TBT: Alexandra Kay

Throwback Thursday This week, Bunnie is joined by rising country star Alexandra Kay, whose gift is turning ordinary moments into something unforgettable. From dive bars to viral coffee-singing videos, Alexandra shares how she carved her path all the way to touring with Jelly Roll—and finding love with her boyfriend, Rocko. She opens up about pushing through two record deals, navigating life after divorce, and the highs and lows that shaped her journey. Through it all, Alexandra stays grounded, embraces the setbacks, and proves that her independent spirit is stronger than ever as the world takes notice. Alexandra: Website https://www.alexandrakayofficial.com/ | TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@alexandrakaymusic Watch Full Episodes & More: www.dumbblondeunrated.com

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Cozy season is upon us. That means chilly sunrises, slow afternoons on the couch and oversized sweaters. Bombas makes your comfiest fall staples, so you can make the most out of one of the best seasons of the year. Whether you're heading out or staying in, Bombas has you covered. Their new suede moccasins are perfect for fall, with cushy soles and water-resistant suede. And when you need extra support, I immediately reach for their compression sock collection. They're a total game changer for travel days or long hours on my feet. Fall weather can be fickle, but Bombas makes socks that handle it all. From warm merino wool blends to sweat-wicking sports socks for race training.

• 0:42Speaker 00

  Plus, their underwear and tees are buttery, breathable, and fit just right. It really is the comfiest first layer you can find. And the best part? For every item you purchase, Bombas donates an essential clothing item to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchased equals one donated. With over 200 million donations and counting. Head over to Bombas.com/audio and use code AUDIO for 20% off your first purchase. That's B-O-M-B-A-S dot com slash AUDIO, code AUDIO at checkout.

• 1:15Speaker 01

  Retire Path Virginia is a convenient way for Virginians to save for retirement, giving employees an easy option to help build long-term financial security. State law requires certain Virginia employers to register and facilitate the program if they meet eligibility criteria, and recent changes mean more businesses are now included. Retire Path is simple to administer, integrates with most existing payroll processes, and has no employer fees, making it an efficient way to meet state requirements. Take the employer eligibility quiz and register at retirepathva.com.

• 1:46Bunnie XO?

  Hey guys, I need to ask you a question. I want to know, why in the hell are you not on Patreon? I don't think you guys even realize how much content we have on Patreon. Let me break it down for you. We have the Bunny XO Show, we have Meet the Deportes, we have Popaganda, we have more shows that we're adding, and not to mention, we have the visuals of the podcast. Head over to www.patreon.com/dumblon podcast and sign up. Bunny XO.

• 2:15Speaker 03

  She's a Vegas queen.

• 2:16Bunnie XO?

  Bunny XO.

• 2:17Speaker 03

  She changed my life.

• 2:18Bunnie XO?

  Dumblon Podcast.

• 2:38Bunnie XO?

  Is this thing on? What's up babies? We are back with another episode of Dumb Blonde, except this time we are on tour. So of course, I had to have my favorite person on the tour. Don't tell Warren. Ms. Alexandra K. is in the house, baby. How are you?

• 2:53Speaker 05

  I'm so good. I'm so happy to be here. You have no idea.

• 2:56Bunnie XO?

  Dude, I'm stoked to have you. I've been wanting you on for a long time. I have been watching you for so long. Like on TikTok is how I found you was doing the coffee things and stuff like that. And I always thought you were just so cute. And I was like, I want to talk to her.

• 3:09Speaker 05

  Thank you.

• 3:10Bunnie XO?

  Because you just have such a warm energy.

• 3:11Speaker 05

  Oh, thank you. That means a lot. Well, I'm super excited to get into it because like I'm a huge fan of your podcast and I love that you ask like all of the like outside the box questions. So I'm ready, baby. Give it to me.

• 3:24Bunnie XO?

  Oh, I love it. Girl, how about this? You just tell me what you want to tell me and we'll be good. Um, so what's it like being on tour with Daddy Roll? Like, are you excited?

• 3:34Speaker 05

  Honestly, like it feels like a dream every single day. And we were talking about that this morning. It's like, when is somebody just gonna like knock on our bus door and say, okay, like you're done now.

• 3:43Bunnie XO?

  You've been pumped.

• 3:44Speaker 05

  You're having entirely too much fun working.

• 3:47Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 3:48Speaker 05

  And like it's, it just feels like a dream. It's insane. And, and every single time that I get to even pass him in the hallway, it's like I always try to stop and talk to him for like five minutes because I get just like the

• 4:00Bunnie XO?

  Little gems of knowledge.

• 4:01Speaker 05

  Little gems of wisdom in five minutes. It's insane. It's like the best five minute conversation you'll ever have in your life is with him.

• 4:08Bunnie XO?

  Try being married to him. You get to a point where you're just like, all right, dude, enough. You're like, I don't want to know anymore. I don't want to be wise. I don't want to be any more wiser than I already am. No, I remember when Jay came to me about this tour. He, we were sitting out back and I, were you guys there? I'm not sure. You guys might've been there or not, but we were picking people to have on. And he gave me a list of like girls that he wanted to come on. And I was like Alexandra K. He was like, absolutely.

• 4:31Speaker 05

  Thank you.

• 4:32Bunnie XO?

  So yeah, no, it was, we were really excited to have you and just getting to see you out there every night and just, you know, in front of the crowd. And you're such, you're like a natural showman.

• 4:41Speaker 05

  Oh, thank you so much.

• 4:41Bunnie XO?

  Like a lot of people don't have that.

• 4:43Speaker 05

  Thank you. You know, I feel like a lot of that I built just playing. In dive bars for so long, I feel like you have to go through that. Those years of playing for nobody or playing for just like five drunk guys on bar stools. You don't give a shit what you're singing about or saying. Um, in order to just kind of figure out how to get even the craziest people's attention.

• 5:08Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 5:08Speaker 05

  Um, or people who just don't really care what you're doing. To try to just kind of like get their attention, I feel like is how you figure out how to hold a crowd's attention, so. I'm really, really grateful for all of the little dive bars I've played and all of the shows that nobody really came to so that I could be ready for this.

• 5:24Bunnie XO?

  It made you, it made you who you are, but I, I forgot who I was talking to last night, I think it was Polly Shore. And we were talking about the growth with my husband and I was like, I've seen my husband play to twenty people, exactly how he's doing out there for fifteen thousand.

• 5:38Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 5:38Bunnie XO?

  And I used to always say to him, baby, why do you put so much energy into a show for just twenty people? He's like, because they came here to see me.

• 5:45Speaker 05

  Mm-hmm.

• 5:45Bunnie XO?

  And like, you know, it just that, it's those humbling, humble beginnings that whenever you do make it to the big time, it's just kind of like, alright, I got this.

• 5:53Speaker 05

  Exactly, and it's like training, like that's kind of how I think about it whenever I, I think back on it now, I'm just like, man, if I would. If I would have been too scared to go out the night that, okay, so I showed up to my first, my first tour I ever put on, I drove myself in my Buick Encore to twenty-seven cities.

• 6:11Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm. Wow.

• 6:12Speaker 05

  And, um, I know, and my guitar player, it was just me and him, but he didn't have a driver's license, so I would literally play until two o'clock in the morning and then wake up at like five AM and drive us to the next city. We did that for a little over a month, but the first, it was my first tour ever, so I didn't know what to expect. And we showed up in Louisville, huge place. I was also booking it myself, this is before I met Beth.

• 6:33Bunnie XO?

  Wow.

• 6:34Speaker 05

  So I also booked it myself, so I booked a huge room. And she didn't know what I was doing.

• 6:39Bunnie XO?

  Oh, no.

• 6:40Speaker 05

  And, um, yeah, I showed up and there was like six people in like a, like a five hundred cap room. And I went to the bathroom and I bawled my eyes out. And then I went out and just put on a show as if the place was packed and, you know, it's like. I did not want to go up there and do that that night, but I was so excited at the end of it. I'm like, these six people paid money to come see me and then didn't turn around and leave when they saw the place was empty. Like, like that's what it's about. And then they bring more people and they bring more people and.

• 7:11Bunnie XO?

  That was probably the best night of their life. That is probably like a core memory for them. They're like, I was one of the six people that was watching her perform and now look at her. You know, they tell everybody that.

• 7:19Speaker 05

  Well, I'm sure Jelly did this too. Like, we would hang out and drink afterwards.

• 7:22Bunnie XO?

  Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I couldn't get my husband out of the venue. Like, now when he leaves, I'm like, are you sure? Because he's such a venue rat, so I can never. He would want to hang out with you. He wanted to friggin move people in. By the end of the night, and I'd be like, babe, no, we're going home.

• 7:36Speaker 05

  Hear your life story.

• 7:39Speaker 05

  And the people would be like, oh, where are you guys going tomorrow? Like, come over to our house.

• 7:42Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, yeah. No, that's how my husband was too.

• 7:44Speaker 05

  Yeah, so sick. Yeah, great, great memories.

• 7:47Bunnie XO?

  So, let's bring it back. You grew up, you were born in Missouri?

• 7:51Speaker 05

  Yeah, I was born in Missouri, Southern Illinois, so I'm like right on the border. So I always just tell everybody I'm from St. Louis because it's like the closest city. And if you say Illinois, they're like, oh, you're from Chicago. I'm like six hours away from there. Um, so yeah, I was born in Missouri, grew up in a small town in Southern Illinois, and then like got into music in St. Louis. That was like my first taste in the music business.

• 8:10Bunnie XO?

  So, growing up, how was your relationship with your parents? Had you had brothers, sisters?

• 8:15Speaker 05

  I have two sisters, and I'm the middle child, so I'm like best friends with both of them. And it worked out to where like I was a freshman when my oldest sister was a senior. And then I was a senior when my youngest was a freshman, so we all, you know, did the high school parties thing together and everything. My older sister would take me out when I was a freshman. I would take my little sister out, so we're all really, really close. And, um, oh, man, it's, I really, really am blessed with the, just how close my family was. Went on a lot of like family vacations and stuff. We were a softball family, so we all. Play competitive softball. And for the same organization. So I would be in like sixteen year, Courtney was eighteen. And Taylor was in like fourteen or twelves. And we would travel together and then all play like the same tournaments. So we were just always together.

• 9:00Bunnie XO?

  Athletic family. I was surprised when I learned that about you. I was like, okay, softball. I love that.

• 9:05Speaker 05

  You know, I feel like it's how I learned my kind of, uh, that's how I got my like determination, I guess. And just never to take no for an answer. It made me tough.

• 9:15Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, I mean, I would think so. I mean, just getting out there and having balls thrown in your face every day. That's a little scary.

• 9:21Speaker 05

  And just like, you know, physical punishment every single time you did anything wrong. They're like, run.

• 9:27Bunnie XO?

  It's kind of like, uh, like the army. Like it's like boot camp.

• 9:30Speaker 05

  Oh, man. And like, when, when you get to a certain level, like at the, like at the club level or whatever. And we were like a nationally ranked team. So they, yeah, they did not play. We played all through the winter on turf indoors. And everything, we never had breaks. I didn't really have any friends outside of softball because, you know, during the summertime. I didn't get to hang out with anybody like at school or anything. We were just always traveling. So.

• 9:52Bunnie XO?

  But once you had your sisters though, you guys were so close, you know, so those are like. Yeah, and those are like built in best friends.

• 9:58Speaker 05

  Yeah, for sure. But, but yeah, I really think it's, it's what made me ready for this kind of lifestyle. Because it was just work, work, work, work, work. And so now everybody's like, you don't get any breaks. I'm like, I never really had any breaks anyways.

• 10:10Bunnie XO?

  I think it's the Virgo in you too. When I found out your birthday was the other day, I was like, okay, that makes sense. Cause I have a Virgo stellium, which means four planets that are in Virgo in my chart. I don't know how to give up. I don't quit. Like I'm always working. So I, you're, you have that same drive.

• 10:23Speaker 05

  Oh, my gosh. So much. So much that I wish I could turn it off sometimes, but I can't.

• 10:28Bunnie XO?

  No, literally, like even on our days off, I'm working. Like it doesn't matter what's going on. Like I'm, even if I'm just making content or doing something, it's like you have to always be making a goal. You know, to feel fulfilled, I guess.

• 10:39Speaker 05

  You're so on your social posting too. Cause like I follow you on everything and I'm just like, there is all, something is always going up. And I'm like, Nick, Steph, we gotta get something else up.

• 10:49Bunnie XO?

  Oh, you guys are pretty good though.

• 10:51Speaker 05

  No, no, they do. They're honestly, they're incredible.

• 10:53Bunnie XO?

  I love what you've been doing with the tour. I did that last year where every day we filmed like a look video or like something like that. And that's, that is so good because people get to see a different side of you too.

• 11:01Speaker 05

  For sure. We really started leaning in heavier to the vlogs, which we didn't have as much time on our headlining tour to do that. And so we really are leaning into that. And I feel like everybody's getting to see everyone's personalities and getting to know everybody on the team, which is, is really, really cool. And I thought it was so awesome the other day when I introduced, I was talking to Jelly and I was like, this is Rocco, my boyfriend. And I just, I'd never like introduced him as my boyfriend. She figured he knows. He was like, I watch the vlogs.

• 11:29Bunnie XO?

  I love that.

• 11:30Speaker 05

  And I was like, Steph, you're gonna have to watch the vlogs.

• 11:33Bunnie XO?

  I'm, uh, we're gonna talk about Rocco in a little bit. Let's circle back to childhood though. So mom and dad are still together. You guys are super close, all that jazz. You grew up doing softball. And then when did you start writing? Like, when was mu, when did you know like music was kind of in your soul, in your spirit?

• 11:50Speaker 05

  So my mom, my mom used to tell me that she would just hear me sing in church. And she was like, oh, okay. She could just tell, you know, that I had a little bit of like a musical ear. And then, you know, growing up in church and singing in the choir and all of that stuff, like, I always really loved it. And I, I was kind of the child that was just pretty outgoing and, and always wanted to be in front of the camera. Like there was a camera rolling and, um, and so I, I think that that's when they realized that I was just more creative than my other sisters. Like they didn't, they were just more kind of like shy and I was just out there.

• 12:29Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 12:30Speaker 05

  Um, and then I went through, my first relationship I ever had was, it lasted five years. So my first, and it sounds really weird to say now, right? Now that I'm in my 30s, but like my first boyfriend. was from thirteen to eighteen.

• 12:48Bunnie XO?

  You do long relationships, I've noticed.

• 12:51Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 12:51Bunnie XO?

  That's crazy, but that's amazing that you find these people and it's a good and a bad thing because is it,

• 12:57Speaker 05

  Sure.

• 12:57Bunnie XO?

  is it, do you stay because you're in love or do you stay because it becomes a sense of like, I have to be here to make it work?

• 13:05Speaker 05

  Well, I think that now and, and once I went through my divorce and I went, started in therapy is when I started to realize why I think I hang on to things for entirely too long. Sometimes, um, you know, when they're not good for me and I know that and I just won't let it go. Um, but I think that it, we kind of realized it all stemmed from my first experience of being in love and that not being a healthy first experience of being in love.

• 13:31Bunnie XO?

  What happened?

• 13:32Speaker 05

  And, um, you know, he was very heavy into drugs and it became a physically abusive relationship and

• 13:43Bunnie XO?

  How old were you?

• 13:45Speaker 05

  From thirteen to eighteen.

• 13:46Bunnie XO?

  Thirteen to eighteen, that's, those are like pivotal years of growth also.

• 13:49Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 13:50Bunnie XO?

  So to go through two things of having to deal with somebody who's an addict and then also domestic violence is pretty heavy.

• 13:57Speaker 05

  Yeah, and I, and I hid it, you know, because I loved him and I knew my parents would never let me see him again and I was just very anxiously attached to him. I mean, he was my first love, you know, and now I know that he actually wasn't and, and he was just

• 14:15Bunnie XO?

  Trauma bond.

• 14:15Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, and he, he did not grow up in a great situation. And when I look back on it now, it's like, it makes the whole situation make a lot more sense to me, but I didn't understand it then.

• 14:27Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 14:28Speaker 05

  And blame myself a lot for it and, uh,

• 14:31Bunnie XO?

  You can't blame yourself though. I feel like those lessons are always put into place, no matter how bad they are. As we get older, we understand that they do become kind of like a blessing because it's like, had you have never gone through that, you would never know that side of life.

• 14:43Speaker 05

  For sure.

• 14:44Bunnie XO?

  So that's how I always try to look at things too.

• 14:46Speaker 05

  Right, and had I never have gone through that, I wouldn't, I don't think I would have fallen into songwriting the way that I did. Because I was just so full of so many things that I couldn't talk about and I was always a very emotional child anyway. Um, I just feel everything times ten and, um, and so when I was going through that, I remember walking through Walmart and seeing this little book that had, um, like daisies on it. And um, I picked it up, took it home, started writing like just diary entries. And those turned into poems. And then I just started hearing melodies and I just started writing songs. And it was all about what I was going through with him and um, just being in love for the first time.

