Tanner Adell: From Buckle Bunny to Going Blonde
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Is this thing on? What's up, you sexy motherfuckers? Welcome to another episode of Dumb Blonde. Today, I have my girl Tanner Adele in the house, baby. Yay. Hello. Hi. I feel like this has been a long time coming. For sure. Like, we've been talking about this for, I think, like,

a year and a half. It's been a while. Yeah. You have been so busy and I'm so fucking proud of you, girl. We're going to get into like the whole journey and everything, but I just wanted to tell you face to face, like I'm so excited for you. Thank you. Couldn't happen to a better human. Like,

I'm just so excited for you. I appreciate that. It's like fun how mutual the feeling is and watching you just blossoming. I knew you before I knew Jelly Roll, but watching you guys, it's just, I mean, happy new year. Yeah. But like last year was really amazing for, I feel like both of us. Yeah. No, it was crazy. My husband's so funny. He's like, tell Tanner, I said, what up? And he's like, tell her to tell the Jelly Roll story. I'm like, nobody wants to talk about you.

He, he saved me, you know, he's, he's such a good guy, but we'll get into that later. Is that how he calls it? I got to start calling it that. Uh, yeah. I was like, nobody wants to talk about you. We talk about you all the time. He's like, stop bombarding my fricking interviews, dude. Um, I learned some really cool stuff about you that I got to research whenever I was looking you up that I didn't know. And I, I, you have like a really cool story. Oh,

I always knew about the fashion, the hair, the makeup, the voice. I knew about all that, but I didn't know what made you you and where you came from. And I think that that would be really cool to kind of dive into with you. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a story that I've kind of...

I've been careful to tell and telling little things here and there and kind of gauging the temperature of my audience and honestly how safe it is, like how willing I'm to be or how vulnerable I'm willing to be. And I mean, what specifically are you...

Talking about? Well, let's just take it all the way. So first of all, I just want to let you know, my audience is so safe. They are the sweetest humans. They will just embrace you if they haven't or if they're already not buckle bunnies. You know what I'm saying? Right, right. But

I hear people come here and they just tell their stories of like, you know, everything that's happened to them up to where they are. And I kind of take people on this journey to paint the picture of like the person behind the music. You know, of course, your music speaks for itself, because obviously, I mean, we just saw you on the halftime show with Beyonce. So obviously you're doing your thug thizzle, you know, but I want people to connect with you on a personal level.

So you were adopted as a child. Yes. Can you take us on that journey and like kind of through your childhood a little bit? It is a very long and windy road as to how I ended up here. Yeah. But yes, I was adopted. I was a baby. I was like a day old. You know, it was an agreement that my parents already knew that I was going to be born sometime soon. So they were ready for it. But I

I am adopted. I have four siblings who are also all adopted. I'm the middle child. Are they all blood? Yes. All of us are biracial. None of us are like blood related at all. Okay. All from different families. But my parents couldn't have their own children. My mom had wanted to adopt for a really long time. She would say as a kid, like she always said, I want to adopt. Her little brother's adopted.

um and so she had always wanted to adopt and then you know she's very religious I was also raised Mormon I was adopted into a Mormon family um and so she always says she just feels like God was telling her when it was time to adopt after she found out she wouldn't be able to have children um so I grew up in a really unique kind of

different households with just that little bit. But on top of all of that, I grew up kind of between two places. I kind of had two homes and a lot of my, a lot of my friends in California had no idea that all of my family and my summer times were spent in Wyoming. So my mom was

grew up with horses and she did rodeo. She was a rodeo queen and she would do a year of school in California in Santa Barbara and then a year of school in Wyoming where my grandma's from and where my grandpa's from and flip-flopped back and forth between school years as a kid. And she said that was really rough on her and didn't want it to be as intense for me and my siblings. So I grew up going from school year in California and all my like

school friends to immediately going to Wyoming as soon as school was out and kind of living a completely different life out there. It was, you know, maybe around the time that I was

14 or 15 that I started realizing that I was very different from a lot of my friends and and I only had one friend that was adopted and she was the same race as her parents. She was white. They were white. And I just realized there was a lot of things that I was kind of going through that I wasn't sure was totally normal. Yeah.

Did you ever get to meet your biological parents? So that's a whole... I'll tie that now into this whole of me getting here, I guess, too. So I, as a teenager, I was very different from... My mom and dad are...

My mom wears the pants in my family. Okay. She's very alpha. Yes. My mom wears the pants. And she is like Ralph Lauren. I am like three people. We could not be any more different. Right. She's very like,

By the book, I mean, she's extremely religious and I wanted to just like not have to wear shoes to school and just wanted to sit on the beach and hang out with my friends and do, you know, fashion design. My grandma taught me how to sew at a really young age, so I was sewing my clothes and I was just more of a free spirit. So we really, really like bumped heads.

as I was growing up. I grew up in an extremely religious household too. Really? We were Southern Pentecostal and it was like a cult. Oh, wow.

