It’s been over two decades since Miranda Lambert stole America’s heart with her stint on the singing competition Nashville Star. Since then, she’s become one of the most powerful players in the country music scene thanks to her undeniable talent, sassy confidence and penchant for keeping it real.
“I’m lucky,” Lambert exclusively shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “I reached a lot of my goals early, and then you’re like, ‘What do I chase now?’ It takes a while to figure out the balance of actually living your life so you have something to write about and constantly being on the grind. And I think I finally found that balance pretty good.”
She largely credits that stability to her husband, former NYPD officer Brendan McLoughlin, whom she married in 2019 after a whirlwind romance. The pair live on a 400-acre farm outside Nashville where they tend to a menagerie of animals, while Lambert, 40, divides her time between various ventures, including her MuttNation Foundation, numerous businesses and, of course, music. On September 13, she’ll release Postcards from Texas, her self-produced first album under a new deal with Republic Records, that combines her trademark honest lyrics with, as she describes it, “all kinds” of country music.
“I made this with a new energy, kind of like the energy I had at 19 making my first album,” explains Lambert, who recorded it, fittingly, in her native Texas. “This record feels like you made it home, and you’re like, I’m going to send you some letters from home for a while.”
Here, Lambert talks more about life, love and learning.
JAMES MACARI
How would you describe this new era of music?
After 20 years on Sony Records and then parting ways and regrouping, I had time to think, what do I really want my next chapter to be? I wanted to go back to the root and find my footing again. To finally make another record in Texas with my best friend, Jon Randall, and it just has this honky-tonk home sound to me. That’s the way I grew up. It’s the music that got me started. So it feels full circle.
Your husband, Brendan, is credited as a writer on the song “Dammit Randy.” How did that come about?
We were at our house in Austin, and Brendan was watching football and Jon got the guitar out. Brendan was listening and kept piping in here and there with some ideas, and we’re like, “Are we cowriting? You’re going to have to turn the game off.” So he did, and he had some of my favorite lines in the song. It’s his first cut ever on an album. I’m actually really proud of him, and he’s super excited about it.
Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin’s Relationship Timeline
So he’s a songwriter now?
Yeah, he’s putting “songwriter” on his bio. I’m like, “Slow your roll.”
Can he sing?
He sings at karaoke. He’s a music lover in general, which is fun because he’s not in the industry, but he loves it and is also very honest. It’s nice to have somebody in your life that’s like, “No, that sucks. That doesn’t look good on you. That song is my favorite.” It keeps it real, especially him being a New Yorker, they don’t mince words.
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Did you ever think you would fall in love with a city boy?
Absolutely not. It was the most random thing, but it was meant to be. He’s such a great friend and really supportive, but he does his own thing. I [also] got to spend a lot of time in New York. We had an apartment in Soho, and I just got to be a tourist and immerse myself in the city.
What have you learned about love since being in this relationship?
So much. I guess the thing I’ve learned the most is just that communication is everything. Love doesn’t always cut it. You’ve got to talk about s–t. And you have to compromise sometimes and be willing to listen to each other when you have something important to say. Love is hard some days, but the reward is so worth it.
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Does Brendan challenge you in ways you haven’t been before?
Absolutely. He calls me out, and I love that. I need that. I don’t think it’s healthy that people, especially artists or celebrities, surround themself with yes people. If you surround yourself with a group of people who are honest with you, you’ll go a lot farther, and it’s a lot healthier in the long run.
You wed after just three months together. How did you know that Brendan was The One?
I kind of went for it; no risk, no reward. I grew up in a family of first responders with cops and firemen. That gave me trust to begin with. Texas people are very much who they are, like, “Y’all come on in, but if you don’t like us, we really don’t care.” That New York mentality is the same, except they’re not as sweet about it. I just felt like the worst that could happen, I’ve lived through. If it ends, it ends.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
So you didn’t hesitate to take a gamble?