• 15:29Speaker 05

  And at that time, I was also, I switched from Catholic school to public school.

• 15:36Bunnie XO?

  Oh wow, that's a big change. I did that too.

• 15:38Speaker 05

  Yeah. How old were you when you did that?

• 15:39Bunnie XO?

  Um, I went from junior high into high school.

• 15:42Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 15:43Bunnie XO?

  And I didn't know one cuss word. And people used to make fun of me because I would wear like dresses down to my ankles. They would call me like Little House on the Prairie and stuff like that.

• 15:50Speaker 05

  No.

• 15:51Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, because I came from a Christian school.

• 15:52Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 15:53Bunnie XO?

  Into a Las Vegas public school.

• 15:55Speaker 05

  Oh my gosh.

• 15:55Bunnie XO?

  So, yeah, it was a huge change. How was it for you?

• 15:58Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was, it was pretty much the same. I mean, but a lot of it is, you know, being, I switched from seventh grade. So I had seventh and eighth grade in public school before I went to high school.

• 16:09Bunnie XO?

  Oh my goodness, still, that's brutal.

• 16:11Speaker 05

  It's a weird, it's a weird age to change and try to find, try to make friends.

• 16:16Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 16:16Speaker 05

  And I think that I was just so desperate to fit in. That it was like anybody who would take me in, I was just like, okay, cool. And so, um, I fell into a group that, you know, wasn't the best. And um, developed some pretty unhealthy friendships and relationships at that time. And um, you know, gotten a lot of fights and.

• 16:40Bunnie XO?

  Those fights?

• 16:41Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 16:41Bunnie XO?

  Crazy. I can't, I can't see Alexandra J out there.

• 16:44Speaker 05

  And I've never talked about any of this either, so I'm giving it all to you, girl.

• 16:48Bunnie XO?

  I love it. No, I love it. And I think it makes you relatable. Because I grew up fighting too. I got kicked out of my private school for fighting. I got kicked out of public school for fighting. I got kicked out of church for fighting.

• 16:58Speaker 05

  Wow.

• 16:59Bunnie XO?

  So I get it. I understand it.

• 17:01Speaker 05

  And what do you think that stemmed from?

• 17:03Bunnie XO?

  Well, I was just about to ask you that. Do you think that that, you met your boyfriend when, 13? So that's what, sixth grade, seventh grade?

• 17:09Speaker 05

  Yeah, seventh grade.

• 17:10Bunnie XO?

  So do you think what you guys were going through is what made you so volatile? Towards people, or was it things at home that were causing that?

• 17:17Speaker 05

  No, no, it wasn't anything at home. And honestly, I think that the, because I was able to go home every night to, you know, a very loving and accepting family, is the reason why I didn't go down a completely different path.

• 17:30Bunnie XO?

  That's so amazing.

• 17:31Speaker 05

  Yeah. And I, I talk a lot about that with, with my therapist. She's like, you need to write a book, because no one knows any of this is happening. And she's like, you should be like, under a bridge somewhere. And like, based on, you know, everything that I've been through, and just statistically, like, um, and I was around a lot of drugs, never used, um.

• 17:51Bunnie XO?

  That's amazing, too, that you were able to say no and have willpower.

• 17:55Speaker 05

  Well, you know, I saw what it did to the closest person in my life at the time, and I, my whole, um, my whole goal was to just make him stop. So I didn't want to.

• 18:06Bunnie XO?

  What was his drug of choice, if I can ask?

• 18:08Speaker 05

  Well, it started pills, when I first found out. Um, and then, you know, the, the story was that he was just holding on to them for somebody else, or, um, selling them for, you know, money or whatever. And so I was just like, okay, well, as long as you're not, you know, doing it. And then it was that, then it was cocaine, then it was heroin, then it was everything else. Yeah.

• 18:34Bunnie XO?

  So he went down a really deep spiral with drugs?

• 18:37Speaker 05

  Yeah, for sure.

• 18:38Bunnie XO?

  That's a lot to deal with that in junior high. That's crazy. So do you think that that, from that relationship, just being so frustrated is what was causing you to lash out with other people and the fighting?

• 18:49Speaker 05

  Well, I think that it was also, um, it was also the fact that

• 18:55Speaker 05

  when he got angry, it was physical. And so

• 19:00Speaker 05

  when my friends got angry, it was physical. Everything was always fighting with my friends. I mean, it was like some pretty. It was some pretty traumatic stuff, like in this group of just like.

• 19:10Bunnie XO?

  Everybody's just beating each other up when they get mad. That's terrible.

• 19:13Speaker 05

  Um, yeah, it was pretty like, you know, there was like a hierarchy in this like group and it was just like you two are gonna fight. Or I'm gonna fight you.

• 19:20Bunnie XO?

  Wow.

• 19:21Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was, it was pretty, it's pretty rough.

• 19:24Bunnie XO?

  That is rough. You gotta like live in fight or flight every time you're around them.

• 19:28Speaker 05

  For sure. And it was just, you know, fight back or get your ass kicked all the time. And it was just, you know, and it made me really, really hard. For, for a while.

• 19:36Bunnie XO?

  Hmm.

• 19:37Speaker 05

  And um, and I think that I just kind of fell into, oh, this is how we handle things. Okay. So then this is how I handled things for a few years until I completely separated myself from that whole group of people. And broke up with my boyfriend and spent a lot more time with my family and just as they say anyway, they just kind of think I fell back into. Who I had always been.

• 20:00Bunnie XO?

  So from thirteen to eighteen though, those are like huge growth years. So aside from that relationship, you're, so you start writing and then where does the writing take you musically?

• 20:09Speaker 05

  I just started, you know, working with anybody who knew how to use GarageBand.

• 20:14Bunnie XO?

  Oh, yeah, I remember.

• 20:17Speaker 05

  Songs like literally written in this book and I'm like, can I record these? And they're like, cool. Uh, you play guitar? No, it's just spoken word.

• 20:26Bunnie XO?

  Oh, you're like, it's just poetry.

• 20:28Speaker 05

  Yeah, right. And so I just found somebody who could just kind of put the music with everything for me and started cutting these songs, putting them on SoundCloud, you know?

• 20:35Bunnie XO?

  Oh, yeah.

• 20:35Speaker 05

  Yeah, just doing.

• 20:36Bunnie XO?

  I can't, I could never imagine you on SoundCloud, but that's amazing. Like you're just willing to do whatever.

• 20:41Speaker 05

  You won't find me now. I made sure there was no evidence of those first.

• 20:45Bunnie XO?

  What is the first song you uploaded on SoundCloud?

• 20:47Speaker 05

  Oh, um, I believe it was called Let You Go. Yeah. And it was very, it almost had like a.

• 20:57Bunnie XO?

  Cause you were supposed to be a pop artist, right?

• 20:59Speaker 05

  So I signed, my first record deal I signed was in two thousand twelve and I signed with Network Entertainment.

• 21:04Bunnie XO?

  How old were you then?

• 21:05Speaker 05

  I was twenty one.

• 21:08Bunnie XO?

  Okay, you were twenty one.

• 21:09Speaker 05

  Yeah. And I um, and I signed this deal, ended up going into, well, okay, I had been working in hip hop for a little bit. So it worked. From like nineteen till I was like twenty-two at the Four Seasons Hotel.

• 21:24Bunnie XO?

  Didn't you have your first agent when you were sixteen? I think I had read that somewhere.

• 21:27Speaker 05

  Yes, I did.

• 21:28Bunnie XO?

  So take me from there.

• 21:29Speaker 05

  I went into acting, modeling, did that whole voiceover. I did voiceover work like on the radio.

• 21:37Bunnie XO?

  What does voiceover work exactly?

• 21:37Speaker 05

  Um, so I basically would do like, like the are you Rankin material and like the college, like the local college radio spots.

• 21:47Bunnie XO?

  Oh, I love that. Okay.

• 21:47Speaker 05

  Stuff like that, yeah, and just go in and do that, which was really fun. I loved it. And, uh, and so I did that and I did a couple commercials and I loved it. I just wanted to be in front of the camera and I then that was when I got into musical theater as well and did a lot of theater. And I feel like that especially from like my junior, senior year of high school, like really kept me out of trouble.

• 22:11Bunnie XO?

  Hmm.

