Danielle Bradbery Looks Back on Her Past in Girls in My Hometown’ [Listen]
Danielle Bradbery looks back on the road not taken in "Girls in My Hometown," a reflective new single that remembers the girls she grew up alongside and wonders where they are today.
"Are they getting married? / Are they getting jaded? / When they think 17, do they think of me and wonder if I made it?" Bradbery sings in the ballad's chorus. "Are they really happy? / Are they making daddy proud? / What makes 'em cry? / What gets 'em high? / I think about the girls in my hometown ..."
It's a bittersweet remembrance for the former The Voice champ, whose newest musical releases have been centered around honesty and vulnerability. "Girls in My Hometown" follows "Never Have I Ever," a playful love song that not only represents a new thematic direction for Bradbery, but also finds her more willing than ever to explore a genre-blending, R&B-infused sound.
From a musical standpoint, "Girls in My Hometown" pulls back, instead dialing in on the singer's piano-centered roots and clear, shimmering vocals. In terms of subject matter, the song is unflinchingly tender and vulnerable. Bradbery co-wrote the track with Laura Veltz and David Hodges, and Dann Huff produced it.
Bradbery's new music follows her 2017 sophomore album, I Don't Believe We've Met. While the singer doesn't know exactly what the future holds for her third record, she has hinted that the trend of genre experimentation she established with her latest singles is likely to continue.
"It’s still going to be country — my heart’s always going to be country — but I’m going to try to sprinkle in a little bit of R&B instead of, like, the pop-country,” Bradbery says. “I feel like R&B has been in country longer than a lot of people realize ..."
See The Voice Stars, Then and Now: