, you know what I mean?

And even though I'd heard Emily my whole life, I didn't really take it that way until I got older and started to understand the lyrics better, you know? What about Shania Twain? I loved Shania Twain. I think one of the first CDs I bought with my own money was " Come on Over." Back then, we had to go to music stores and stand in line to buy them. And I was just thrilled, I think that album had a huge influence on me because it was so unique, different, with a feminine message and such a crazy pop-country sound that we had n't heard before.

She was truly an innovator, and that was the first time I realized what that meant: she was her own brand and did things her own way. And she's a Canadian who came to Nashville and became successful. That's right. That's right. And she has incredible work capacity, she is still conquering peaks, and that's really cool to see. Um, Miranda, when you were a kid, a teenager, and you listened to all these different songs, I imagine you singing in your bedroom or in the car, were you that kind of kid?

Have you always sung along to songs? Yes. Um, I always sang along. My mom says when I was four, I was sitting in the back seat and um, the song "Meet Me in Montana" came on the radio and I was singing harmony and she's like, "Is that her singing harmony?" Dad is like, “Of course not. "Maybe she just doesn't hit the notes, but she sings harmony." So I think it was in me naturally. This is singing along, you know? You sang the part of Marie Osmond.

Yes, the Marie Osmond part. I was just wondering who sings that song. Hmm, I couldn't remember. Um, yes. And I also wanted to remember how all of us girls my age sang along. I think it was my best friend and a microphone made of a comb. Celine Dion was our favorite for this. Knowing we would never get those notes, but we tried anyway. Did you see her performance at the Olympics? I missed it. I also really want to watch the documentary. I'm way behind on this.

I've never seen her live, of course, and it's on my list—I have to go, I just have to. I'm going to make you jealous now, because I was there. I was at the opening ceremony. Oh my God. Was it that emotional? This is incredible. Wow. Wow. I can't believe what it felt like to be there. Surprisingly. Knowing everything she's been through. This is just madness. It was incredible. Um, so, your parents hear you singing harmony on this song, and mom is like, "She's singing harmony." Do you remember, as a girl or even a teenager, people telling you, "You know, there's something special about your voice "?

This is not just an ordinary singing voice. Yes. I sang "Daddy's Hands" when I was probably 10 years old , at a school talent show. My dad played the guitar for me . It was a Holly Dunn song, and I sang it at that little talent show. And, you know, where I come from, there are actually a lot of, like, huge religious communities. And, uh, there was this pretty famous family of Christian singers who went to the same school, and he and his wife were at that little talent show.

And they're like, "You know, these kids are cute and all," but they came up to my parents and said, "I know she's 10, but she has a voice and she can really sing, you know?" And I remember my mom talking about it a little bit , but I was, well, really shy when I was little. Plus, I was 10. Like, what to do with this? Nothing. So uh, but I remember it clearly because, I don't know, it just sticks in my memory, and also because I had difficulty with everything else.

So this was the first time something came a little easier for me. Did you take lessons, vocal lessons? I didn't take, I never really took singing lessons or anything like that. Uh, I was just a kid. Like, I was just a kid. I was in a support group. I played volleyball. I just went to sing in the church choir all the time. I sang in church. Our church had a real band. So I started singing with them in eighth grade. So I was always a little bit into it, but I was also just a kid from a small town in East Texas who wanted to do kid stuff.

And my parents always got advice from people who were already in the business and random people they met in Dallas while working, and the best advice they got was, "Let her be a kid, because you can't get that time back, you know." This may be fiction , but I think it's true, at least the story I've heard is that, you know, you're 16, you really hate high school. You just don't, you just don't find a common language with her in studies, and you find out about the competition, the music competition, and you decide that you want to participate.

Is this what happened? That's exactly what happened. Uh, what kind of competition was that? Yes, it was True Value Country Showdown in this True Value like hardware store. The hardware store was a sponsor. So, it was the True Value Country Showdown , and it was held in a huge bar in Longview, Texas, where I was born. It's about 45 minutes from my hometown, and I was outside, working in the garden. My mom, you know , we had a garden and everything . Mom is like, um, and I went inside because I was just pretending to be indifferent.

My dad bought me a guitar when I was 14, and I was like, "Oh, that's cute." And besides, at that age, especially as a teenage girl, you think: "It has to be my idea, or I won't do anything." Yes. Do you understand what I mean? They tried to send me to piano lessons. I skipped a few lessons. I still can't play because it wasn't my idea. Um, and the guitar just stood there, and sometimes I would strum something on it. But I think when I started studying, I ended up in the choir.

We didn't have—this is a little off-topic, but my school didn't have a choir. And in small Texas towns, football is everything. So you're either a cheerleader, or in the orchestra, or you play a sport, and that's football. This is life. Sports are life, our orchestra won all the competitions, they were incredible, and I played the saxophone, but I didn't make it to cheerleading in my sophomore year. I quit the orchestra because I thought I would become a cheerleader. I didn't want to do either . And then I thought: what should others do?

I have certain musical inclinations. So I went to the school board, made a table with arguments why we needed a choir. And they provided funds to start a choir at Lindell High School. And on the first day, 67 students signed up . We had a huge choir, and we became a really cool group. We won state competitions and everything else. I am very grateful that the choir still exists, because it set me on the path of singing. I remember my mom seeing me crying about not making cheerleading, and she's like, do you really want this?