• 22:11Speaker 05

  Um, because I stopped going out on the weekends and I would just be like with all the theater kids building sets, you know, and I was just like, gosh, this is so much more peaceful than what I used to be doing, you know? So, um, so yeah, so I did that and, and then kind of took it a step further and got an agent and did some of those commercials. And then that's when I started meeting people in the music business when I was working at the Four Seasons and met a couple of rappers. And I was just like, hey, if you guys ever need hooks, like I sing and I'll do it for free, you know, just call me. And so they did. And then they just, then they just kind of passed my name around. They're like, this girl does it for free and she sounds good, you know, everybody. And so then I just ended up in every closet studio in St. Louis for a couple of years and, um.

• 22:52Bunnie XO?

  One of those rappers was Nelly.

• 22:54Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah. I ended up working with Nelly and, uh, got in the studio with Huey and Chingy.

• 23:00Bunnie XO?

  Where the hell did Huey go?

• 23:02Speaker 05

  Huey died.

• 23:03Bunnie XO?

  Oh, he did?

• 23:04Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 23:05Bunnie XO?

  Did he? I didn't, I never knew. Did everybody know that? Your face, she's dead.

• 23:11Speaker 05

  No, because I, seriously.

• 23:13Bunnie XO?

  He's the one that sang Pop Lock and Drop It, right? I never knew he died. This is my first time.

• 23:17Speaker 05

  He was a St. Louis guy.

• 23:18Bunnie XO?

  Damn, what did he die from?

• 23:20Speaker 05

  Gunshot.

• 23:21Bunnie XO?

  Oh, son of a bitch. All right. Well, R I P Huey. I'm sorry, baby. I did not know. I genuinely didn't know.

• 23:26Speaker 05

  Yeah, I know. And yeah, but that was a, that was a crazy time and it was so much fun. And, um, that's how I signed my first deal.

• 23:33Bunnie XO?

  Yay.

• 23:34Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 23:35Bunnie XO?

  So what was that like signing your first deal? Like, were you just, did you think that the world was gonna change?

• 23:40Speaker 05

  Of course. We all do, right? We think, oh, this is it. This is it. I'm going to the top.

• 23:45Bunnie XO?

  Nobody could tell me shit.

• 23:47Speaker 05

  Meanwhile, my contract was like one piece of paper. Like it was just, it was so illegitimate.

• 23:52Bunnie XO?

  Who did you sign with?

• 23:53Speaker 05

  Network Entertainment. It was like a, it was like a, um, like a little indie label.

• 23:57Bunnie XO?

  Okay, gotcha. Yeah, I think everybody has, that it has never been in the music industry or wants to be in the music industry and wants to be signed so bad. I don't think they realize how not for the artist these deals are. You know, and I always stress that on the podcast that, you know, yes, being in the music industry is awesome and there's so many blessings that come with it, but there's also so many deals that just you have to be very careful for and look out for.

• 24:25Speaker 05

  For sure. I mean, my creative freedom just completely went out the window with that deal. And I was just so young and naive and I just wanted any help that I could get and so I took it. And don't get me wrong, like I had a blast and I learned a lot in that. I think it was about a year and a half I was with them. And, um, but still to this day, you know, the songs I released with them, I haven't seen any, any money from them. They still own everything.

• 24:50Bunnie XO?

  How is that legal? How do they get away with that?

• 24:52Speaker 05

  Honestly, I don't know and I just...

• 24:55Bunnie XO?

  It's so unfair because you guys, without you guys, there's no them. You know, so it's like you would think that they would treat people better.

• 25:01Speaker 05

  Yeah, you would think so. Um, I mean, the last conversation we had was that they were like, yeah, if you rerecord the song and put it out with us, then we'll take the original down. And I was like, no, why would I ever do that?

• 25:13Bunnie XO?

  I feel like if the if, you know, you sign with a big label because I'm sure everybody and their mom is looking at you now, they'll be able to handle that for you and that's called karma.

• 25:21Speaker 05

  Yeah. We're looking forward to that.

• 25:24Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's like, I'm looking forward to that day.

• 25:26Speaker 05

  I'm like, please get that song out of here.

• 25:28Bunnie XO?

  No, is it rough? I want to hear it.

• 25:30Speaker 05

  It's rough, please.

• 25:31Bunnie XO?

  We're gonna, we're gonna look it up one of these days.

• 25:33Speaker 05

  No.

• 25:34Bunnie XO?

  We're gonna go on the bus and, uh, listen to it and then I'm gonna FaceTime you while we're listening to it in the background.

• 25:39Speaker 05

  Oh my God. And then the owner of the label had this clothing brand as well. And so in the music video, he like made me wear his clothing brand.

• 25:47Bunnie XO?

  No. There's a music video up too. What is the name of it? We have to go look at it. Okay.

• 25:54Speaker 05

  Oh my gosh, I'm so scared. It's so bad, you guys. It's so bad.

• 25:58Bunnie XO?

  No, you are so funny.

• 25:59Speaker 05

  It sounds, I'm singing out of my nose.

• 26:02Bunnie XO?

  You know who I'm married to, right? There's some videos up that he has up and I'm like, honey, what is going on? What, the fucking cornrows? Are you kidding me? Like, I'm like, who is this man?

• 26:12Speaker 05

  I mean, we have all done some, like, when you first get started and you're like, you'll do anything. I mean, we've all got questionable shit out there.

• 26:19Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 26:19Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 26:20Bunnie XO?

  You should see some of the first shit I uploaded on YouTube and TikTok. Like, don't, let's not do it, but, you know, it's like, you don't, you don't know who you are. You're finding your sound, you're finding your persona online or who you want to be, so don't ever, that's a part of your journey, so don't be ashamed of it.

• 26:35Speaker 05

  And that's why I kept it up, you know? There's some really bad, very first YouTube videos, those are gone, nobody will ever find those, but, you know? It's cool to look back on, right? And you're just like, oh my gosh, I thought this was so great. When I did it and I was so excited. No, please, stop, girl!

• 26:51Bunnie XO?

  But that's a testament of how far you've come, you know?

• 26:55Speaker 05

  I know, they cut my hair off, I was blonde, now I'm laying in bed.

• 26:58Bunnie XO?

  Not the bed shot.

• 27:02Bunnie XO?

  Oh, the hairdo. Let me see the hairdo. Oh my god, that is so like Sarah Flossit.

• 27:08Speaker 05

  Oh my god.

• 27:09Bunnie XO?

  And the mountains in the background. This is very Bob Ross.

• 27:12Speaker 05

  Very Bob Ross. Is he painting as we speak? I love it, I love it.

• 27:18Bunnie XO?

  Oh my god. So, during all of this, you also had a relationship that you started with somebody, correct? Your high school boyfriend, who you ended up being with for about 10 years?

• 27:29Speaker 05

  Yeah, so my ex and I met right around the time I signed this record deal. It was in 2012. And we were together for, yeah, 11 years, and then we-

• 27:40Bunnie XO?

  That's a long time.

• 27:41Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 27:42Bunnie XO?

  Long, long time.

• 27:43Speaker 05

  We stopped dating for a year pretty, pretty early on.

• 27:49Speaker 05

  We just weren't seeing eye to eye on what we wanted and I was really, really career focused and he wasn't really there at that point. And so we split and then ended up getting back together and, you know, kept it going for a long time. I held on to that for a long time.

• 28:04Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, that's, that's crazy. And we'll, we're gonna circle back into that when we talk about when you dropped your first, or-

• 28:13Bunnie XO?

  Which album was it right here? The... I have it in my notes.

• 28:16Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah, yeah, All I've Ever Known.

• 28:17Bunnie XO?

  Yes, All I've Ever Known, sorry. I have so many notes that I'm trying to look through. Um, but you also during this time got signed to a Netflix show? Were you doing a Netflix show?

• 28:26Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 28:27Bunnie XO?

  Take me on this journey. You've done everything.

• 28:29Speaker 05

  And I also have to tell you how I got it.

• 28:31Bunnie XO?

  Yes, please do.

• 28:32Speaker 05

  Because it's so invisible string.

• 28:33Bunnie XO?

  Okay.

• 28:34Speaker 05

  And like, okay, so first of all, like, God puts me in situations in my life way before it's ever I'm ever going to be back and realize why I was there to begin with.

• 28:45Bunnie XO?

  Oh, I love that.

• 28:46Speaker 05

  So, and I have a couple really pretty creepy scenarios for you. And I just had another one. What yet, was it yesterday? Two days ago? Um, but, so, I had just come back from being on The Voice. I mean, they didn't air my episode. So like, was I ever really on it? I don't know. And no one turned around for me.