And I had to wear dresses down the ankles, like I did not know that about you. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Super, super religious. I went to private school and everything. How do you think I turned out the way I did? I mean, I mean, but I'm just like, yeah, but I'm just saying I relate to that because I don't think a lot of people realize how traumatizing. Yes. Religion being pushed on you, especially as a child. That's what developed my anxiety.

as an adult is because it was, I was told you're going to hell. If you act like this, you're going to hell, you know? And I couldn't imagine, you know, all of that, all of those things that you're going through as a child, you know, you were adopted, you're trying to find your place in this world and trying to fit in and you don't feel like you fit in. And then you have that religious trauma on top of it. It's pretty fucking heavy, dude. And it's, it's like I said, it wasn't till a little bit later that I realized that

it's a little bit different to be biracial and adopted but then also into a caucasian mormon family but also with four siblings who were also biracial but adopted like it was such a like and obviously i was a teenager so all of this at once just made me feel so displaced

And, um, that was the first time that I reached out to, uh, a birth family member, my birth father. Um, how did you find them? How were you able to find them? I mean, I didn't have really any information about him until one year. It was my 16th birthday and I got a present in the mail. I had been at like a summer camp or something. And my mom was like, there's something on your bed. Like someone sent you something. And I, uh,

opened it and there was a little bracelet in it and it just said like been thinking about you happy 16th birthday like love Gilbert and I was like who who is that and

kind of started I mean I ran outside called my best friend and I was like I just got a weird package and a present and I don't know I think it's like someone from my birth family and it was it wasn't just like freely talked about in our home yeah um that's what that was going to be my next question so your adoptive parents never really talked about your biological parents no okay yeah I my my little siblings had a little bit of contact with their like birth families um but

But yeah, it was never really a conversation that I had. And although my gut kind of told me like, is this wrong? Like, or is this someone from my family? And I went back inside and my mom was standing in the bedroom and was holding the note that had his name on it. And she was like, like, so we should talk. And I was like, okay.

Oh no. So she didn't know it was from him. She didn't know. Oh my goodness. She just, you know, probably like someone sent me a little gift or something. She didn't know. And, um, that was, that was the first time that I saw pictures of him. Um, and, um,

How did you feel? I mean, it was a lot. It was a lot. Up until that time, you knew you were adopted, though? Yes. Okay, so... Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you had never seen your biological parents. Right. Oh. Right. So I knew who my dad was, but I didn't know who my birth mom was yet. Right. And...

At this point, I was kind of just shoving it away because I'm like, I'm 16. I'm not going to go out and try and find my birth family and I don't want to open that nut. Were you carrying kind of resentment for them because you felt like they abandoned you? You know, I always had...

I mean, not in an angry way, but definitely in a sad way. There were, like I said, me and my mom butt heads so much growing up that it was like, I would just, you know, try to think about

who's my mom? I bet she wouldn't be like this or she would understand me more. And I saw my friends had, their moms were their best friends and I never really had that. And that as a teenager was really hard. The little bit of information my mom even, my adopted mom told me about my birth father was that they weren't together and it was an affair.

that she had had. She was married and had two kids with a man and then had an affair and had chosen to keep me, thank God. But that was all I really knew. So I had pictures of him, but I didn't have pictures of her. When you first saw that picture of your dad, did you guys look alike? Did you like instantly like...

So...

So the first time I saw a picture of him, I was like, I need to see a picture of my mom because I know I don't look like that. I know I don't look like that. She's like, that is not my daddy. You are not the father. She's like, is this a joke? Yeah.

I love the honesty though. Yeah. Because there's a lot of kids who go through this, you know, I, I personally, I'm listening to you talk and I'm like, yes, yes. Like this is, it's so, so relatable. Yeah. I, um, literally was like, I don't know. That can't be my father. Yeah.

um and kind of just you know okay now we know a little bit more and I think I'm good you know I'm 16 I was a baby so um so a couple I'm sorry it's funny um a couple years later I finally uh and I'm giving you like the real deep deep but no and I appreciate it too because it really just humanizes you a lot totally um

searched for him on Facebook after a conversation I had had with my one of my adopted brothers and his wife and

And we were just kind of talking about things and he was like, "Oh yeah, when you were adopted, that was like, that was crazy." And I was like, "What do you mean?" And he started telling me all of these things that were like, whoa, I had no idea that my adoption had gone down like that. And it kind of set off a little bit of, you know, curiosity and thinking, okay, well, we know what he looks like and I know his name now, like I should just look him up. And it was me and my sister-in-law,

And for some reason it felt taboo, like we weren't supposed to be doing it. And I think maybe a lot of adopted kids feel that way is you don't want to ask your parents questions or make them feel bad or like you're not grateful. Which I feel like is kind of wrong that like, I feel like children should be able to be like, Hey,

Totally. Let's have this open line of communication. Totally. Because I feel like when you keep secrets or make a kid feel like they have to be secretive, that's just extra pressure and added-on trauma that we shouldn't have to fucking deal with. Yeah. I...