She said, " I know you don't want to sing, but do you really want to scream in 30- degree weather if you might want to sing someday?" And I answered: "Probably not." So the choir, in my opinion , helped me start getting back into singing. And you were also given, well, did you have any experience as a soloist? I mean, have you ever had to sing a solo in a choir? Yes, I had to. I...I sang solo, and we had these individual competitions where you go into the judge's room and perform, for example, "Maria." Several famous judges from other states came to me, and even vocal teachers from the University of Texas said: "You're very talented, but you have a very strong accent." And I said, "I know, but we came to this competition from East Texas." And what did you think I would sound like?

And one day one of the judges said to me: “You know what? I think you should keep singing . "You don't have to sing exactly like that, but you need to develop your voice because you're really talented." And that gave me a lot of confidence. Yes, I may not have gotten all the solos or opera parts in the choir, but that was what sparked my interest. So when I heard that competition ad on the radio, I thought: maybe it's worth a try. After all, there's a difference between being a soloist in a choir and being surrounded by twenty or thirty people, right?

You feel more confident because you're on stage with others, as opposed to performing alone with a guitar. How was it? I...how...how was it for you? I mean, was it scary, or did you already feel calm at the time of the competition? You know what? I already had some experience because I played Annie Oakley in a school play. Steeply. I know, it's shocking. This was my first step towards performing on stage alone. And, as I said, I was very shy. I'm definitely not the same as I used to be, but as a child I was painfully shy.

And the most interesting thing is, I wasn't very nervous. I was much more nervous when I was serving in volleyball, performing an opera solo, or going out to bat. I was much more nervous about that or about dancing and cheerleading because it took me longer to learn everything. It was like I finally felt like I was in control, even though I was only 16, but I thought, "Oh, this is the only thing that comes to me at least a little bit easily." Do you understand what I mean?

I sang one of my dad's songs, his own, and my parents brought a hundred people. So that night I felt the support of the audience. I didn't win that contest. Yes. You didn't win, but it gave you this feeling, this energy, that maybe you could do it . Yes. That was the moment I realized, "Oh, I can do it," and I got a permanent job there. I was only 17, so my mom had to go with me until I was 18, but I eventually got a permanent job there and performed three nights a week my entire penultimate year at school.

This is the Rio Palm Isle Club. Rio Palm Isle. I told my parents, "I want to try this ." They replied, "Well, go sing a little and see what you feel ." So I printed out a notebook, I don't know, a foot thick. Back then, it wasn't like now , when people used iPads for lyrics , and back then I printed everything out and laminated it. I went to the club owner and said, "I know a hundred songs, you need a singer, you have a great band, and I want to be in it." He agreed, and we played four sets three nights a week for almost my entire penultimate year of school.

Did you just go there for the weekend? Well, I got home around 4 am on Thursday, and on Friday I still went to school. Oho. And that didn't improve my grades either. I believe not. This is actually interesting. I do n't want to get ahead of myself because there are so many things I want to ask about that time, but you lost two of the most important competitions that could have changed your life. And I think it's important to think about that a little bit, because in the end, you came in third place on Nashville Star, which was a real gift, which was actually a gift, because it didn't limit you later in life.

You are absolutely right. I mean, both of those times were a gift, because I learned so much from losing that little True Value Country Showdown. This didn't upset me at all . On the contrary , it only fueled my enthusiasm, and that's a victory because I'm still using it. And then...well, that loss was the first one, and then, you know, the loss on Nashville Star... those contracts are pretty terrible because you have nothing. When you win, you have to sign the contract they give you. You're like...they get the first rights to everything, they effectively own you, and you sign it to get on the show because that's what the exchange was, you know?

And the song they made me record for Nashville Star was supposed to be my first single, but it wasn't original, and I had already written a lot myself, and I didn't like it, but I had to record it. And I thought, "I don't want this to be the first impression I make on the world, because that's not really who I am." So the defeat, the third place—it gave me some time and freedom to take care of myself. We had Kelly Clarkson on the show, I think in the first season, and she, of course , won American Idol .

Yes. And she talked a lot about the difficulties, and how it really put her in a difficult position for the first five years of her career. You saw, well, I know you spent the next few years performing in bars, right? And anyway, let me ask you about this, because I imagine it was a great practice in life in general. You play in bars. Someone is not paying attention to you. Someone is acting violently. Someone is just, you know, disgusting. Anything can happen in a bar. And here is a very young girl, barely 18, 17 years old, on stage, trying to give it her all, trying to entertain you.

And you had to deal with all of this . Yes. And that was the best. I always say I graduated from honky-tonk school. Instead of college, I went to Honky- Tonk University because it teaches the best. I learned so much about the stage just by going out there without having any idea what I was doing. It's like, you know, I still remember those days, back then everything was about dancing, you know? It was line dancing, waltzes, shuffles, and the club where I worked at 17 was a real honky- tonk.

That's where people came on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to have fun, dance, and drink beer. I remember they kept asking me to play waltzes, and I only had three in my notebook , so one day I came home and asked my father: how do I play a waltz? Well, like, how do you actually waltz? Teach me how to do it on the guitar. He taught me, and I wrote three more. I thought: well, I'll give the people what they want. They want a waltz. I will write a waltz.

