When we sat down to choose who would snag a spot on our 10 unsigned country artists to watch in 2018, we knew one of those deserved to go to Kalie Shorr. The budding country songstress has been making a splash on the country music scene since the release of her debut single “Fight Like A Girl” and is ready to spread her wings even further with the release of her upcoming EP Awake.
Coming out this Friday (January 26), the highly-anticipated extended play features seven songs that truly showcase Shorr’s ability, passion and energy she injects into her music.
“Sometimes, this industry makes you second guess yourself,” Shorr explains in a press release. “It might not even mean to — there are just so many opinions and it’s easy to try to please everyone. This project is the first time I’ve tuned everything else out but my own gut feeling on who I am and what makes me unique. This past summer, I bought a new electric guitar, met an amazing producer, and fell back in love with the records that made me want to write songs in the first place. Before I knew it, the Awake EP was born. I couldn’t be more excited for it’s release, this record feels like the most authentic introduction to me I could give anyone.”
Celeb Secrets Country sat down with Shorr during CMA week last year — the same day she was announced as a member of this year’s CMT Next Women of Country class — to talk about the prestigious honor and what’s to come from the record.
“I think it’s really cool to be apart of CMT’s Next Women of Country because I think surrounding yourself by so many great, talented, amazing, and kind people will help you also be those things,” Shorr told CS Country last November. “I’m very lucky to watch those girls like Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce and learn from them.”
“The themes of feminism, female empowerment, and equality will still be seen in these seven songs, but in an edgier way,” she continued. It’s going to be a little more rock influenced, but I’m just really excited for that empowerment translate in a different way; more like a ‘bad-ass kid who wore Vans to Church in high school’.”
Watch the full interview below:
You can pre-order Shorr’s EP Awake now and catch her on tour with RaeLynn on the CMT Next Women of Country Presents Sara Evans All The Love Tour.