I wonder too, because I've met a lot more adopted people now, but I do wonder if just different, you know, different families were different about how open they were. I'm curious to that too. Most of the people I've met, it was like kind of just a...

I don't know, like an, an understanding. Cause it's not like there was any sort of incident where I brought it up and my mom like freaked out or something. Right. It was just like, Oh, like, I don't want to, I don't know, like make you feel bad that you had to adopt me. Um, but yeah, I, I, a couple of years after that incident, me and my sister-in-law were just giggling one night and, Oh,

a couple of years ago, he sent me a bracelet and I like know his name. And she's like, what? We have to look him up. And I was like, let's do it. Like, I don't care at this point, let's do it. And, um, we found him. I mean, it, he looked very similar to the picture, but I was like, I don't know. Like there's obviously a lot of black guys on Facebook. Like, I don't know. I don't know if this is the right one. And, um, just like, Hey, are you my dad? No, I know. Like, how do you continue this? Oh,

I sent him a friend request and he immediately messaged me back like immediately and was like I you know I've been wanting to talk to you but like I had an agreement with your parents that it you know until you were 21 that like I couldn't come trying to find you so it was like little things like that but I I never felt really compelled to like

meet him or you know it's just kind of like okay like you made me like great like cool like I'm glad that we like connected and maybe when I'm a little older I'll want to like see you in person or something but there was nothing that ever felt like it was pulling me to um and then not much longer after that just a couple years after that I um I got an ancestry DNA like

from a kit that I had taken a few years back. And it was an email that just said, hey, my name's Donnell. I think you're my sister. Like, I've been looking for you, and here's my number. And you don't have to reach out if you don't want to. And I had known previously, like I said, the only thing I knew was my birth mom had had an affair and that she had been married and had two of her own kids. So I knew I had two half-siblings. Hmm.

It's so hurtful to know that kind of information, too. Oh, yeah. I'm really surprised, as private as your adopted mom was, that she revealed that to you because I feel like that's more hurtful. I know. Well, it was the only thing, I think, not only thing, but they only knew so much, and I think my mom was...

Definitely because we were so different. Like I was like, I'm going to run away child. You know what I mean? And I think she was always afraid of me trying to leave and go find my birth family. Cause I might like it more with them type of thing, you know? And yeah,

I so I knew a little bit of that information and I was like oh yeah cool like my half brother like I know he existed cool he's reaching out to me and I texted him immediately and

And we got on the phone probably 20 minutes after he had texted me. And he was just like, I have been looking for you. And I promised when I was like little, little as a kid that I would find you again because he had known about me. He had known about me his whole life and my whole life. Yeah.

And I mean, it was a very cool experience to be able to meet someone who I was related to. And we were sending pictures back and forth of like our hands and our ears. So I was like, I have really small ears. Like, do you have really small ears? Like and sending pictures where we have the same exact knees. And I was like, this is so cool to like photograph.

finally after my whole life of, and especially being mixed, it's like, who do I look like? Yeah. You just want to relate. Yeah, exactly. And my whole life being like, I don't look like anyone and no one looks like me, um, being able to have that connection. And so we're, we were going through our family tree together and, um, he, uh,

Okay, there are these things on Ancestry. Every time she does that, I know it's going to be a funny story. Every time she pauses and giggles. No, there's these things on... I'm learning how to laugh about it. Every day, I get closer and closer. Listen, if we don't laugh, we'll cry. Exactly, exactly, exactly. So on Ancestry DNA, they have what's called centimorgans, and it basically...

tells you how related you are to a person. So like 600 centimorgans could be like a cousin and then like 800 could be like your uncle and 1500 could be like a half sibling and you know anything higher than 2000 is like really high. So that's like a parent or a sibling and we're looking at our centimorgans and we're like we're like pretty high up in centimorgans like maybe that's why we look so much alike there must be like DNA overlapping I don't know something.

And he goes, do you see on your family tree, do you see someone named, I'll just say his name is Bob. Like, do you, do you see someone on your family tree named Bob right there? Like as an uncle? And I was like, yeah, it's saying that that's my uncle. And he's like, that's my uncle. And I was like, like on like your mom's side. Cause that's, we share a mom. Yeah. And he was like, no, that's my dad's brother.

And I was like, well, it says he's my uncle. So how and as we're looking at the centimorgans, they were like three thousand something. And we realized that we were full biological siblings. And that the guy who had sent me a bracelet that my mom had the affair with and everything. We think my birth mother must have already been pregnant with me.

when she had the affair and thought that he had gotten her pregnant. But actually it was her legitimate child and her full-blood child to her children and her husband and put me up for adoption and didn't know. Oh, my gosh. So, I mean, it was...