• 29:06Bunnie XO?

  It was an audition, right?

• 29:07Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was an audition. So, but you know, during that time, they keep you in a hotel room for a month? And you literally can't leave the hotel for a month.

• 29:15Bunnie XO?

  They make you do that for a month and then don't even air your episode?

• 29:17Speaker 05

  Mm-hmm.

• 29:18Bunnie XO?

  That's brutal.

• 29:19Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's a, it's a pretty crazy scenario. So I, I'm just gonna tell you this while we're on this. But, so the other day, two days ago, when we were going through, um, we were at our hotel, realized our tour manager had booked a different hotel. And he was like, oh, I'm so sorry, guys. We're actually somewhere else. We all get back in. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna run in and go to the bathroom. And then Rocco and I went to a different hotel and then went and saw Hamilton, which is so fun for my birthday. Um, and we walk into this hotel and I just like get this really like eerie feeling. And I'm like, that's, it smells familiar, it looks familiar. And then I see all these people walking around with guitars. And I was like, oh, my gosh, this is the hotel that I lived in for a month when I was on The Voice.

• 30:01Bunnie XO?

  No way.

• 30:02Speaker 05

  And had never been back.

• 30:03Bunnie XO?

  Oh, my God. But you're back now on your own terms. Like, that's amazing.

• 30:08Speaker 05

  And the day before, you know, I got to play crypto with you guys.

• 30:12Bunnie XO?

  Dude.

• 30:12Speaker 05

  And like... What?

• 30:14Bunnie XO?

  Isn't that, I got goosebumps.

• 30:15Speaker 05

  And I was like standing outside, like this is where I was bawling my eyes out, like, oh my gosh, my career is over, nothing's gonna happen for me, they just didn't, you know?

• 30:23Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 30:23Speaker 05

  It's over, and then I'm just standing right back.

• 30:25Bunnie XO?

  Oh my gosh.

• 30:26Speaker 05

  There, isn't that wild?

• 30:27Bunnie XO?

  But it's crazy how the universe brings you back to say, see, see how far you've come? Because you probably are really hard on yourself, and like, because you always do have your head down working, I'm the same way, we rarely stop to smell the roses and like, appreciate what we do. You know, so that's kind of like the Lord telling you like, hey, hello.

• 30:46Speaker 05

  I know, look at you, hi, it wasn't supposed to happen then, it was supposed to happen now, but that was a part of what it took to get you here.

• 30:53Bunnie XO?

  Absolutely.

• 30:54Speaker 05

  And, so I had one of those the other day, and so back to, I

• 30:59Bunnie XO?

  Netflix.

• 31:00Speaker 05

  left my record deal, started going on Facebook, posting videos of me singing 90's country songs on my parents' staircase, um, from there, I recorded Jolene.

• 31:11Bunnie XO?

  Hmm.

• 31:11Speaker 05

  Um, and that was my first viral video, it got like 80 million views on Facebook, and kind of grew my Facebook page enough for a producer from The Voice to see that video, that's how I got my blind audition, did that, didn't work out, 30 days later, I get a call from my friend who's, um, who's driving for Uber in Los Angeles, and he's like, dude, I just had the craziest Uber ride, I don't know if anything's gonna come from it, but like, I have to tell you what just happened, and I'm like, what's up? He says, this guy gets in the back of my Uber, and we've got an hour ride somewhere, and we're talking, and I'm like, what do you do? He's like, what do you do when you're not Ubering, yada, yada?

• 31:54Speaker 05

  And he's like, he, I was driving him to a showcase, because he was telling me about this show that he was casting, and how they needed a country singer to fill out, to round out this cast, and this was gonna be the last person they cast, and he was just like, oh, do they have to live here? And he's like, I don't know what it was in me, but I just pulled up your Jolene video, and I just handed it to him in the backseat. And he was like, who is this and how do I get in contact with her? And they cast me in the show.

• 32:21Bunnie XO?

  Oh.

• 32:22Speaker 05

  How strange is that?

• 32:23Bunnie XO?

  Shout out to good friends.

• 32:24Speaker 05

  I know.

• 32:25Bunnie XO?

  Right?

• 32:25Speaker 05

  Scotty Springer, I love you.

• 32:26Bunnie XO?

  That speak good about you when you're not in the room. That's amazing.

• 32:29Speaker 05

  Insane, insane. And so I was just sitting in Southern Illinois 30 days after getting cut and feeling like, oh, what am I gonna do now?

• 32:36Bunnie XO?

  Thank God, though, because Bob Ross.

• 32:38Speaker 05

  Right, for sure.

• 32:39Bunnie XO?

  Come on. Thank God. Like, at the time, you were very upset, but I mean, it's like, it was such a blessing.

• 32:45Speaker 05

  You know, I really thought I was gonna be living in those mountains, so.

• 32:48Bunnie XO?

  When one door closes, another one opens. So, no, that's amazing.

• 32:52Speaker 05

  So that was really cool. And I got cast in the show and they were like, we need you out here in 30 days. You have to find your own place to live. So I ended up living with Scotty, which is so random. He's like, I was like, where am I gonna live?

• 33:03Bunnie XO?

  Scotty was the Uber driver.

• 33:05Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 33:05Bunnie XO?

  Gotcha.

• 33:05Speaker 05

  And he was like, somebody just moved out. And he was like, do you want the room? And I'm like, yeah. I moved out there, I didn't know anybody, didn't have any friends. Figured out how to drive the crazy highways out there pretty quickly, had a lot of panic attacks.

• 33:18Bunnie XO?

  This is in LA, right?

• 33:20Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 33:20Bunnie XO?

  Okay, yeah, oh, yeah. The LA freeways fucking scare me. I make me me drive all the time. And I'm from the West Coast.

• 33:25Speaker 05

  Oh, my God. I'm like from Waterloo and I'm like, where are all the parking lots? Like, this is crazy. And so, yeah, I just jumped right into shooting that show, made friends with everybody on the cast. It was a wild experience. Unfortunately, the show just, there were too many cooks in the kitchen, you know, call it what you will, whatever the reason was, it just wasn't as successful. And that was just another heartbreak after that. And I was, I have to tell you, like, I was devastated when that happened. I mean, it really put me in a rut.

• 33:57Bunnie XO?

  Well, it's like an extremely high high, you know? And then to have to be let down from that, I mean, you just, it's a lot. It's pretty heavy.

• 34:05Speaker 05

  I mean, not only the producers and everybody saying, this is our most funded show of the year, this is gonna change your lives, and shooting it for two years.

• 34:13Bunnie XO?

  Wow, that's a long time.

• 34:16Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 34:16Bunnie XO?

  Holy shit.

• 34:17Speaker 05

  It was a long time. We worked with all of the big music video directors and we got signed to Warner Brothers at that time. It's when I signed my record deal with Warner.

• 34:25Bunnie XO?

  So this is your second record deal that you're signing?

• 34:27Speaker 05

  Yeah, and I was, you know, just on cloud nine, thought it was all gonna happen. And then the show came out. It was mis marketed.

• 34:36Bunnie XO?

  Hmm.

• 34:36Speaker 05

  Um, and this is from them. This is what they said happened. So basically, it was marketed as a reality TV show. So you know, you get recommended things on Netflix and it was kind of pushed to people who watch reality shows. So like, people who watch Ice Road Truckers were notified about our musical television show.

• 34:56Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 34:57Speaker 05

  That was

• 34:57Bunnie XO?

  Was it like Glee, kind of, or like what?

• 34:59Speaker 05

  So no, and that's, that is what I was pitched whenever I got cast in the show.

• 35:03Bunnie XO?

  Gotcha, okay.

• 35:04Speaker 05

  Was something like that.

• 35:05Bunnie XO?

  Hmm.

• 35:05Speaker 05

  And then what ended up happening is it just, the storyline got extremely confusing. They were following our careers, but then we were also creating our own musical about our own lives in the middle of it.

• 35:16Bunnie XO?

  I'm confused.

• 35:16Speaker 05

  But then also, already.

• 35:18Bunnie XO?

  I'm confused.

• 35:19Speaker 05

  Oh, and then, and then you're just watching and it breaks out into a big budget music video.

• 35:23Bunnie XO?

  Okay.

• 35:24Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was

• 35:24Bunnie XO?

  Is it still up? Can we watch that too?

• 35:26Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 35:26Bunnie XO?

  Oh, God, okay. We're doing a deep dive tonight.

