MADDIE & TAE are getting back to their fun’n’free wheeling girl commentary as they drop “Shut Up And Fish” on Country radio – and see their third single landing as the week’s most added. The feel good groove that chronicles their misadventures at the fishing hole with a couple city boys who thought they could bait’n’switch to more romantic things never counted on the Sugarland, Texan and Ada, Oklahoman to take their fishing so serious.
“It really happened,” a still flummoxed Maddie says. “These two guys thought they were gonna get us out there and bust a move! Didn’t they get we like to fish? And that the whole reason we would go out there was to… well, fish? We shoulda known when the one guy showed up in salmon-colored shorts.”
“And the worst part,” Tae continues, “they wouldn’t stop talking – and scared away all the fish. We were out there and never caught anything. But you know Maddie and I never waste a thing: we figured if we didn’t get any fish, at least we could get a song out of it.”
Getting a song out of it has served the pair well. Fresh from receiving the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” for “Girl In A Country Song,” the duo head into the CMA Awards – broadcast live Wednesday, November 4 on ABC – with three nominations for Vocal Duo of the Year, New Artist of the Year and video of the Year for the 27.5 million and counting gender-flipping clip for “Girl In A Country Song.”
“Above all else, we are songwriters,” Tae says. “Maddie and I became friends because that’s what drove us – and because nobody’s songs sounded anything like our lives. It’s been amazing being out on tour and having the fans sing our lives back to us, but we’re realizing our lives really are a lot like a whole lot of other people’s.”
“Hearing Country radio made us most added this week makes me really happy,” Maddie picks up. “You know, any guy worth his bait knows you’re not out there to talk – or kiss, or hug. Evidently our friends at Country radio take their fishing as seriously as we do!”
Country radio’s not alone is taking Maddie & Tae seriously. Their first headlining tour, kicked off at NYC’s Highline Ballroom to strong reviews as the girls are putting to good use all the things they learned on the road as part of Dierks Bentley’s SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR.
Beyond their nominations, their clever videos and rapidly evolving live show, the pair were also the only Country act to be named to Billboard’s 21 Under 21 list of artists to be paying attention. Landing at #8 on a list topped by 5 Seconds of Summer, Fifth Harmony, Lorde and Shawn Mendes, Maddie & Tae were ahead of power acts Joey BadA$$, Hailee Steinfeld, Zendaya and Austin Mahone.
“It’s good to see Country music getting respect along with all those other pop and rap acts,” Tae says. “We work at really trying to hold up the bar, to make the records be great – and reflect people who might not be represented in those places. When Billboard notices, that’s like getting a gold star.”
