Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles Talks “Stay”

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, the sole songwriter behind “Stay,” opens up to The Washington Post about how it feels to win country music’s “triple crown.”

There’s recognition, and then there’s recognition.

Sugarland’s “Stay” won song of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards, and also picked up Best Country Song at this year’s Grammys.

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, the sole songwriter behind “Stay,” opens up to the Washington Post about how it feels to win country music’s “triple crown”:

“Many times, not only a casual listener but even a conditioned listener will hear someone who has a distinctive voice and has [been] heard around a lot, and they’ll tend to feel that it must be all that this person does. It’s limiting, even if it’s something that’s not done consciously. Especially in country music, people are accustomed to seeing artists who aren’t songwriters, because there’s such a songwriting system in Nashville. But really, for my whole career, I’ve been a singer-slash-songwriter, even though I’m very thankfully known for my voice. Songwriting has always been a joy in my life, and to be recognized for it is extremely validating.”

“When I was writing the song, it felt good, but I didn’t really analyze it. When you’re in creation mode, there’s a flow — a bit of a dance and a rhythm. However, when I was done with it, and I was sitting back and playing it back, I thought, OK, this has something. I thought it was really special. It had a wonderful moment of redemption and it was a twist on a classic story. It was fresh and new. Now, that wasn’t the intent when I started writing it. The intent was, hey, I want to express another side rather than rehashing the same old thing, and see how that feels emotionally. The fact that it resonated with people the way it did, that was a surprise.

Read the full article here.