• 35:29Speaker 05

  I mean, welcome to the graveyard. Here's all the things I did that were not

• 35:32Bunnie XO?

  I love it though. But this is so cool that you have such an extensive digital footprint, though. Like, that's amazing because when you're winning fucking Grammys, you're gonna look back on, uh, what is it called? I'm so sorry, uh, West

• 35:47Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah, West Side.

• 35:48Bunnie XO?

  You're gonna look back on West Side and you're gonna be like, this was all part of my journey.

• 35:53Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 35:53Bunnie XO?

  And you have it all documented, dude. So like, when you do, do like a documentary of your life story, they're gonna be able to pull all these clips and like, it's just gonna be such a beautiful montage of your life.

• 36:03Speaker 05

  I can't wait for that.

• 36:04Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, no, don't look at it with embarrassment.

• 36:07Speaker 05

  Well, no, you know, it's, what's really cool is all of the moments I got to feel that were like those real rock bottom moments.

• 36:13Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm.

• 36:14Speaker 05

  Because it's what makes me so grateful for moments like these.

• 36:16Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 36:17Speaker 05

  So when, when West Side came out, there were, we were all over Times Square. We did all the big TV shows and there are billboards all over LA and LA Live. Like, I mean, it was crazy.

• 36:28Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm.

• 36:29Speaker 05

  And then we get the call around Thanksgiving, hey, we're not putting any more, they're not putting any more money into the show. It's buried in the algorithm. Like, it's done, it's over, and your checks are going away. And we're not doing a second season.

• 36:42Bunnie XO?

  Yikes.

• 36:43Speaker 05

  Also, then Warner Brothers calls days later and they dropped us all.

• 36:46Bunnie XO?

  You don't get residuals?

• 36:47Speaker 05

  No.

• 36:47Bunnie XO?

  And I'm, wow, that's crazy. And then you lose your second record deal?

• 36:51Speaker 05

  Mm-hmm.

• 36:52Bunnie XO?

  Just out of the blue?

• 36:53Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 36:53Bunnie XO?

  What was their reasoning?

• 36:55Speaker 05

  Um. They just didn't, okay, so what, what happened was we lost the deal with the show. And then they started dropping people from the record label, but they held on to two of us. And so I was with them a little bit longer. And we just weren't seeing eye to eye as far as like the songs they were pitching me and wanted me to cut. And I was just like, this doesn't even sound anything like anything I do. And so that was more, hey, it doesn't feel like it's gonna be a good fit. But they did drop everybody else.

• 37:23Bunnie XO?

  I love that you stand up for yourself, though. Because most people want it so bad, they're willing to be who they aren't. And you are like, no, I'm not gonna cut this song. This isn't a good fit. I don't care if I'm gonna lose this record deal or not, so.

• 37:35Speaker 05

  But you know, if I wouldn't have gone through that first record deal, where I did record a bunch of things that didn't feel like me, you know, I wouldn't have known to stand up for myself then. And then, so I, I had still some time left on my lease in California. And like, I had to pay my bills. So I was driving all through Burbank with my little, my bartending resume. Cause I bartended for a long time. And I was going to every single bar. And as I'm driving.

• 38:02Speaker 06

  Chronic migraine means 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more. Botox, onabotulinumtoxin A, is a chronic migraine treatment that prevents headaches in adults. It's not approved for adults with migraine who have 14 or fewer headache days a month. Botox prevents, on average, eight to nine headache days and migraine probable migraine days a month versus six to seven for placebo.

• 38:21Speaker 07

  Huh, I'm having fewer headache days this month.

• 38:23Speaker 06

  Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms, and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS-Lu Gehrig's Disease, Myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton Syndrome, and medications including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Ask your doctor. Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more.

• 39:03Speaker 08

  As a therapist, you probably got into private practice because it meant more freedom to care for people and more room for life outside work, not because you wanted to spend endless hours on paperwork. That's where Alma comes in. With simplified billing, streamlined progress notes, and reliable payments, therapists spend less time on admin and get more time to care for patients and themselves. More time saved, more time for care, more time for life. Learn more at helloalma.com/getstarted. That's helloalma.com/getstarted.

• 39:32Speaker 05

  I was like on Sunset and they are literally painting over our billboard of our show as I am like handing out my resume to bartend.

• 39:43Bunnie XO?

  I feel like that's your life, though. I feel like God has a sense of humor with you.

• 39:47Speaker 05

  Yeah. I was like, twist it, why don't you? Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was, it was really, really wild.

• 39:54Bunnie XO?

  I feel like God has a sense of humor with you and he's like, you're gonna, you're gonna really feel this right now, but I promise you, I'm gonna bring you out of this.

• 40:02Speaker 05

  He's like, we're gonna make it hurt real bad so that you just really appreciate everything good that's about to happen.

• 40:07Bunnie XO?

  But that's amazing because some people don't get those lessons and they don't get to learn those valuable things that, you know, make you grow in life and become a better, it's character development.

• 40:16Speaker 05

  100%.

• 40:17Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, absolutely. So during all this, how is your relationship? Because you are with your ex at this time during all of this. How is that going?

• 40:27Speaker 05

  Um, so at that time, like if you, if you watch the show ever, we do have a lot of rocky moments in the show and there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes where, you know, I have that song on my record called Painted Imperfect and like, that is exactly what I did. And a lot of things were happening that were huge red flags at that time that I just really covered up. And we stayed together, we moved back from LA to Southern Illinois because that's where he could work. And so I said, here's what we'll do, since you moved out to LA with me, we'll go back to Southern Illinois, you go back to work in the union and I will commute to Nashville. And so I started driving.

• 41:08Speaker 05

  I started driving to Nashville every Monday, which is a four and a half hour drive from St. Louis. I would couch surf Monday through Friday, just wherever I could crash and write songs, record, make content. I joined 615 House at that time. And then I would get back in my car and drive home Friday, spend Saturday and Sunday, and then Monday I would drive back. And I did that for almost three years.

• 41:33Bunnie XO?

  Did he ever, do you ever feel like he supported your dream? Because I feel like all of these highs and lows that you've gone through, I don't hear about him being by your side through it.

• 41:41Speaker 05

  I do feel like he was, I do feel like he was supportive, yeah. And, you know, we went through a lot together. And, you know, he moved to LA for me, with me.

• 41:52Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 41:52Speaker 05

  Um, and I moved back home for him and then commuted for him. So there was a lot of things that we did for each other. And, you know, it wasn't all bad with us. He was my best friend.

• 42:03Bunnie XO?

  Hmm.

• 42:03Speaker 05

  Yeah, and unfortunately, we just grew apart. Like, we grew up. I tell people this all the time. It's like, and in my song, um, you know, in Everly, when I say, "I guess me at 21 and 31 just wanted different things."

• 42:19Bunnie XO?

  Well, I mean, yeah.

• 42:20Speaker 05

  Like, imagine yourself at 21 and what you wanted and what was important in a relationship to you.

• 42:26Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 42:27Speaker 05

  And then at 31, what's important now? It was like, it was just really cool when we got together that his parents owned the bar down the street and that our friends kicked it together. And that my friend was dating his friend.

• 42:38Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 42:38Speaker 05

  Do you know what I mean? And a lot of it was just going out and drinking and partying and like, being young and stupid and having a good time.

• 42:46Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 42:47Speaker 05

  And moving into our first apartment together and splitting rent because neither of us could afford it by ourselves. I mean, we were kids. And then we got older and we just didn't want the same things anymore.

• 43:00Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, I know how that goes. But, I mean, people don't understand, every year you're growing, but 21 to 31 is a huge jump and maturity levels also, so, you know, to... To be able to acknowledge that and get out of that marriage is huge on both of you guys' parts too. Because some people would have hung on for even longer. So to know that you weren't happy and just be like, hey man, we need to just part ways. Even though that dude was your best friend and you guys had a decade plus under your belt. That's not easy to walk away from.

• 43:34Speaker 05

  Not at all. It was devastating. It was like...

• 43:37Bunnie XO?

  How do you get the strength to do that?

• 43:40Speaker 05

  I didn't have a choice. At that point, I didn't have a choice. There was something that just snapped in me. I'll never forget where I even was. I was in San Diego and I was playing San Diego House of Blues, like the small room that night. And we were just out on another headlining tour and things had just really gone downhill. And it was just getting worse and worse and worse and worse.

• 44:03Bunnie XO?

  Was it like arguing? What was it like?