I can't even... That day I probably blacked out. Yeah, that's heavy. It was a lot. And just...

I had been told, you know, little things here and there. And now it was like this whole like bucket of truth that I was like, well, I don't even know if, you know, if I even want, you know, to explore this more. Like, I don't know. I'm kind of freaking out. And the first thing he was like, I've got to tell our dad that he that you're his child because he knew about me the way that he had found out, like,

My birth mother from, you know, and I learned this all after I'd met my actual birth family, but she had put me up for adoption while my her husband, my birth dad, was deployed. And so he didn't know that I even existed until he saw some papers about me having been adopted. And that was amazing.

how he found out that she had had an affair and gotten pregnant. Oh my goodness. So he was like, I got to tell dad. And I was like, do you think she knew? Like, does she know you've been looking for me? Like, what does she feel about it? Like, can we go ask her? Like, we need to like tell her. Yeah. Like where's mom in this scenario? And he informed me that she had passed away about four years before that.

Um, so I didn't get to meet her. Um, and I think that was probably one of the darkest days of my life so far that I've experienced, um, was finding out that she had passed away.

So to answer your question about my biological family, it's a long story. But so, yes, my my bio family did find me. But I've met my birth father and was not able to meet my mom. Well, I want you to know that your feelings are valid. I can see you pushing them back, you know, and I just want you to know that that was as sad of a story as it is. This is part of your journey and this is what makes you who you are. And I know sometimes we don't understand why things happen to us.

But in the long run, you're going to look back and be like, okay, God, I see what you were doing there. Yeah. As hurtful as it is. I'm so sorry. Thank you. It's a crazy story that I didn't even know. And I appreciate you for sharing that here because that was really a beautiful story.

you know, testament of who you are. Thank you. I couldn't imagine how you felt that day, you know, finding out all of that and then, you know, finding out that you have this whole other family over there. Do they at least embrace you now? And do you have a relationship with them now? My brother is like one of my favorite people on the planet. He sounds awesome. And my little nephew, yeah, he's great. You know, I...

when I was like 17 and I reached out to, uh, who we thought was my dad. And in our conversation I had mentioned like, so like who do you dance or do you sing? Like I, you know, I love singing, dancing. This is like my passion. Like, is there anyone that like, where does that come from? Um, and he said, no, no, like none of us are really like into that. So like, I don't know. You just must have a gift. Um, and finding my bio, my bio brother and my dad, um,

they're so musical and my dad was a rapper in the 90s in Atlanta in a rap boy group and was doing musical theater. Yeah I mean wait what? Can we know what group he was in? I don't know what it was called but he says his rap name was Quayo. Okay. And then he was a man who had a group. Quavo without the V? Yeah exactly. Quayo in the 90s.

And my brother like shreds on guitar and is like a great singer. Like it was just so funny how meeting my biological family was like. Just makes sense. Oh, yeah. And I never had this like an urge to meet the person who I had thought was my dad. But as soon as my brother contacted me, even being my half brother and not knowing he was my full brother, there was just like.

an indescribable magnetism that I feel like immediately I said, I need to go and meet him. Yeah. Yeah. Really interesting. And I've never had that growing up in a family that's not biologically connected is like,

I'm starting to realize is very different from, from families who grew up together that are biologically connected. Yeah. It's just something you can't explain. I remember the first, I didn't meet my real mother until I was late in my thirties. And when I met her and I saw like her mannerisms and just even down to her anxiety, I was like,

How am I so much like you? And I've never even been around you. Like it was the craziest thing for me. So I could only imagine how you were feeling. Yeah. I think I always too, I always believed in, in nurture versus nature just because I didn't have anything else to compare it to. I always thought that my adoptive dad is like,

an angel of a man and I love him so much. He's the sweetest human being and just like an angel of a human being. We don't literally don't deserve him. And I always thought like, I want to be like my dad. And I feel like there's so many things that we have in common and we love the same music. And he taught me to like love disco and jazz. And I always thought I'm just like him. Like there's so much we have in common.

And then meeting my brother and my biological father, I'm like, there's no comparison. And when we're on the phone and my brother goes, you sound just like mom, like you sound just like your mom.

And it's so weird and you don't realize until... - DNA as a motherfucker. - Yes. - It's crazy. - And I feel crazy when I say it too, 'cause I'm so amazed by it 'cause of my life. But I'm like, y'all people who've been in like full biological families can't even understand how cool that is.

to have like little bits of you. I don't know. It's just, I didn't grow up like that. It's something that people honestly take for granted. And hearing you say that, I've never thought about that before, but it's real. Yeah. You know, like it's a privilege to grow up with people that you share blood with and that, you know, you guys are in the same tribe. For sure. The Great Rewards Hunt is on. So join the adventure with DraftKings Casino. For fun seekers, follow the trail to huge jackpots, weekly bonuses, and

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So deep. I feel like my first musical experience that I really, really remember was my babysitter watching Grease with me. And I was like,

This is everything. He is everything. That was like a big... Danny Zuko? Yeah, I was probably maybe five or six when she had shown me that. And it's probably why I also love vintage everything. This is the first...

