Who Is RaeLynn? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music
Who is RaeLynn? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…
Quick Facts:
Full Name – Racheal Lynn “RaeLynn” Davis
Birthday – 5/4/1994
Hometown – Baytown, Texas
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical Influences – Dolly Parton & family
Latest Release – “Raisin’ Me A Country Girl” (*as of date of article: 03/27/2023)
The Beginning:
Today’s spotlight artist truly needs no introduction. A mainstay in country music over the last decade, we are sharing singer-songwriter RaeLynn’s impressive career so far. We chatted with the songstress all about how she got to Nashville and where she is now.
RaeLynn grew up in Baytown, Texas, just outside of Houston. She is a proud Texan, and truly drew inspiration from her hometown in the music she created in her later years. However, music has always been the fabric of her upbringing. “I grew up in a very musical family. It was almost like – you know in some families, it’s weird if you don’t play sports, well in our family, it was weird if you didn’t play music,” began the singer.
“Everything revolved around church. Everything was about Sunday morning service and youth group, and all the things, and not even just christian music, but also country music. Growing up a Texas girl, we would go to the Houston livestock rodeo every single year. Country music was my backbone.”
For RaeLynn, she always connected to the lyrics of a country song, drawing inspiration from artists like Dolly Parton and Miranda Lambert. “There was something about the storytelling of country music that I just fell in love with,” shared the songstress, adding, “I started writing when I was 13 and I kind of picked up the guitar, just playing random Miranda Lambert songs and whatever I could learn on YouTube.”
Armed with a dream and a passion, upon graduating high school early, RaeLynn started making trips to Nashville to pursue her calling.
The Turning Point:
Fresh out of high school, RaeLynn told her parents to just give her a couple of years to “make it” in country music. “I told my parents, just give me a couple of years to get a record deal and a publishing deal […] I didn’t really have a backup plan,” she shared, adding, “Their faith in me gave me the faith to go out and do what I knew I could do.”
While in Nashville, the songstress decided to audition for the popular show, ‘The Voice.’ “I decided to audition for ‘The Voice,’ and after that honestly, that show was kind of a rocket ship into my life now. I didn’t win the show, but after the show was over for me, I went back to Nashville, moved all my stuff from Texas and began to start this grind in country music to really work hard. I didn’t realize songwriting could be a job.”
From that point on, RaeLynn did whatever she could to network and build her portfolio both as a songwriter and an artist. “I got my first record deal at 18 years old, and after that, started getting on big tours, and started meeting a lot of awesome people in the industry.” Little did she know that in just ten years in the industry, she would have dropped two full records that fans loved.
Today:
While RaeLynn has always personified sassy, confident, and cool, her music now speaks to the experience and groundedness she has found in the industry and in her personal life as a mother and as a wife. “Ten years ago, my happiness was where my song was on the charts, and all my identity was wrapped up in RaeLynn and who I am on Music Row,” began the artist. “Now my identity is not wrapped up in that, it’s wrapped up in being a good wife, a good mother, a good friend, a good daughter, and those things, the things that really matter in life. And I feel like when you have that perspective, it pours out in your music.”
Currently, the singer is creating music that is truly coming from the depths of her soul. Her single, “Raisin’ Me A Country Girl” being one of them. “So I wrote “Raisin’ Me a Country Girl” when I was 8 months pregnant with a guy named Will Bundy and Rhett Akins,” shared RaeLynn. “I had this idea for this song because growing up I was the kid in a sundress, my hair in pigtails, playing in the sandbox, playing in the dirt, with my Barbie jeep, drinking out of a water hose, doing all the things. I was a little country, redneck kid. […] When I was thinking about a love letter to Daisy, I hoped to be raising a country girl. I want her to be tough, I want her to be sweet, I want her to be confident. I want her to love Jesus and know that values matter in this world, and have a strong heart for people, and always be a good person, and honestly the things that my parents instilled in me, and I want to instill that in her.”
The track is the country song that little girls everywhere needed. In add-on, RaeLynn partnered with the organization Operation Underground Railroad to support their mission to stop human trafficking. Find out more here. And most recently, RaeLynn has shared her newest single, “Broken One.” The song speaks to what it was like growing up in a divorced household.
Both “Raisin’ Me A Country Girl” And “Broken One” are the lead singles of RaeLynn’s upcoming record Funny Girl, slated for release this August. “I’m working on my record […] I definitely have some really sweet, love songs to Daisy and my husband, but I also have some songs about what I’ve been going through, but also those really fun, uptempo country songs.”
Connect:
Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news and announcements about future RaeLynn releases.
To keep up with RaeLynn, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
RaeLynn’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