And from this example, I learned to feel the rhythm, for example, that you can't play too many ballads in a row. It's impossible for the entire performance to be just driving, not giving anyone an emotional break. I learned all this in clubs. I mean, that's the best way to gain experience— just go and do it, and every time something doesn't work out , ask yourself, "Okay, what can I change?" And how to find a common language with the audience. I read a story about a recent concert of yours where there were people just talking and you actually looked at them and said, "Hey, if you're here to talk, go somewhere else." “And if you're here to chill, listen to some great country music, and drink some beer—we're here,” and everyone started applauding.

That's my vibe because I also feel like I have a responsibility to really do my job. You came here, and even before, you know , now people pay for tickets to see me, and that's great, but before, I just wanted to win. I wanted to win their favor. I wanted to get my message across to them . I wanted to be heard, because there are interesting thoughts in my songs , and I want you to hear them. So I learned how to do it. Good. So when you were doing this, when you were playing, you know, honky- tonk, you...yeah.

Did you feel like you were working on something specific because the path... we were bringing Lainey Wilson on the show, Shania Twain, and a bunch of other singer-songwriters who had that kind of path. They're going to Nashville, right? Like Lainey Wilson went there at 18, unknown to anyone, living in a trailer, right? Did you think at the time, "Okay, I'll do this, and then my path is to go to Nashville and figure it all out "? Do you understand? By the way, I adore Lainey. I'm a big fan of hers, she's my friend, and I love watching her succeed, she's so genuine, and it's...I just love her.

My path is different because Texas...I was actually listening to Cody Jinx today, your collaborative track. O. Oh, great. He is also wonderful. I think Texas has its own style, we have our own genre of music, Texas music, and it encompasses many genres within itself. Do you understand what I mean? Thanks to Willie, Waylon and the guys, we had our own scene , and it was a real scene at the time. And for a while, it seemed like sometimes you had to choose one thing. Either you play Red Dirt music and build a great career in the region, or you go to Nashville and screw it up.

There was this stigma that you couldn't do both , and it was so scary: "Oh my God, I...", because I had been performing in bars for three years, I graduated from school early in my last year so I could go on tour and do it seriously. I played in these clubs for three years without money and without an audience, you know, playing as a warm -up for whoever I could, honing my skills. I recorded a small independent album. I tried to sell it from my mother's car.

We printed 3,000 copies and we were just going around radio stations like Loretta Lynn, knocking on doors and saying, " Can I play my songs?", you know, but I was slowly gaining popularity. I had a number one song on the Texas chart and there was a certain buzz around me. I thought, "Okay, well, I could have a career in Texas." This is my home state, we have a huge music scene here, but then I always asked myself: what if I tried? After all, I went to Nashville for Fan Fair when it was still called that.

I'm sure Lainey said the same thing . Um, earlier every year, just because I was so in love with country music. So I had to choose: which path to take? And will they love me if I do both, or will they turn away from me? Luckily, Texas is still my favorite place to perform because my home state supported me and I was also able to go to Nashville and pursue my dream of country music. I mean , there's a parallel universe where you could be a Texas country star, and maybe that would be great, but you wouldn't be an international country music star.

Yes. Exactly. And I didn't like the idea of choosing just one thing. So I thought: maybe I can do both . George Strait could do it, so maybe I can too, you know. And I have it , and I'm very grateful for it. I have a lot of friends there who, you know, didn't get the same opportunity, even though they have great careers. But they're also glad that period is over, because many of them come to Nashville to write songs. And I just feel like I want to help bridge that gap because it's important.

Because... Yes. You know, Willie, Waylon and those guys—what a big influence they had on music in general, they started a movement that then became worldwide. So, it is possible. From what I read, your mom saw Kelly Clarkson win American Idol, you know, the iconic season of that show, and she said, "Hey, Miranda , you could do this." "I think you could..." I mean, she's a kid from Texas. " But you didn't..." American Idol wasn't...You didn't feel like it was the place to go. No. Um, I also adore Kelly.

She is so wonderful. For me, she is one of the best singers of all time. And I am so happy. I say Texas can be proud of her. Hey. Um, no. It was the first year of Idol, and my mom, you know, says, "Hey, do you want to try auditioning?" And I'm like, "No." Because it was all about pop music back then. It was all about pop music back then. There weren't that many country singers, and there wasn't a chance to sing your own songs, and I was writing a lot of songs, and I was like, "That's not the message I want to start my career with, you know?" "" Um, first of all, I'm not a pop singer.

I don't want to be made into a pop star. I don't want to sing other people's songs that I don't know, so I didn't go to the Idol audition. Over time, everything began to appear there, but at the time it seemed to me that it wasn't for me. Um, and you know, I don't know if it was the right decision, because I still had to survive by performing in bars. But, um, a couple of years later, Nashville Star came along. So, Nashville Star comes along, and I think, again , it was your mom who pushed you to try out, and you weren't excited, or maybe your heart was n't in it when you first went to audition.

No, because I had already participated in several such shows, country competitions around the state, and I didn't win, and I started to think that it was all fixed, and that it was all nonsense. It's hard , you know, and scary, and it's just a few people's opinions about whether you're good or not, you know? So I was a little discouraged, because at that moment I was learning on stage what was good and what wasn't. The crowd would tell me what worked and what didn't, because they were either excited or they didn't care, you know?

So I didn't feel like the judge should be evaluating me at that moment. Um, and that's why I went to Dallas. My mom took me to Dallas and said, " Just try it." " You know, I understand why. I understand your argument, and I didn't put my heart into it at all . I just, well, did it casually, for the best of reasons. I was just kind of off topic. And we got in the car, and I did n't even make the top 30 in Dallas, and it was through a local radio station.