I think like music that made an impact on who I was and who I was going to be as a person, because that was like, I'm listening to the soundtrack 24 seven. I am dancing around my room and around the house and I'm on the coffee table and I am screaming it and watching it all the time. Like my love for music and theater and drama was,

was it was so early and my parents saw it so early on and were always supportive of everything musical that I was doing and it's not even a surprise for them that this is what I'm doing and they love it yeah how is your relationship with your adoptive parents now you guys are really close yes yes and you and mom get along better now definitely she's definitely gotten cooler yeah I think

I think moms get cooler with age. For sure. My little sister still lives at home, and she's going through her like...

do I want to be at home do I want to go to school where do I want to go to school I want to do hair like what I want to do with my life and I'm sure you know there are times where she thinks my mom's pretty uncool but as I've now been living on my own and I I realize how much a lot of the songs I've written into last year but this year um were about my family and like being homesick yeah um

I love them so much and they come to any shows that they can when I'm in the area and things. I'm no longer a practicing Mormon,

But I mean, they've never shut me out or made me feel like I was less than and I think have always led with love to everyone around them. I love that. That's amazing to hear because, you know, a lot of times, especially in Mormonism, they you get excommunicated if you don't want to that and Jehovah's Witnesses. They're like, you don't want to be a part of it. You can't be a part of our families. I'm working on my release papers. Yeah.

Yeah. As you get them notarized. Do you feel like your religious trauma has influenced your music at all? Yes. Yeah? It's really hard. And I think people might be surprised by this, actually. It's really hard for me to write happy music. Oh.

Oh, you sound like my husband. Yeah. He says the same thing. It's hard. Yeah. There's so much more for me to write about. Yeah. Like the, the angst. It's like not happy. Yeah. That you had growing up. But I mean, you do have some sadness that you have to get out and it's kind of cathartic to be able to put that to pen and paper. For sure. I mean, it's,

especially the last year, but kind of the last two years have been, you know, I, I created this kind of exterior like safety with my Bajo Bunny mixtape and kind of led with the most extroverted part of me. Um, and it keeps me safe. It makes me feel very safe to have that. Yeah. And,

the last probably hundred songs or so have been stories of my life and like stories of my journey and really deep and sometimes scary things that I've written on my own and with people that I really, really trust and know me top to bottom, inside out, like all the way out. And the album that I'm currently working on and finishing up is like

All of that is going to be surprising, I think, for people to see the switch. Yeah. I heard a quote the other day. I think it said, with the mind...

what the mind feels the heart wants to heal or is it what the heart feels the mind wants to heal and that's exactly what's happening to you is that you have all these feelings inside that you need to heal and that's your soul telling you like hey buckle bunny's cool and all but this is who you really are right now and I think that in with journeys with artists you guys kind of

get snapshots of where you are in your life by the music that you write. And right now this is your sad girl era. Yeah. And that's okay. Yeah. Healing girl, healing girl era. Yeah. Healing out, you know, like whatever we need to get that out. Yeah. Um, I love that you said, and we're going to get,

into your music and stuff like that. I still want to get into the journey of how you got to where you are, but it's kind of like, um, your buckle bunny thing is like your Sasha fierce, you know, like how Beyonce hides behind Sasha fears to say crazy shit. Yeah. That's almost like the, you, you,

make a, um, what is the word that I'm looking for? You have this, you know, alter ego, alter ego. Yes. That's exactly what it is. It's that makes you feel safe because you know, the world you're so vulnerable and the world is a fucking cruel place. Yeah. So I think that's pretty cool that you did that and you've,

built such a huge brand. That's how I discovered you was the whole Bunkle Bunny thing. Well, I mean, on brand makes sense. Yeah, for sure. But aside from my husband, I didn't even know my husband knew anything about you until I was like, hey, I was at the Houston Rodeo doing your song. And he was like, hey, I know Tanner. And I was like, you do? And then he told me the story. And I was like, that's awesome. So let's take it. So when did you decide to leave home and go out on your own? And when did you know that music was what you were going to do? Yes.