• 44:05Speaker 05

  It was arguing. It was, um, he wasn't working at the time. And so when you have a lot of free time and I'm on the road, you know, there's a lot of drinking. And then with the drinking comes more arguing and so, and then, you know, spending money. Because if money's not coming in and you're not working, it's just a lot easier to spend money.

• 44:29Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 44:29Speaker 05

  Because you gotta entertain yourself somehow.

• 44:31Bunnie XO?

  Yeah. That's still not fair to you though.

• 44:33Speaker 05

  Right. And then, you know, I'm on the road and calling you from a closet. Because I don't have a green room because I'm in clubs, like small 300 cap clubs. And being like, please stop spending the money on the credit card. Like, we cannot afford, you know?

• 44:50Bunnie XO?

  What is he spending money on? Just going out?

• 44:52Speaker 05

  Yeah, pretty much.

• 44:54Bunnie XO?

  Was there any infidelity or anything like that?

• 44:55Speaker 05

  No, no. Um, there, you know, once we separated,

• 45:03Speaker 05

  it was instant that he was out, wild and out. Um, you know, and we were from a small town. So it was, nobody knew we were separated.

• 45:12Bunnie XO?

  Oh, no.

• 45:13Speaker 05

  So the girl was like, yo, your husband was trying to take me home last night.

• 45:19Bunnie XO?

  Oh, that's so hurtful.

• 45:21Speaker 05

  And so that's how I was finding out because no one knew. And at that time, we were still...

• 45:26Bunnie XO?

  Shout out to the girl who told you though.

• 45:27Speaker 05

  Yeah, she's a real one.

• 45:29Bunnie XO?

  Nobody ever wants to hear that, but you know, thanks for doing it.

• 45:32Speaker 05

  I was just like, thanks. Yeah, and, um... You know, because there were a lot of girls that did do things that I found out from other people and they didn't tell me.

• 45:40Bunnie XO?

  Goodness.

• 45:41Speaker 05

  So, you know, it was, uh, it was really, really hard, but you know how when somebody just keeps proving that this was the right decision, it just gets easier every single day.

• 45:51Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 45:51Speaker 05

  You know, it's different if they're completely turning their life around and changing things, but when you just watch them continue to spiral in the opposite direction as you're going, you're like, thank you for the strength to get out while, you know, while I could.

• 46:06Bunnie XO?

  I, um, I, I applaud you for how you went through the divorce because you were so classy about it. You didn't speak about it. You literally just poured your heart out into an album and that was it. Like, you know, you didn't go into the press. It wasn't messy. Like you just did it so, not what normal people in the spotlight would do, you know? Divorces get pretty hectic and disturbing sometimes and I really appreciated the way you did yours, so.

• 46:35Speaker 05

  Thank you. You know, I, uh, I really loved him. And so the last thing I ever wanted to do was destroy him further than I know I destroyed him when I had to leave.

• 46:47Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 46:48Speaker 05

  You know, because it's not what he wanted, but it was what was going to be best for me in the long run. And what I think is going to be best for him because at the end of it, I was not in love anymore.

• 47:03Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 47:04Speaker 05

  And so when you're in a relationship with somebody and you're not in love anymore, that's not easy on the person who still is in love. And I'm like, you don't, you don't deserve to be with somebody who is not in love with you anymore. So I want you to go find love and go be happy. Um, but the last thing that I wanted was to destroy his reputation. It was really tough to hear, you know, what was really hard was when it came out, um, and then everybody speculated

• 47:36Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm.

• 47:37Speaker 05

  that it was because I...

• 47:41Speaker 05

  Got famous, which is so weird. You know what I mean? Like, that's not even a real thing. I'm not, but like, you know what I mean? Like, that's the comment section is, oh, she blew up and just left her husband in the dust. And it's like, I had to read that over and over and over.

• 47:56Bunnie XO?

  The internet is brutal.

• 47:58Speaker 05

  And I'm like, yeah, it was brutal. That was brutal. And also to just be super heartbroken. I lived by myself for the very first time at thirty years old.

• 48:08Bunnie XO?

  Oh, my goodness.

• 48:09Speaker 05

  I had never lived alone.

• 48:11Bunnie XO?

  Take me on that first night that you're alone in your apartment.

• 48:13Speaker 05

  I was terrified. You know? Like, later on, I loved it, but it was like, I was scared. I'd never, like, sure, I slept alone, but in like hotel rooms and in my home that I was comfortable in. But like, I moved in with my manager, Beth, for a while, like, at the beginning of it. Because, first of all, I was extremely unstable. And there was plenty, plenty of times when she just brought tequila upstairs to my sobbing ass.

• 48:38Bunnie XO?

  That's a real one.

• 48:39Speaker 05

  Yeah, she is. She is. I never got through without her. And she was just like, okay, do we need to go out? Like, you know, and I'm like, no. You know, like, it was, it was really, really tough. So she, moving in with her really helped my transition. But it was a couple of weeks into living alone and realizing that every decision I made was my own. And that's when I ended up writing All I've Ever Known, was because I was like, oh, my gosh, I didn't even realize that this is how I've always wanted my house to look. Because I, I never really got a say on that. He was, um, he was very much things his way.

• 49:19Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 49:20Speaker 05

  And if it wasn't his way, it would eventually be his way.

• 49:24Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 49:24Speaker 05

  You know what I mean?

• 49:25Bunnie XO?

  Got you, yeah.

• 49:25Speaker 05

  And I am very much a people pleaser, have always been. So I would end up being, just be like, fine, whatever you want, you know?

• 49:32Bunnie XO?

  Do you, after these relationships and after learning so many life lessons, do you still consider yourself a people pleaser?

• 49:40Speaker 05

  Yes, because I feel like it's in my heart to be.

• 49:42Bunnie XO?

  Right.

• 49:43Speaker 05

  But in the best way.

• 49:44Bunnie XO?

  But with boundaries now?

• 49:45Speaker 05

  Yes, with boundaries now, but not in a bad way, not in an unhealthy way. Because I feel like having the heart of a servant is why I have such a connection with my fans. Because I really want to, it's so important to me that they know that they are loved and appreciated.

• 50:02Bunnie XO?

  Yes.

• 50:02Speaker 05

  And I don't know that everybody really cares that much that their fans feel real, true, genuine love and appreciation and gratefulness every day. You know, as long as they're happy with the music, it's like that's enough sometimes for some artists, but that's not enough for me.

• 50:20Speaker 05

  And so if that part of me completely went away, then I would lose myself completely. So I don't ever want to lose that.

• 50:27Bunnie XO?

  No, your fans and the people who love you and your music are lucky to have you because not a lot of people, especially in this industry, as you know, feel that way. They want to just do the show and go home and do it all over again. You know, you actually want to get out there and meet these people who are supporting you and love on them like they love on you, so.

• 50:46Speaker 05

  You know what I was thinking is like, because Jelly's the same way.

• 50:50Bunnie XO?

  Oh, yeah, no, he is.

• 50:51Speaker 05

  And when I, when I watch him up there, it makes a lot of sense because we haven't been through the same things, but all the highs and lows in life and the highs and lows that I've, that I've witnessed and experienced in my career. Like, I can see it up there, like when he gets so emotional, it's like he did not expect his life to turn out this way. And there were so many times when I had another letdown that like, I truly didn't expect my life to turn out this way either. And it's like, I feel like you just have to go through shit to really, really stand here and be like, "Thank you," you know?

• 51:31Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, it's a part of your journey and that's, you know, it's. Special because not a lot of people get to experience the lessons that you guys have and that it's made you who you guys are, so.

• 51:42Speaker 05

  Did you do meet and greets for a long time?

• 51:44Bunnie XO?

  My husband.

• 51:45Speaker 05

  I was like, I bet you were dragging him out at some point, like, there are 10,000 people here, you cannot meet everybody.

• 51:51Bunnie XO?

  Literally does. My husband does meet and greets when we go to the grocery store.

• 51:54Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 51:54Bunnie XO?

  Okay, like, we, we, there's a rule, I will not go on a date with him in Nashville.

• 51:59Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah.

• 51:59Bunnie XO?

  It's not a date.

• 52:00Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 52:01Bunnie XO?

  It's literally a meet and greet and I'm just sitting there eating, you know, just, "Hi guys, yeah, sure, I'll take the picture for you." You know, like, and I don't mind, I love my husband, I'll do whatever. But it's like, you know, my husband does not know how to turn it off. He does, he just, if you come up to him and you want to talk, he's gonna talk to you.

• 52:17Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 52:17Bunnie XO?

  And I love that about him, you know, and I'm never gonna get in the way of him being who he is.

• 52:21Speaker 05

  For sure.