So there was an opportunity to get on the radio, and I just... I wasn't in the mood. And my mom said, "That was embarrassing." And I'm like, "What do you mean?" She says, " First of all, the song choice is terrible, the performance is terrible, the outfit is terrible, and your attitude is just terrible." And I say, " Well, what do you really think, Mom?" You know, we were sitting in the parking lot after that audition, and she wouldn't start the car. She looked at me, you know, like a mom does when she gives that "the same" look at church, and you know she's hooked, and she just said, " Miranda, I drove you all the way here." I helped you practice.

I helped you get ready for this. We picked out an outfit, and you didn't show up, and I did. And she said, "There's another audition , and it's in Houston in two weeks." If you change your mind, we'll go , and if this does n't work out, I'm out of the running for good. And I said, "Okay." So I changed my mind. I changed the song, the outfit, and the mood, and we drove to Houston, which is a four-hour drive. So my mom was wasting her time.

She's a working mom too. She was kind of annoyed by my lack of respect for her. her time. Um, so I like that, by the way. I adore your mom for that. I... I just, as a parent, that's our role. It's, you know, to believe in your child. And she believed in you. She saw something in you and was mad that you were kind of turning this opportunity down. Yeah. And I turned it down. And you know, we already had a conversation about college. She's like, "From what I see here, this isn't a conversation, because we have to put your college fund money into this kind of attitude." That's not going to work.

Like, right? They were putting money away for college that they were willing to spend on it. That's right. On your career. Yeah. And we went to Houston, and I showed up . I mean, I had my hair done, sequins, and the same outfit. I had a guitar. I was like, " Okay." And I sang it to her. Well, I sang " Crazy" a cappella like Patsy Cline. Then they let me go to the second round. I got to the second round. So that was better than what I had just dealt with in Dallas.

I sang "Two More Bottles of Wine" by Emily Harris and made it to the third round, where we had to do a cover. I do n't remember what it was. And I ended up winning out of all the two or three hundred people in Houston. I won it all and I got on the Nashville Star that night. That was my lucky ticket. And you're actually getting on a plane to Nashville by yourself. You're 19, and you're going to be on national television. Yeah, for the first time in your life.

It was the first time I'd ever been on a plane by myself. My mom was waving at me, crying like she was sending her kid off to college. Which is what it was. I was like, okay , let's go. I got my guitar and all my dorm stuff, because I thought that's what they do, when they go to college. We lived in a house in Nashville on Music Row. I moved into a house with 12 strangers who were my competitors, and I was 10 years younger than everyone else.

And they filmed everything. They filmed everything. Like the show "The Real World" on MTV. That's how it was. That was the part that didn't really excite me. But I thought, what else am I supposed to do? Perform in bars for $300 forever? You know. I saw the video of you on that show and the video of your family, it's so touching, you were such a sweet kid. You were a kid. You're 19, you're so genuine, your eyes wide open, and that performance that I saw , you had so much charisma, and I was watching and thinking, she just moved from Texas.

She's 19. She's never been on national television. And you you come out with this charisma and sing this song. It was like stepping out of your own body? Do you remember feeling like you weren't even in yourself? Like that? Yeah. It was scary. And they also decided to put me first in the first episode. Right first in the first episode of a brand new show, which has never been done before . And here's this girl , fresh off the farm. And I'm like, "You want me to go first?" And you know what?

But all that time in bars, I was just imagining, I was like, "No, you're just in a regular bar." Just go out there and do what you know how to do. You can do it. And I mean, it was crazy all that time . But because it was happening, what I was just imagining could have happened or was going to happen, but it was on a much higher level, because it was television. It was three years of hard work in bars. Yeah. It really, I mean, a lot of work went into that moment.

Yeah. That you didn't realize. You didn't plan it out or figure it out, like, "Okay, and then I'll get on Nashville Star." It was just work, work, work, and then this opportunity came along. Yeah. And you were ready. And I almost blew it the first time. The first time. Yeah. Yeah. I was ready. And you know, I I feel lucky because I just have a very strong personality. I'm actually very comfortable and confident in who I am. And so I think my mom's advice when I started performing in bars and doing pageants was, "Listen, you've got to know who you are and stick to that." No matter what people say, no matter what changes in your life, you just have to be yourself and be authentic.

And my dad's advice was, character is everything. If you show good character, you'll get through any situation, and you have good character. You have a strong foundation, be yourself . And so I think that gave me the push I needed to go on national television and sing Hank's song, you know? And here we are, you know? I think social psychologists should do a study on pageants and awards, look at the winners and then the second and third place winners and see what the their results, because I think there are a lot of examples where second or third place was actually a gift, and the fact that you didn't win.

You came in, you were probably the youngest person in the competition at the time, but you came in third. Um, first of all, were you disappointed that you didn't win? I wasn't disappointed at all, because I also loved the winner, he'd been in this business 20 years longer than I had, Buddy Joel. He had a family, and he'd been sending out demos in Nashville for 20 years. And he just deserved it . He deserved it. And I just loved him so much . And I thought, here I am, this kind of girl.