So I was living at home when the pandemic hit. Okay. So that whole year I feel like was, I mean, that was the craziest year ever. 2020 was insane. Um, and, um, I was just like finding beats online and on beat stars and like writing in my room and recording things in my closet. Um,

and I mean, there were no live performances happening. There was nothing going on. So I had, I feel like this year of like growth and really like deciding that this is what I wanted to do. I went to Utah Valley University and I was in a band there and, and really realized that I loved performing live. And my teacher was like,

You need to either go to Nashville or you need to go to LA and you need to like pick one or the other. You shouldn't even be in school. Why are you in school? You should just be out there doing this. I love teachers. Yeah. She's amazing. Nancy. She's amazing. Um, and yeah,

I was like, you're right. And I had a friend who had come out to Nashville and he was like, you should just go out there and write for just a little bit and see if you like it. And for some reason, something inside me just clicked and I was like, oh, I'm moving to Nashville. So I moved to Nashville a couple days later. I'd never been. I literally did not know anybody and it was, that kind of gave me my little, you know, push to go out on a limb and

I just started writing with everyone around town and just start going to another and stuff. Um, yeah. With us. Cause I think that's so I, the first people that I worked with was Andrew Bayless. Yeah. Yeah. And Michael Whitworth. Oh, I love, I know they were the first people I wrote with. And actually when they started working, um, together, I literally was like, Oh,

they're working with Jolly. I literally heard him. That's so sick. And, uh,

Yeah, they're the first people that I wrote with in town. I love them both so much. They're amazing. They're talented at what they do. And they're like very, I mean, they were, you know, putting kind of putting their necks out for me a little bit. The first song that I released with them was Country Girl Commandments, which had like this dubstep drop after the chorus. And I was like, I don't care. I was like, let's do it. And Andrew was like, let's fucking do it. Yeah. Where do you get your sounds from? Because you do...

Okay, so do you consider yourself a country music artist? Yeah. Or do you? I consider myself a pop country artist. That's what I feel like. Yeah. Because you mix like a little bit of hip hop. Yeah. It's just like different. It's different pop influences than most girls in country choose when they do like pop country. I feel like it's so hard to pigeonhole you though because you're so brandable, you know? Yeah. And like you could go either way, like every way. Yeah.

I think, you know, I grew up trying to distinguish like, am I a California or am I Wyoming? And it was when I stopped thinking like that, that my sound kind of like just came together and really is like,

the glue that holds my whole brand together now. But it, you know, it, it took some years to kind of find yourself, figure that part out for sure. Like you're still finding your sound. No, you know what you're like. Yeah. I know exactly who I am. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. So working with Wentworth and Bayless, where, how did you like get,

Such notoriety because I feel like and I know everybody says this about my husband So I know it's not true But I feel like you popped up on the scene all of a sudden and it was just like okay Who is this girl? I followed you and I was just like oh my god. She's adorable. I love your aesthetic I love how like original you are like I love that because you know in a world full of people who are so unoriginal it's you can you

the ones that actually have their own shit stand out. Totally. And you totally were like that to me. Um, how did this come about? I mean, after I wrote with Andrew and Michael, I, who I, I don't even know why I called them that. Cause I called them both Bayless and Whitworth. So I don't know why I even said their first name. Um, but after that country girl commandments kind of got like sent around a little bit. And, um,

I had my publishing deal in about six months after I moved to Nashville. And I feel like from there on, it was TikTok. TikTok.

It was just putting my original music on TikTok and people were like, we like this. Yeah. TikTok has such a stepping stone for people. I get so mad at people when they're like, oh, you're just, you're, you guys are just TikTokers. Like when they say that to other people and I'm like, it's exhausting. I'm like, yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm like, do you understand how hard it is to keep people's attention day after day, time after time? Like that's not easy. Not everybody can do that. Yeah. So was, um,

Buckle Bunny, your first like song that took off? No. Really? Which one was it? Love You a Little Bit was the first song. And it was, it wasn't through TikTok really like it did numbers on TikTok, but it like blew up on Twitter or X. Oh, wow. Yes. That's hard to do. I know. And it was like positive. It like wasn't hate. That part scares me. Yeah.

Yeah. It was like really good. Yeah. That actually was my first kind of splash. And then by the time Buckle Bunny came around, it was like, oh, that's our girl that's in country that's doing that. Wow. Wow.

Yeah. That's amazing. Very cool. Yeah. Cause I remember seeing buckle bunny come on and I was just like, Oh my God, this is amazing. And I loved it. And just glad. Yeah. Yeah. I still bump it to like all the time. Thank you. Um, it did definitely bring a fresh, you know, genre blending sound to country music. What inspired the mixtape concept and what message did you want to send with that? Um, so I wanted it to be, I,

I still haven't had my debut album come out. Right. Um, I had last call, which is my first EP. And then my second EP is buckle bunny with a few singles in between. I called it a mixtape because I felt like I wanted it to be like every spot on the spectrum that I can shine. Um, um,

And I wanted it to all have kind of a country foundation because that is who I am at the core. But then pinpointing things that I love in other genres and not even really while trying just that those are my moods. Yeah. And I wanted it to truly feel like a mix, but also still cohesive, but something that didn't box me in. Right. And I could go whatever direction I wanted after that. Yes. Yeah. I love that.

