Lauren Alaina on Her New Show and Overcoming Heartbreak With Her Getting Over Him EP
Sometimes, it's the toughest experiences that result in the most touching stories and the most moving art.
Country singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina knows this well. Her powerful and all-too-relatable Getting Over Him EP released in Sep., channeling her breakup pains into anthems for fans around the country.
And now, Lauren is about to share her talents with the world in a whole new way as the host of the Circle Network's Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith, which highlights incredible people and their stories of faith getting them through thick and thin.
Ahead of the premiere, we got the chance to speak with Lauren about all of it, from the show, to her music, to what it takes to break a healing heart. Keep reading to discover everything she revealed to us.
Sweety High: What can you tell us about Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith?
Lauren Alaina: It's gonna be on the Circle Network, and I'm the host who introduces different people who come on and discuss their faith and their powerful life experiences, from joy to heartache, victory to pain.
It started when I did the Jesus Calling podcast and shared my story of faith, and we established that relationship and they asked me to be the host. That was such a compliment to me to be recognized for my faith. It was a really different experience from what I usually get recognized for, which is my music.
SH: What was that experience like?
LA: I didn't really get to chat with the celebrity guests, because of quarantine. Instead, I recorded all of my introductions for them. But I did get to hear some of their stories, which are really moving. Kristin Chenoweth was one I was really looking forward to because I love her. She is just so funny and talented.
Alan Jackson's daughter also tells a really moving story and that one really stuck out to me. Her husband was in a tragic boat accident and slipped and hit his head, and he passed away. They weren't married very long at all, and she's done such a good job of keeping his legacy alive.
Mostly, what I'm so proud of is being able to help others share their stories, because that's what I do—I tell my own stories all the time. I write songs, and I share what happens in my life, and now I'm helping other people share their stories. That feels like an extension of what I already do, but it's special in a different way. I really feel a connection with these people, and I can take my pain and my hurt and realize that we're all going through things. I think it helps everyone to know that.
SH: What were the main themes you were seeking to share with the songs on your Getting Over Him EP?
LA: I went through a pretty public breakup right before I went on Dancing With the Stars, but I was just so busy then that I didn't actually have time to process it. I wanted that time for me to be a time of growth, and I wanted to prove something to myself during that time. Finally, when that was finished, I decided it was time to write about it.
SH: Was there a song that was the toughest for you to write?
LA: "What Do You Think Of?" was by far the hardest song for me to write. It was also the only song I wrote while I was on Dancing With the Stars in L.A. I'm usually writing all the time when I'm working on a project, but I wasn't writing at all at that time because I was dancing for eight hours a day. I was drowning in these emotions a bit, and knew I had to get them out.
It was really painful, at the time. It's a song about the breakup, and I wrote it when I was still really sad. It was tough at first, when I was smiling on TV every day but still feeling those things. But now I've processed that and I'm a lot better. I'm no longer sad about it.
But I almost didn't put that song on the EP because it was such a painful time for me. I feel so separated from that feeling now, and then the opportunity to do a duet with Lukas Graham came along, and I was looking for the songs that would be a fit for him and his voice, and this song really stood out to me.
He didn't even want to change the lyrics to it, which was really flattering, because for duets, typically he'll adjust the words a little bit to fit him better. That empowered me to put it on there, too.
SH: Did sharing the song as a duet make it easier or harder to put out there?
LA: It honestly made it easier. That second verse for me is specifically very painful, so I was like, 'Here, you sing this one!' To have someone else do that was freeing in a sense.
SH: What do you hope fans are taking away from the songs on the EP?
LA: I think unfortunately, this year has been a really trying year for a lot of people, and this quarantine has been stressful. If they're going through something like what I went through, I hope it can provide them with some sense of comfort and some sense of empowerment if they need it.
I wrote this project when I was still very active in those feelings, and now I'm very much over him and I get to celebrate that with this music. It was also important for me to share that with my fans because I always want to be as honest as I possibly can, and we've got a better response with this EP than anything I've released before, so I think it paid off.
SH: What's your No. 1 piece of breakup advice?
LA: Call your best friends! My friends were so helpful to me during my breakup. I had a girlfriend who did a bible study with me, and another who'd come over and eat pizza with me. Even though you might be tempted to recuse yourself from the outside world, it's really important to count on the people you love when you're hurting. Time alone is okay, too, and you should do that if that's what you need, but I think you'll always heal faster with help.
SH: Anything else you'd like to add?
LA: On Oct. 12, I'm teaming up with VYE Live for a live stream concert, and I'd love if my fans would buy tickets. It'll be amazing because there are LED screens set up so that I can see and hear the fans watching me, almost like they were there in real life, and I'm so excited for it.
Love Lauren's music? Click HERE for some of our favorite country music lyrics to use as Instagram captions.