I guess I have n't done it yet. I have n't been down that road yet , you know. And so, um , I also knew that I didn't like the single that I was supposed to record. I didn't like the contract, it wasn't very artist-friendly. And so, and that was the contract that was only for the first place winner, right? A contract. Yeah. So they had the rights to everyone who signed, but you could have a little more room to negotiate. But as I got further along in the competition, because it was weeks and weeks and weeks of competition, and as I got further along, you know, one of the judges was Tracy Hers, and she worked for Sony Music, who was the contract party for the show, and she just took me aside and said, "You're us, let's go, like, yeah." And so I realized that I probably got the exposure that I was hoping for without the horrible contract.

And so by the end of the competition, I was like, "I think I can still have the label interest that I was hoping for, because I got in front of the right people, and I had an audience, you know, a much larger audience, because it was national television, and I've never had that ." And knowing that people were actually voting for me and that It resonates, I was like, " Okay, I guess I got what I came for." So you signed with Sony, but still, you know, on this show we're talking to people that you know who have sold music and who have "made it," in quotes.

But there are so many incredible artists who, for various reasons, you know , sign these deals, and that's it. You know , their careers just kind of go nowhere for various reasons, and often through no fault of their own. Um, tell me what happened after that happened, right? Because it seems like it took about two years for your debut album, "Kerosene," to come out . Um, did they try to... was it weird, did they try to control you, what you were writing? And... and did you feel like they were trying to turn you into someone else?

Or did you feel like you had the freedom to be the artist that you wanted to be? I was... I was very confident in all the songs that I I had built up and written. I was confident that... you know, it's that 19- year-old kind of excitement where you just want to jump in. You know, you've got your weapons ready. I'm ready. You know what I'm talking about? So I was just so excited and ready to go. And, you know, I feel like I was signed...

I signed the first day the new president came to Sony. So we signed our contract that same day, and his name was John Grady, and he was a music lover, and... it's not always like that, you know, with label executives. So I was grateful for that. And he... I went there. I brought my agent with me, because I didn't have a manager or anything like that. And I just said, " Look, I really appreciate you believing in me ." It was in a Sony conference room, and I was wearing a T- shirt that my mom bought me, with a huge buckle, and I thought I knew everything in the world— I guess I faked it until it happened.

But I just said, "I know who I want to be and who I am, and I know what I want to sound like ." I kind of know it intuitively because I've been working on this for three or four years. And so if you're going to change me somehow, change all my songs or make me some princess in a backless top... I'm not interested, I know I can go back to Texas and have a career, and I'm totally ready for that. But I'd like to be here if you're going to support me for who I am.

And John Grady just... the room went quiet. John Grady looked at me and said, "Go make your album." "We'll leave you alone." "We know, we saw it in your eyes." "We trust you." Looking back, I realize—it was incredibly brave. I don't know what I was thinking. But I also think that kind of insistence—"no, it's got to be "That's right" probably saved me from a lot of disappointment, because there were a lot of new female artists coming out at the time. A lot of them were blondes from different parts of the country, and they were starting to have the same image.

You look at their pictures—they're all the same, and I thought: I don't want to be like everyone else, I want to choose my own path. I want to be a pioneer, not follow the patterns that might be trendy now, because that doesn't lead to long-term success. And I somehow knew that back then. I don't know why. Yeah. It's really...you're lucky you had that foresight , right? That thought: " I want to have a long career." Because we're talking about this almost 20 years later. You're here with a new record, which we'll talk about soon , but that album, "Kerosene," it debuted at number one on the American country charts.

It went up to number 18 on the American Billboard chart. And it was a huge hit. You suddenly, overnight, after getting a lot of attention on "Nashville Star," you were in the spotlight . You had an album out, and then you went on tour with Keith Urban, who was probably one of the top five country stars in the world at the time. Yeah. Huge. Yeah. And I just went from bars and pubs to Keith Urban's stage, and it was a whole other level. It wasn't just a beer hall band.

It was real craftsmanship and entertainment value , it was arenas, and Keith is just incredible at that. He's always been great with female artists, really trusted them, took them under his wing, put them on the big stage, and because he's so experienced, he knows how much we can learn from him . My band and I would sit there every night and watch the show, just every night, just gobsmacked, and that tour was on a whole other level too. It was like learning in I was like, "Okay, this is your next level of education." Like, go to school.

We need to study. What... what do you remember learning from watching him on stage? It's just that, you know, we were a good band, but a bar band. And there's a beauty in that, but we were already on a major label with a number one record, and we needed to raise the bar and take it more seriously. And, you know, even the skills, the skill level of my band—we just needed to work. And, I think, watching how incredibly talented Keith's band was , how well they worked together backstage , how the audience responded to his jokes and his entertaining style, and how he was running around.

It was really... you know, also the first time, it was a big stage, so I definitely took a lot of notes on that tour, because it was the first of many huge tours that I went on. It It's a weird question, and maybe you can't answer it, but maybe you can. I'm curious about how you learned to go from the person you are here now to the same person on stage, but you obviously have to be more charismatic. You have to be larger than life on stage.

You have to, because you're singing for 20, 25,000 people. That person in the back row has to feel a connection to you, too, and you have to learn how to do that. Do you have any insight into how you were able to become that? Um, it's funny that you mentioned the back row. Um, I... I think I was 15, and we went to a George Strait stadium tour called Strait Fest, and all the artists I loved were there. It was like everyone was playing. We went to Texas Stadium to see it, and we could only afford seats in the back row, literally with our heads against the wall of the stadium, but I was so happy to be there.

It wasn't that small. meaning. And Martina was on stage, she's very fragile. Like she's just... Martina McBride. Martina McBride. She's one of my favorites, and you know, she was really popular back then, just tearing up the halls. The "Broken Wing" era. And she's on stage, and my mom says, and she was just larger than life to me. And seeing her in interviews and videos and all that . My mom said, " She's a very small person." She's just ...she says, "Your height, she's small , but look how big she is up there." Be big on stage .

Be big. "And it's so like a beauty pageant mom, but it really hit home for me, because I was still shy, you know? So I realized that I'm only five feet tall, I'm this little blonde firecracker. I had to find a way to be big on this stage and resonate with people. And I started thinking about all the times I'd seen people who were just incredibly big . And then you meet them at a fan meeting or in person and you're like, "Oh, they're normal. But up there on stage, they're like giants, you know?

So I have my mom's comment in the style of a contestant's mom." Yeah. Are there things that you do, even now as an experienced artist, to prepare yourself to go on stage and be big? I mean, how do you become this person with your small stature ? I think sometimes, sometimes the crowd helps me get into the mood. I don't know if a lot of artists you've talked to say the same thing, but you can't do something for 20 years and go on stage every night with the same enthusiasm.

It's just impossible. Yeah. And to go out there with the same fire that I had on the Keith Urban tour, you know? But the crowd kind of picks me up. It's weird. My uncle came to the show last weekend. It was a stadium concert with Chris Stapleton, and my uncle came in and was with us all night and he was like, " Well, tell me how it is..." We talked, I see him all the time, but it was the first time he'd been with me in a working setting, so he was interested in asking these questions.

And one of them was, " How long does it take you to get into shape? Well, how many songs?" He kind of knew that it was n't usually the first song, and I said, "By the third song. By the third song, I feel like, ' Okay, I looked at everyone.' 'They looked at me. We're here together. I can catch my breath. We've caught each other's breath.' And after the show, he said, 'I've seen these changes. I've seen you change.' And I thought, 'That's interesting, because that was the show that I realized, you know, the crowd—I rely on them so much.' I'm just grateful, and, you know, I can come in with some kind of problem in my life, or I'm not feeling great, or whatever , but somewhere around the third song, I'm like, ' No, I'm supposed to be right here with all these people,' and it just covers it.

It covers it. Yeah. And then it becomes almost, again, a way out of your own body, like you're just cruising along. You just really have the crowd supporting you. Yeah, that's true. And even when the shows are hard or there's a lull, the way our set is structured is a gradual build, it's all a gradual build. So by the end, you know, I also learned that it's not their job to entertain me, it's my job to entertain them. Like, do your job. If I'm not doing my best or the crowd isn't feeling the vibe or whatever, I came here to do a job and I have to do it.

And sometimes I start having fun with my band, or we joke around, or we laugh , or someone hits the wrong note, and it adds a little humor because it takes the tension off a little bit. Yeah. There's something about charisma. I think as humans we think it's either there or it's not there. I don't think so at all. I think we all have the ability to find it. You know, I mentioned, I had the opportunity to meet Garth Brooks in person a few years ago, and he's so nice and friendly and calm, and then I saw him perform at stage, and wow.

I mean, it was like a completely different person in some ways. You know, it was the same person, but at the same time there was this incredible charisma when you looked at him . It was. Well, Garth was my first concert when I was 10. Texas Stadium, the second night. And I agree, it was just the most incredible thing. He was like flying over the crowd and lighting up the stage, and I was like, "What's going on?" It's just amazing. " Like, yeah. And I think that kind of lit a fire in me : 'Oh, man.'" It was something extraordinary, you know?

"And I'm not like I had to learn to perform. I mean, I still, I don't think it comes as naturally to me as it does to me with a guitar in a bar, you know, on a big stage like that. It's like, okay, you have to put in more effort. You have to play bigger, bolder, and I'm still learning that to this day. Last weekend I went from Stubb's Bar-B-Q , which was 120 people, to Minute Maid Park with Chris Stapleton in Houston. It was like a whiplash, you know, but I just wanted to do that club show for myself, because it was a complete cycle for me.

But it all comes down to the fact that I just love both, but it's a different approach and a different role. I want to change the subject for a second, because I want to talk to you a little bit about your new album. But before I do that, I have to mention or admit that I grew up in Los Angeles and I live in San Francisco. So I grew up on Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure. No country music in my teenage years. It really happened in adulthood.

And I'm embarrassed to say that my gateway, my drug that got me into Miranda Lambert, was the song Bluebird, which is new to you. I don't care how long you've been here. I'm glad you're here. And it's a song that I love. And I'm choosing it as an example to talk about your approach to songwriting and how you take what's in your head or in your soul and put it out there for the world. This song, to me, it feels very biographical. You know, a turning of the page.

I'm 34 and I just turned 35. And I wonder if in the songs that you write, you go deep into your own experiences, your own emotions and feelings, and put them out there for the world, you know? I think because I write songs for so long, it's a combination of a few things. At 17 when I started writing, I didn't have a lot of life baggage. Of course, I'm 17, I'm in a small town. So I really drew inspiration from my parents' experiences, from the stories that I heard.

And we also took, uh, battered women and women who were victims of domestic violence into your home and their children into our home. Yeah. When were you growing up? Yeah. From about 14 to 19. Um, so I saw a lot of real life, even though I was a little bit sheltered , I saw a lot of the ugly side of the world: from infidelity cases and divorces to custody battles that my parents were dealing with, to these women who had nowhere to go. It was really educational.

