country routes news: Cassadee Pope to release second album STAGES on Feb. 1

Wednesday, 16 January 2019

Cassadee Pope to release second album STAGES on Feb. 1

The Voice winner crafts 11 songs about emerging from heartbreak more empowered than ever

Cassadee Pope is set to release her second album, Stages, on Feb. 1.

Produced by Corey Crowder, who co-wrote her Grammy-nominated collaboration “Think of You” with Chris Young, Stages chronicles Pope’s personal journey and evolution over the past few years, throughout 11 original songs, two of which feature some of her famous friends (Dan + Shay’s Shay Mooney on “If My Heart Had a Heart,” RaeLynn, Lindsay Ell and Lauren Alaina on “Distracted”).

STAGES also marks her first independent full-length project following her exit from Big Machine Label Group.

The album kicks off with Cassadee’s two recently released singles, “Take You Home” and “One More Red Light,” which Pope debuted live on CMT TV show Pickler & Ben.

In a press release she shared: “It’s a validating feeling to look back at a painful moment and see how I was able to put the pieces back together and come back stronger”. “For the first time in my life, I’m confident in the way I navigate things thrown my way, and I hope someone listening finds the same strength.” -- T.W.

The 29-year old and The Voice 2012 champ has undergone personal changes during 2018 having concluded her engagement to All Time Low drummer in Rian Dawson and she confirmed she was dating Nashville star actor Sam Palladio (aka Gunnar Scott).

Sam invited girlfriend Pope on stage along with Sarah Zimmerman from Striking Matches for two songs at the Black Deer Festival in Kent on 24 June 18 (Photo)

“I had just gone through a lot of life changes, and the best way I knew how to untangle all the emotions I was feeling was to put them into songs,” Pope explained. “It all happened at the same time, but I’m really glad that it did because it caused me to take control of everything in my life.”

Track List

1. "Take You Home"

2. "One More Red Light"

3. "How I Feel Right Now"

4. "Bring Me Down Town"

5. "If My Heart Had a Heart" (ft. Shay Mooney)

6. "FYI"

7. "Distracted" (ft. Lindsay Ell, Raelynn, Lauren Alaina)

8. "Gavi"

9. "Don't Ask Me"

10. "Still Got It"

11. "I've Been Good"

PREORDER: THE STAGES Ultimate ($49.99) and Standard Bundles ($24.99; Digital Download of Stages singles "Take You Home" & "One More Red Light" will be sent via email following purchase) now at http://cassadee.co/stagesstore
T-shirt, Digital Album, Signed album photo and pop-socket available depending the bundle you choose!

I decided to call this project “Stages” for two reasons.

The First Reason

The first is that every song on the album describes a different stage I’ve been through over the past year and a half. From pain, dread, regret, and heartbreak, to excitement, love, happiness, and joy.... each emotion is represented on the record.

We never have a year full of the same emotion. Usually, there’s a lot of them. So naturally, the record has lots of different moods. When I was thinking of a direction for the album and what I wanted to say, it became clear that it would be a hurricane of different experiences. So instead of trying to nail down one emotion for the whole project, I decided to share my whole journey.

The Second Reason

The second reason for the title “Stages” is that I’ll be sharing these extremely personal feelings on the road.... on different stages. I’ve always felt most like myself on stage. That’s probably why I feel comfortable bearing it all in my songs.

Five years out from the release of her debut album.

HISTORY: Stages is Pope’s first full-length project since 2013’s FRAME BY FRAME (released October 8, 2013).

As a 23-year old Cassadee became the first former contestant on The Voice (Season 3 winner; Team Blake) to land a top 10 album when she achieved the feat after it debuted at No.9 on the all-genre Billboard 200 selling 43,196 copies. By mid-August 2014 it had sold 181,000 copies.

Its lead single “Wasting All These Tears” not only notched an RIAA platinum certification, but it also achieved “Breakthrough Video of the Year” at the CMT Music Awards in 2014.

Of the 11 tracks, five were co-written by Pope. The album also entered Billboard Top Country Albums at #1, moving aside and crashing Mr. Luke Bryan's Crash My Party! It became the first debut album by a female solo artist to rank #1 since Taylor Swift's eponymous debut album wrapped a 24-week run at #1 in July 2008.

Cassadee became the second rookie female to debut at No.1 on Top Country Albums in 2013. After almost five years with no new solo women opening atop the chart, Kacey Musgraves ended the drought in April with Same Trailer Different Park (Mercury/Universal Music Group Nashville | ** Her fourth album, following three independent releases), the first such bow since Julianne Hough’s self-titled debut (June 7, 2008).

During 2016, she also teamed with Chris Young for the No.1 hit “Think Of You” and garnered a 2017 GRAMMY® nod in the category of Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Along the way, she toured with everybody from Tim McGraw and Dierks Bentley to Young and Rascal Flatts.

On March 29, 2018 she dropped her first new single in nearly two years with “Take You Home,” co-written by Paul Digiovanni, Ben Hayslip and Emily Weisband and produced by Corey Crowder. This was said to mark a new phase in Pope’s musical journey, one with swagger, style and substance. Punctuated by confessional lyrics, “Take You Home” as Pope puts it, “is in-your-face musically, really intimate, and a little seductive.”

Of the song Pope said, “When you meet someone, there’s a moment where you want to show this other person where you’re from and exactly why you are the way you are,” she explains. “‘Take You Home’ speaks to that. You’re showing this guy that there are lots of layers to you. It’s not about just a one-night stand; it’s about really understanding. I’m in love with it!”

This April Cassadee will launch the new songs when out on the road as the headliner for this year’s CMT’s 2019 Next Women of Country Tour, which kicks off in April. Pope will be joined by Clare Dunn and Hannah Ellis on the trek. Source Sounds Like Nashville