{"id":1302537,"date":"2019-01-17T12:33:49","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T19:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1802297"},"modified":"2019-01-17T12:33:49","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T19:33:49","slug":"meet-the-real-lennon-stella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/meet-the-real-lennon-stella\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Real Lennon Stella"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

by Samantha Stephens<\/a><\/span> 6m ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression. Whether or not that adage is actually true is anyone\u2019s guess. But for Lennon Stella, it was important, that first impression is given to the world by her debut EP Love, me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It would be quite possibly the most important introduction of her career to date and one she didn\u2019t want to leave to chance.<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

Love, me<\/em> in so many ways is the first real emergence of the woman behind the artist. Bold, yet vulnerable, clever and sharp, yet even shy in places, it\u2019s the stellar debut every new artist dreams of clinching. It\u2019s surprising in a myriad of winning ways.<\/p>\n

Even though fans of Stella in the role of \u201cMaddie Jaymes\u201d on TV\u2019s Nashville<\/em> will note her character\u2019s crossover to the pop world as the show came to an end, it\u2019s a real-life transition that may still seem a bit surprising to some. But not for those who know her or \u201cMaddie\u201d best.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was expecting a lot more of that comment, of people being like, \u2019What?\u2019 It\u2019s so different. It\u2019s so different than what she was doing on Nashville<\/em>.\u2019 I was fully ready and prepared for a lot of that, and I haven\u2019t seen any of it,\u201d Stella told CMT.com in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how or why, but there has been none of that. I think, too, because, by the last two seasons, they were transitioning my character and setting me up to be a pop star. By the last season, I was very much singing pop music and very much in that world. It was no longer country or folk stuff. I think that that\u2019s what made the transition smoother: that it ended with me as a pop star, and then the music I\u2019m putting out is more in the pop world. I think that that made it less jarring for people,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

The beauty in watching Stella transition from country and folk to pop on the hit show was that the evolution perfectly captured the diversity that exists within a single artist, in this case both Stella as \u201cMaddie\u201d and as herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing as a human means growing as an artist,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to grow the same musically and just evolve as a person. I think it\u2019s important to allow yourself to do that and not put yourself in a box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because not allowing herself to grow and evolve would mean limiting her potential and her art.<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my biggest fear,\u201d she revealed. \u201cHonestly I\u2019ve seen so many times where artists will almost turn \u2019schticky,\u2019 where they have this \u2019thing\u2019 where it\u2019s so specific and it\u2019s so narrow with this look or this sound. Then they just get stuck and then they can\u2019t move. They\u2019re bored, and everyone\u2019s bored.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to always be able to just change and evolve. Yeah, totally, stick to my roots, not completely change but definitely have the freedom to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wants the freedom to be real and authentic, because authenticity translates, and perhaps that\u2019s why the fans and public have embraced it with open arms, no questions asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all people,\u201d Stella says. \u201cSo, we\u2019re all going to feel those same things. If you\u2019re just being honest, people will connect to honesty no matter what. Whether sonically it\u2019s over here or over there, people will connect to just honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also put her in a very special hierarchy of artists with the likes of Kate York, Erin McCarley and Sarah Buxton, just a handful of Nashville\u2019s elite singer-songwriters who also happen to be exemplary humans. Buxton and McCarley joined Stella for a string of sold-out shows and for Stella, the kinship and collaboration have been invaluable.<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the best,\u201d she said, smiling. \u201cThey\u2019re so awesome. It was a dream having them just for my first run of shows to have such experienced women that I really look up to as humans, and also as musicians, in every way, honestly. I look up to both of them so much. Just having that comfort was so nice and so inspiring. It was a dream. I want them to come with me everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s next? More music, of course. But also: time. Time, hopefully, will continue to be on her side. Because the freedom she was given while on the show gave her the time to explore and find that magic she was after all along.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just going to take a second to write before going to the tour, and then hopefully after the tour make the album, and just sit down and actually go in and really dive into that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t want to rush that. I don\u2019t know, the album is such a thing. I want to go and actually have an album-making experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stella will embark on the Love, Me Tour<\/em> beginning Mar. 19 in Toronto before landing in the states Mar. 22 in Boston. Over half the dates have already sold out.<\/p>\n

Embedded from www.youtube.com<\/a>.