So one of the first songs that I wrote was "Gunpowder and Lead." I didn't go through that myself , but I lived in home, where it was at the forefront, you know, uh, we were trying to help these women get back on their feet, I was friends with their kids, I shared my room with their daughter, understanding the hard things that people were going through. And because I loved sad songs from day one, I felt like I had to look deep inside myself and find some things that maybe I had n't experienced myself yet.

And that really influenced my early writing. Uh, and then I started living, and as Loretta Lynn said, if you don't live your life, you're not going to have anything to write about. So I did. Uh, so a lot of my records, starting when I started touring and having boyfriends and playing shows all over the country, I started writing from my own perspective; and, you know, I think that's the appeal of country music , it's—it's true. I mean, it's tears over beer when your dog died and your wife left, that's what it is.

So I feel like I've always wanted to be a truth-teller, a storyteller, but to tell stories that are based on the truth: the good, the bad and the ugly. And, uh, you know, some of them I've had to go through, and it wasn't the most pleasant. And because you're a celebrity, your life is public too. People see it. They know it. And so it's different. It's not the same as being a private person and, you know, going through a breakup or some kind of hardship in life.

It's something that people know about, which makes it, in a way, even more difficult. Yeah. And you know, when all of that is on display, there's no point in not telling the truth in your lyrics. You know what I'm talking about? It's like my only chance to tell my real story through songs. And I and I and I still do. That's what I signed up for. That's what I promised to myself and to my fans when I started: I'm going to tell the truth. I'm just going to lay it out there, and you know there's power in vulnerability, and I wanted to be this strong example, this strong woman, a person that you could rely on.

So I just did it. And you know, I've gotten to a point now where I don't think you have to write every sad song, I don't think you have to live every sad song that you write. I think you've got to live some of it to really understand it. You know what I'm saying? But I just understand now that when you've been through certain things in your life, you've felt loss and pain and all that awful stuff, it doesn't leave your body. It doesn't leave your heart.

You don't have to ruin your life to make a good album. You know what I'm saying? I'm just not one of those. But I really think there's a lot to be said for mistakes, and just the stories that you create, we as songwriters should use that. Yeah. One of the things I noticed in this conversation is that every time I mention one of your business colleagues, you say, I love this person. I've seen this person. I love this person. And you're known as someone who consciously takes the time to be a mentor, especially for young women in this business .

Which I think is just great. And not everyone does that. It's not because they're mean or unkind, they just do n't have the time. They don't make the time. And that's something that I've come to understand is really important to you. It's like a key part of how you see your career. It is. It really is . And you know, I've been lucky enough to have really great guys like Keith, Dirk Bentley, Kenny Chesney, and George Strait who have taken me on tour with me, been my friends, and taught me everything.

And I don't really have There were a lot of female artists in my life, because when I started out, there were n't that many women touring. At least not at that level. So I did n't have that; I couldn't just call someone at 3 a.m. and say, "What should I do?" You know, I really took it to heart, and what the guys did for me. But I also know, right now, I know everything that a female artist needs. You know, we have so many extra steps in general; we have to do this, the eyelashes, the outfits, the hair, the makeup, the weight pressure, and all the things that we all deal with as performers or public figures, male or female, it doesn't matter.

But there's so much more that goes on behind the scenes. And because I've been through this , I want to be around my colleagues and young artists who have fire in their eyes. It's also great to be around that energy because it reminds me to keep my own fire going, and I'm only 40. I've done a lot before. But I still have a lot ahead of me. So I want to keep that young, fun energy and be there for them. And then Lainey called me, uh...

late one night, I think. She said, my song just went to number one . My first number one single, and I'm like, "Oh, of course I'm not shocked, you're the next big star to me," and she's like, "I just wanted to talk to someone who knows what it feels like, and you don't know until you've been through it." So the fact that she trusts me makes me so happy, because I feel like it's a testament to my own story and the stories that I've been creating in my lyrics.

Because I've been telling the truth about the hard stuff, and I want to be there for these artists through the ups and downs, because sometimes it's lonely—living in a tin can with people that you don't love and aren't your family. You know, it's a little weird. Yeah. Uh, tell me a little bit about your new album. It's kind of full circle, right? Because it's called " Postcards from Texas." Yeah. And, um, of course, the place where you grew up—we talked about it, it's been almost 20 years since your first album, Kerosene.

And, um, you came back home, right? You came back to Texas to... not just record it, not just write it, but record it. Yeah, that's right. I did my little independent album when I was 18 in Dallas. And, um, I haven't made a record in Texas since then. And I was in... It was that album called "Miranda Lambert" with 10 songs that you were selling out of the trunk of your car, right? Yes, sir. Yes. Just my little, country record. Um , but I just felt like...

well, you know, I don't want to be too "Texan" about this project. I just wanted to go back to where it all started, because I was 40. It had been 20 years. I got out of a contract that I had been on for 20 years, with Sony. Yeah. With Sony. And it didn't end very well at the end . And I just felt like I really needed to come back and get back on my feet. I want to be grounded. I want to be surrounded by something familiar.

And all the creativity that was out there was what got me on this path. So I want to go back and feel it and be present in it. I have a house in Austin, and I thought, I'll take my best friend from Texas, John Randall, who I've been working with for a long time, and just see what comes out in the studio. We did n't have any specific plan, we just said, let's see what happens. And we brought in almost all the musicians from Austin, except for a few from here that we really love.

