Album of the Month (January 2017): Lauren Alaina, ‘Road Less Traveled’
Having earned just over 47 percent of the votes from The Boot's readers, Lauren Alaina's Road Less Traveled has been named January 2017's Album of the Month.
Set for release on Jan. 27 via Mercury Nashville / 19 / Interscope Records, Road Less Traveled will be Alaina's second full-length record; the disc follows her freshman release, 2011's Wildflower, as well as her 2015 EP, Lauren Alaina (which contains Road Less Traveled tracks "Road Less Traveled," "Holding the Other," "Next Boyfriend" and "Painting Pillows"). The singer co-wrote all 12 songs on Road Less Traveled with co-writers including Emily Wiseband, Seth Ennis and more; busbee produced the project.
“I am so excited to get this album out,” Alaina shares, adding that she’s spent three and a half years writing the project and has “grown so much as a person, a songwriter and an artist in that time.”
“These songs are a true representation of who I am, where I’ve been and where I’m going. This album has pushed me to accept who I am and be 100-percent honest about it,” Alaina continues. “I can’t wait to share my stories, my music and myself with the world.”
Alaina's current single from Road Less Traveled is its title track. Written with Meghan Trainor and Jesse Frasure, “Road Less Traveled” finds the American Idol Season 10 runner-up stressing the importance of ignoring the mainstream to follow your own path; the song's accompanying music video encourages young women to take a step away from the mirror and decide for themselves what beauty looks like. That's a subject with which Alaina herself has firsthand experience: In 2016, the singer opened up about her struggle with bulimia, and how she conquered — and continues to conquer — the disease that almost ended her career.
A complete track listing for Road Less Traveled is below, and the album is available for pre-order on iTunes. In February, Alaina will hit the road with Martina McBride, for McBride's Love Unleashed Tour; she’s also starring in a movie titled Road Less Traveled, though a release date for that project has not yet been set.
Lauren Alaina, Road Less Traveled Track Listing:
1. “Doin’ Fine” (Lauren Alaina, Emily Shackleton, busbee)
2. “My Kinda People” (Lauren Alaina, Emily Weisband, busbee)
3. “Three” (Lauren Alaina, Seth Ennis, Jordan Reynolds)
4. “Road Less Traveled” (Lauren Alaina, Jesse Frasure, Meghan Trainor)
5. “Queen of Hearts” (Lauren Alaina, Lindsey Lee, Victoria Banks)
6. “Think Outside the Boy” (Lauren Alaina, Emily Shackleton)
7. “Painting Pillows” (Lauren Alaina, Lindsay Jack Rimes, Alex Masters)
8. “Next Boyfriend” (Lauren Alaina, Emily Weisband, Matt McVaney)
9. “Crashin’ the Boys Club” (Lauren Alaina, Emily Weisband, Johan Fransson)
10. “Same Day Different Bottle” (Lauren Alaina, Caitlyn Smith, Dan Couch)
11. “Holding the Other” (Lauren Alaina, Emily Weisband, Eric Olson)
12. “Pretty” (Lauren Alaina, Felicia Barton, Emily Weisband)
More of 2017's New Releases