You have a new album that's coming out called Going Blonde. Is that going to be your first debut album? It's going to be my debut album. What is the inspiration to that? First of all, what's the inspiration to the title, Going Blonde? Is it the obvious? So... Wait, tell me what you mean by the obvious. Well, Going Blonde, you know, like you're going blonder. Okay, so that's exactly what I want everyone to think. Yes. So I...

rewind back to the day where I found out my mom passed away. Um, I hadn't seen a picture of her yet. And I asked my brother if I could have a picture of her. And, um, he sent a picture and my jaw dropped and I was like, ding, ding, ding. This is definitely my mom. I absolutely was. She's stunning, beautiful woman. And I, um,

said to him I was like did she get told that she looked like Dolly Parton like a lot and he was like she got that all the time it's the first thing I thought was like she looks like Dolly Parton and um I kind of had a little bit of a you know mental breakdown after having this information I just had this picture of her that looked like Dolly and so I started looking up everything about Dolly and I had

I wasn't like a Dolly Parton diehard fan my whole life. Like I knew all her biggest songs, but I did a major deep dive on her and was just trying to rack up as many pictures that I could that looked like my mom. I watched all of her interviews on YouTube that I could find, any live performances I could find, every movie that she had been in, trying to almost see my mom again.

Um, cause there are no videos of my birth mom or anything, but it was the closest thing was young Dolly. Um, and I learned a lot about her during this time. And I learned that the song that she actually broke with was a song called dumb blonde and ding, ding, ding. And I loved the song. I thought, how cool is that? She just like,

this cheeky, witty, like, oh, yeah, don't mind me. I'm just a dumb blonde while she's over here being an absolute icon. Literally. And I loved the idea of how cheeky and witty it was, but also how much of an identity I actually found in that.

In, you know, growing up as a little girl, like my hair in the sun would streaks of blonde. And I always thought it was so weird. And and like, where does this hair come from? And people are saying like, oh, do you dye your hair like your parents dye your hair? And I'm like, no, my parents don't dye my hair like this is what my hair looks like. And it kind of was like a weird emotional attachment that I had to how blonde not only Dolly Parton was, but.

how blonde my own biological mother was. And I wanted to do that, but you'd think it was going to be cheeky, but it's actually just the real reason why I am blonde like this. And it's because it makes me feel close to my mom. It makes me feel like she's protecting me. Like when I, it makes me feel safe. Mm-hmm.

Um, and I wrote a song about it actually called going blonde. Um, and it was pretty soon after I'd found out this information and kind of done my deep dive. Um, and it feels like it just came to me from nowhere.

Either her or the heavens, I don't know. I was literally in a bar across the street from my apartment and the idea came to me and I wrote it down on my phone just like, just the words. I just had all the words and I wrote it down. I was too scared to get up and like go home in case I forgot something. Wrote the whole song sitting at the bar and then ran across the street home and put chords to it.

And it has inspired this album that is going to be my stories of who I am and, um, where I come from and why I am the way that I am. And, um,

Yeah, that's called going blonde. I am so excited for this album. I feel like we're actually finally getting to see who you are. Yeah. You know, and I think that's a beautiful thing. You're like a butterfly. You're literally like, I feel like it. I feel like this is going to be so therapeutic for you. You've made me almost cry like three times. No, no. Oh, wait for the album. Oh, I can't wait. I'll just I'll call all video myself. Just just ugly crying.

It's just, we see the outside of being blonde, but it's like, there's a source of like confidence that it comes from for all of us. Absolutely. And I just, I just interviewed Dolly. Amazing. Yeah. And she's so fucking just, she's hilarious. First of all, she is not as sweet as everybody thinks she is. She is sassy. Spicy.

And she is fiery. But that is what I named my podcast on blonde because it's an oxymoron because, you know, when I walk in a room, everybody's like, Oh, look at this dumb blonde, you know? And then, but really as soon as I opened my mouth, they're like, Oh, wait a second. Maybe she's not so dumb, you know? Exactly. So I completely relate to the going blonde thing. And, um, I think we should clip that and send that to Dolly's team. Have you ever got to meet her? I haven't been able to meet her

Oh, Danny, her manager, Danny, is amazing. And she's so welcoming to new female artists, too. So I'm going to clip that and send that to Danny for you. I would love that. I'm like, I feel like... I mean, obviously she's an icon, but it's like, it's kind of weird because I look at her like she's mom. A depiction of my mom. Literally, she's my... I call her mom. Yeah. Yeah, literally. She is like, she's mother to a lot of us. She is. She's raising us. So...

So on Going Blonde, is it going to be like any... Is it going to be like all ballads or is it like a mixture of emotions? Like are we going to still get the hip-hop vibe and the techno vibe and all that stuff that we've gotten before? It is...

introspective. It's a sound that I haven't done like deep dive fully into doing, but it appears in certain places all over the last, you know, two years of my releasing music. Um, and it's, it's romantic in, in a non-romantic way and heartbreak and

in a non-romantic way. And just like the heartbreak life sometimes brings on us. But yeah, I mean, it's, I feel like I'm becoming a woman with it.