Um, and I really wrote songs with such nostalgia, because I feel like they've combined all the influences that I've ever had. Nashville, Texas, country music in general, because it's real, time-tested country music. That's what lit a fire in my heart at 17, and that's what keeps it going at 40. And I felt like it was really important to get back to the heart of it all, and the steel guitar is my heart. It really is . And it's, I mean, you just come out like you're bursting out of a closed barn door with the first single, which I think is called "Wranglers." The first line is: There's no rage stronger than that of a woman being neglected.

Yeah. Um, and the video is just amazing, and I saw you do "Alimony." Um, there's a video of you doing it at a restaurant that you own in Nashville. Yeah. And we actually, um... Well, I can't talk about it yet, so I won't. Oh, I almost blurted it out. Um, well, it's going to air, I think, after the record comes out. Really? But I don't know when that show is going to be. But in any Speaking of having your own bar, it's so fun to have a country music venue, like, Yeah.

on Broadway, you know? It's so important to me. I'm the first girl, the first female artist to have a bar on Broadway. So I'm really proud of that. And, um, to come there, eat tacos, drink margaritas and watch these young girls come up on stage and cover my songs. It's like, damn , it's a success, man. It's cool. Um, and going back to the album, is there, I mean, you know, it's kind of a tribute to your influences, right? I mean, it is. And , um, is there a thematic component to it?

Because so many of your songs are built around stories, like, "Mama's Broken Heart"—it's so visual. I mean, you don't have to watch the video to imagine it, because the words themselves tell the story. I mean, I I listened to "Barflies and Baptists," there's just incredible storytelling in that song. Um, is there a common story that runs through this album? I think the common story is... you know what, I don't even know. I think the common thread is the country roots of it all. But there 's a song on every subject, which is why I called it "Postcards from Texas," because I felt like I was writing a postcard, where each song is a separate thought: some of it is humorous, some of it is nostalgic, some of it is a warning, some of it is a breakup song.

I just feel like a little piece of everything that I've ever loved or experienced is on this record. And, you know, I think that aside from picking up an armadillo with a cigarette, I did pretty much everything else for this album. So I mean, it's still a long way to go . But I just felt like these are little postcards, you know, and my the previous Palamino album was all about travel. We wrote a lot of it in 2020, and it was, you know, a bunch of stories that I've been through, or dreams of road trips, because I have an Airstream, and I love just taking it and going on a moon trip.

But all that traveling while recording the last album, all those changes, the contract terminations and everything, it kind of brought me back home. And I feel like coming home after all that traveling, physically and emotionally, I think, just being home—it was a way to start over. It's like I've got two whole decades ahead of me. So where are we going? But I have to start here. By the way, do you travel in your Airstream when you're not on tour, just go on road trips? Last year, well, it's been almost two years now .

I've never taken a whole month off in the summer before, until , um, the summer before last. I took a month off. We went in July. We went to my friend's place, my close friend and my backing vocalist Gwen. She's been with me for 13 years. And they have a camp or two. So we went to Montana, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming. It was just kind of just driving on the interstates , because I'd been everywhere, but I had n't seen anything special , you know? Yeah. And that's part of life on the road.

That's part of what it means. But now I realize that I try to do better and make the trip something interesting. If we're playing somewhere cool, we stay a few extra days in Tahoe, or we played in Switzerland, so my husband and I stayed in Europe for a couple of weeks. You kind of have to live, you know, I've really gotten better at it. But I still have a lot of room to grow. But that's my main piece of advice to 20- year-old artists, especially female artists.

I say, just stop. Take a breath for a second. And take a day off. That's okay . It's just country music. You know , you knew when you were 20 that you wanted to have a really long career. Here you are, 40, and you're still young. I mean, you're at that age where so many artists, actors, musicians that have been on our show are just starting to really come into their own . You have a long career ahead of you. What do you want to do?

What do you envision, say, in 20 years that you have n't done or haven't been able to do, but maybe you will? I... I'm actually working on this list. I've been working on it for about a year and a half now, and I... I just... I... I don't know exactly what it's going to look like, and I do n't have a perfect plan. I know for sure that it's about creativity . I know that whatever the next two decades of my career or my life are, I want to be creative and make music.

I want to create something with my hands, whatever that is. I do n't even know yet, but I want to try something new. I want to create an environment and a space in my life that will attract other people and be the mentor that I think I can be because of my experience. And I also want to create a space for life itself. That's important, you know, and it's not easy. You're a very hard worker. I know you have a million projects, but you just create a space in your life to live, to travel around Europe with your family.

And, you know, I think that's so important, because at some point the lights go out, the buses park forever, people put away their guitars, and then, who's around you ? Who are you, what are you doing now? I never want to look back and realize that my legacy is just, "Well, she was really busy." You know what I mean? It doesn't mean anything. I think the art and the people and the love that you surround yourself with are the most important things. Miranda Lambert, thank you so much.

Thank you for inviting me. Hey, Thanks for watching my conversation with Miranda Lambert. Her new album, Postcard from Texas, is out September 13th. If you want to see more videos like this, please subscribe to this channel. We post new conversations every week, and of course, we're an audio podcast, so you can find great creators wherever you listen to podcasts. Just search for The Great Creators. I'm Guy Rose, and you've been watching The Great Creators from Builtin Productions. We'll be back next week with a new episode.

Thanks for watching.