If you don’t put your heart out there, are you ever going to get the big love that everybody wants, that all the songs are about, that all the movies are about? I’m guarded in a lot of ways, but when it comes to my heart, I’m like, what do you really have to lose? Pain is pain, but it passes.
What’s a typical night for you guys when you’re home?
We’re pretty chill. When we’re off work, I’m in my patio hang vibe. We’ll make drinks and listen to music. Sometimes we’ll have the best parties just by ourselves. He loves what he calls “happy hour music” — Matchbox 20 and Goo Goo Dolls. So we have different tastes, but we’ll sit there for hours and listen. Sometimes I say to him, “We kind of live on a date,” which is pretty awesome.
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You’ve been in the public eye since you were a teen. How have you learned to cope with all the attention?
When you’re going through something really hard and personal and everybody’s in on it, people you don’t even know are not supportive and kind. Once, somebody said, “You asked for this!” And I was like, I didn’t ask for any of that. I try to be mindful of that, too, just in everyday life. Don’t spread negative stuff. We’ve all been a mean girl before. I learned it doesn’t make anything better. It just makes me look small, and it’s not the way I want to be.
Was it difficult for Brendan to adjust to the spotlight?
It’s just been a lot because he moved to Nashville. He retired as a police officer, and that’s an adjustment. There was just a lot of new at once, and that’s hard on anyone. We were figuring out life. 2020 actually was a blessing in that way because we were stuck at home together and really got to know each other without all the noise.
You turned 40 last November. How has it been so far?
Everybody tells me that 40 is the best decade, and I’m so excited about that part. But a lot is changing daily. It’s like you just shift emotionally [and] I’ve really been thinking about priorities and what’s next for the first time in my life.
What are some of the changes you’ve experienced?
I care even less about noise and opinions that don’t mean anything and are hurtful. I don’t have room for that.
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You’ve been going for over 20 years. Are there any missteps in your career that you’d like to do over again?
There’s a million of those. There’s a million of just being a human. Musically, I don’t have a lot of regrets. Just weaving in and out of relationships and labels. There’s a lot of things [where] I look back, and I go, maybe I could have handled that differently. I’m a Scorpio, so I’ll make the decision right away, good, bad or ugly. My husband’s a Libra, so I’ve learned from watching him not to rush into comments or judgments or decisions.
It seems like you’ve always stayed true to yourself as an artist. Have you ever worried about being too vulnerable in your lyrics?
I’m sure it crosses everyone’s mind, because as a songwriter, you’re really saying your truth. And I think it’s important, even the tough songs that are like, “Oh, this one’s pretty raw.” But I put songs like that on every record I’ve ever put out because that’s what I signed up to do. That’s what country music is about: saying the truth — good, bad or ugly.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
You aren’t afraid to speak your mind.
It’s also gotten me in trouble. I’m definitely a fiery personality and am strong in who I am. Most times it’s been worth it, honestly, because at least people know who I am. Sometimes, if you’re just vanilla and not polarizing in any way, do you just kind of disappear into the fray?
You’ve come so far. How does it feel to look back on your career?
I have to sleep at night, even though some of my creative choices [put me on] a longer road. I haven’t had a ton of No. 1’s, and it’s taken a lot longer. And for women, it takes longer in country music. But it was worth it to me because I wanted to make sure that people knew exactly who I was, where I was from and the values that I carried through my music and as a person. If that meant the longer or harder road, it was worth it to me. I’d rather not do it at all than present myself as something that I’m not, because people see right through that.
That approach has certainly earned you a lot of loyal fans.
I feel like country fans, especially, are the kind that stay with you forever. We have the best fans in the world. I’m having girls who were my age when I first came onto the scene who are bringing their daughters [who are] 15 and 16 saying, “We grew up on your music.” It means so much to me that they’d pass that on to their daughters because the messages are still the same, and it’s still about being a powerful person and knowing who you are.
For more on Lambert, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.