When do you think it'll be dropping? Oh, I have no idea. Not yet. We don't know. Hopefully I'm aiming for the top of the year. That's what I've been saying the last couple of months. Last year I had like just no time for anything at all. So busy. But I'm like aiming for top of the year. You've been everywhere too. Like I have every, I see you in like New York. You're like out of the country. Like what are you doing right now?

like give me like what are we doing is this appearances like are you just living the life that you deserve or what's going on I finally have a moment to breathe and I think it's very important for me I mean it's you know everything's gonna be starting up now but it's winter it's dark it's cold it's snowing every once in a while and so it's

giving me a little bit of time to recharge yeah yeah and to be on that healing journey exactly let's talk about the Beyonce stuff yeah girl when I saw that I was so giddy first of all I'm talking about just the first announcement that you came out with and that you were going to be on the album and I just remember thinking to myself like that she's going to be the next big thing like I'm so excited for you because I know that had to have just been like

a moment. Insane. Can we talk about it? Yes. I mean, there's some things I can't like detail, but like, yeah, that was, that was like the crazy, the week leading up to the album was the craziest week of my life. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't tell anyone. Nobody knew only my, uh, my manager knew it was the only person. Um, so it was kind of this, um,

funny anticipation as I'm having, you know, friends hitting me up and being like, oh, who's coming? Oh my God. Like you would tell me if you were on it, right? Like you would tell me. And just kind of that sigh of relief that like, okay, like the secret's out. Like I can breathe again. Like what an honor though. Like it's like when Beyonce calls, that's like the fucking president is calling, you know, like you just want that phone call because she's so, she's,

She doesn't normally work like what she did on the car where I'm sorry, Cowboy Carter was completely different than what she's normally ever done. She's never collaborated the way she did on Cowboy Carter. So that was like really special for you guys and for you to have made it on there, too. Yes, I I think people would be.

happy to know because there's so many people who talk their shit on Beyonce but yeah she's like she is genuinely one of the warmest people I think I feel like I've met I don't get the Beyonce hate she's

Yeah. Like she's, and she's funny and she's very cool. Yeah. I love that. What was it like when you first got to meet her? Did you, was the, your first time meeting her at the super time, the super bowl halftime show? I can't disclose. Okay. Gotcha. The first time I met her, but, um,

she gave me a hug that I will never forget. And it was just magical. Yeah. It's almost like kind of like passing the baton of like, Hey, Oh God. Oh God. Listen, going blonde might be your Beyonce album. You never know. You never know. You never freaking know. What was it like performing at the halftime show? I mean,

The girls are so beautiful. We all have our little tattoos. Tiara and I had a little congratulatory dinner. It's just a lot of gratitude. Just a lot of gratitude and a lot of fun and joy.

I mean, I'm excited being able to step into this year with everything that I accomplished last year. It feels like I wish I could just put it in a little time capsule and like dig it up in 10 years and like remember it all again. You can if you want to do. But it was, yeah, it was so special. Oh, I love that. So what do we have to look forward to with Tanner in 2025? I...

the most excited for Sea to Sea. What is that? It's country to country. It's a music festival, country music festival. And a bunch of the artists go and play the country festivals abroad, overseas. So it'll be in London and in Ireland, in Glasgow. Yeah, it's like over the course of like five days. Yeah. Who's playing? I've never even,

never even i think laney's headlining them this year um but it's so fun it's one of my favorite things we do i love traveling so i'm like excited to go back to australia i'm excited i got a few shows in uh stockholm and in oslo like i am your girl is catching flights not feelings exactly exactly

When's your birthday? June 27th. Okay, so you're Cancer Leo. Yes, I'm a Cancer. I can see that. Really? You have super, super soft feminine energy. Oh, I love that. See, do you guys see it? Every time I meet a Cancer girl, I'm like, I can totally see it. You guys are just so, you guys exude femininity. Thank you. Wait, what are you? I'm a Capricorn Aquarius. My birthday's in two days. Happy birthday.

we stop counting when you get to my age when we get to my age we start going backwards we're like i think i'm 31 maybe 27 i don't know love that so tanner thank you so much for coming on the podcast where can i tell people to find you and if they already don't follow you i mean definitely instagram because who knows how much longer we'll even have tiktok but tiktok obviously and um

is going to be popping this year. So that's all I'll say. Let's go. Is there any cool collabs that you have coming up that you can kind of hint to? Not that I can say. Damn it. All right, off camera, I need to know. Yes. Okay, I'll tell you.

I love you so much, Tanner. And I wish you nothing but success. You deserve it. And you are just a little angel. And I can't wait to see you grow. Thank you so much. Of course. And thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of Dumb Blonde. I will see you guys next week. Bye. Bye.