• 52:22Bunnie XO?

  Sometimes I'm like, baby, can we just have one freaking meal?

• 52:24Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 52:25Bunnie XO?

  Together, just me and you, please?

• 52:27Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 52:27Bunnie XO?

  So, take me on this journey with TikTok, because you got on TikTok and that's how I found you, was on TikTok. You were doing those, I, I know people have told you this before, but I think that you are the closest thing that this generation has to Dolly's voice.

• 52:41Speaker 05

  Oh, thank you.

• 52:41Bunnie XO?

  I think Megan Maroney is, um, what is that, Barbara Mandrell of this generation, I think. Cody Johnson is the George Strait of this generation, and I think that you have the Dolly vocals, man.

• 52:52Speaker 05

  Oh, thank you so much.

• 52:54Bunnie XO?

  You're welcome. You hear it all the time, though, I know you do.

• 52:56Speaker 05

  But it's so cool, like, every time I hear it, it's like, she's the best. Like, you don't get any better than that to me, you know what I mean?

• 53:05Bunnie XO?

  She's just a great human, too.

• 53:07Speaker 05

  Who she is, I know, because I know you've met her, I have never met her.

• 53:09Bunnie XO?

  Oh, my God, you gotta meet her.

• 53:10Speaker 05

  I know, and however long I've been singing her songs and I, and I haven't met her.

• 53:13Bunnie XO?

  You'll meet her.

• 53:14Speaker 05

  Yeah, I can't wait.

• 53:15Bunnie XO?

  For sure.

• 53:15Speaker 05

  I can't wait. And what an incredible person, too. Just, me, just watching videos from afar, and she just shines so bright, and, um, but thank you, that's a huge compliment, and I want to

• 53:28Speaker 05

  continue to kind of live in that, and I really leaned into that in my record.

• 53:33Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm.

• 53:33Speaker 05

  You know, I wanted, like, the soft, kind of spoken word thing that she does, and I wanted to be able to do that, and it's just really, it was very convenient that I was able to do that because the record is just so.

• 53:48Speaker 05

  Emotional.

• 53:49Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 53:51Speaker 05

  Yeah, so with TikTok, I came home from the TV show, wrote a song called "I Kinda Don't", which ended up being my first number one on iTunes and was the first time that labels started to, you know, slide into the DMs and show some interest.

• 54:07Bunnie XO?

  Do they really do that? Labels just slide in the DMs?

• 54:09Speaker 05

  That's how, yeah, that's how I've had my first-

• 54:11Bunnie XO?

  Not even a frickin' email?

• 54:12Speaker 05

  That's how I did it.

• 54:13Bunnie XO?

  They're sliding in DMs, like, "What's up, babe?"

• 54:16Speaker 05

  Hey, on Instagram. And so that's how, you know, I had my first label meetings. But I was writing a song called "I Kinda Don't", and I was with Tana Matts and Ryan Robinett. And they, I remember Ryan being like, "Have you guys heard about this app called TikTok?" And I was like, "Isn't that a kids' app?" Like, I think it's like for kids.

• 54:36Bunnie XO?

  I did the same thing. I was like, "You're not getting me on there." She tried for a year and a half to get me on there. I was like, "You're not doing it."

• 54:41Speaker 05

  I was like, "Guys, I think that's gonna be creepy." I was like, "I'm like too old for that, I think."

• 54:45Bunnie XO?

  I said the same thing.

• 54:46Speaker 05

  And he was like, "No, like, artists are putting their music on there, and it's like going." And this was 2019, or 20, yeah, 2019.

• 54:54Bunnie XO?

  Your Facebook was already popping, though, right?

• 54:56Speaker 05

  Yeah, Facebook was my first platform that I had virality on.

• 54:59Bunnie XO?

  I love Facebook.

• 55:00Speaker 05

  Me too.

• 55:01Bunnie XO?

  Not a lot of people utilize Facebook. I love Facebook.

• 55:04Speaker 05

  I know, I'm looking at Nick because it's like, it's like our little-

• 55:07Bunnie XO?

  Okay, we're not telling anybody. You guys don't go to Facebook.

• 55:10Speaker 05

  Nick's our little, our social media guy. And we just, we just scheme about Facebook all the time because it's like, everybody just thinks it's for the older generation and it's over. And I'm like, "Man, no, it pops."

• 55:22Bunnie XO?

  I'm on there every day, posting shit. Like, I love Facebook.

• 55:25Speaker 05

  I know, I follow you on Facebook. Oh, I love that. Yeah, but I mean, like, Reels, like, they go crazy.

• 55:29Bunnie XO?

  Yeah. Don't go over there, people.

• 55:32Speaker 05

  I had, no, don't. I'm just kidding, it's really chill over there.

• 55:36Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, it sucks, it's terrible.

• 55:38Speaker 05

  But I, yeah, I started posting on Facebook, had virality over there, and then when Instagram became a thing- Worked that as much as I could, but it wasn't as easy to grow on Instagram back then.

• 55:49Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, Instagram is still my lowest platform.

• 55:52Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah, I do. I mean, it's really hard to grow there.

• 55:56Bunnie XO?

  They don't care about us over there. Literally, they do not. I feel like Facebook and TikTok at least shows us a little bit of love.

• 56:01Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 56:02Bunnie XO?

  Instagram is like, fuck you, pay me. That's all they care about.

• 56:05Speaker 05

  Yeah, I know. Facebook can get ruthless, though.

• 56:08Bunnie XO?

  Oh, I was making-

• 56:09Speaker 05

  Facebook's my most ruthless platform in the comments.

• 56:11Bunnie XO?

  Oh, the comments? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's terrible. I don't even read the comments. And if I do, it's always an asshole at the top. And then I always respond to it and then it gets like a thousand more, you know, comments on it. And I do it on purpose, but-

• 56:22Speaker 05

  Right.

• 56:23Bunnie XO?

  No, they're brutal over there. They do not care.

• 56:25Speaker 05

  No, they don't. It's definitely where I get destroyed the most there. So I'll just like-

• 56:29Bunnie XO?

  But they're watching.

• 56:30Speaker 05

  Yeah, exactly. And I mean, like, the crazier it gets in the comments, the views just like skyrocket.

• 56:35Bunnie XO?

  Keep it going.

• 56:35Speaker 05

  Okay, I just won't read. I'll turn a blind eye.

• 56:38Bunnie XO?

  You have to post in Ghost. That's what I do.

• 56:40Speaker 05

  Yeah. So I decided, okay, let me try this TikTok thing. Started posting, um, just little clips of me singing here and there, playing a little guitar. Nothing happened, of course. And then posted I Kinda Don't. And that was my first song to ever go viral. And then I think it got like 10,000 pre-saves, like my first song I ever released. And from one video, from one viral video, and I said, oh my gosh, they are not kidding. Like, this is, this is a big platform. So I just kept feeding it, feeding it. I'd post like three times a day, post all my songs. And my monthly listeners started going up and I started making money, girl. The first time I made money off of my music

• 57:25Speaker 05

  um, was after I Kinda Don't money came in, which is about three months after the song comes out and it was my first payment. And I was just sitting on my bed and my ex at the time was like out there mowing the lawn. It was just a normal day. We were poor as shit. And I opened up my TuneCore and I was like- My jaw just dropped and I booked it outside and like ran into his arms and I was like, we made ten thousand dollars. Like it was like life changing for us, you know? And uh, yeah, it was, it was wild. We were crying. It was like a whole thing. I'll never forget that day.

• 58:06Speaker 05

  I'll never forget that day. And then I was like, alright, TikTok is my job. Let's go, you know?

• 58:11Bunnie XO?

  That's what it did for me. We were one of the first podcasts to get on TikTok. Do you remember that Mimi? And we were so ahead of our time with the podcast that TikTok used to flag all my podcast videos because they didn't know what it was. And then once they finally started letting them on, then they started blowing up and then now everybody else and their mom has a freaking podcast on there.

• 58:29Speaker 05

  Right.

• 58:29Bunnie XO?

  Once, it's, it's almost like I compare it to gambling in Vegas.

• 58:33Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 58:33Bunnie XO?

  When you hit a jackpot on a slot machine, you just get so addicted to those numbers and just the viralness of everything. And that's really what keeps people going. It's, it's an addiction.

• 58:44Speaker 05

  One hundred percent.

• 58:45Bunnie XO?

  When you see it actually like helping your career too, then that's also, you know.

• 58:49Speaker 05

  For sure.

• 58:49Bunnie XO?

  What we do it for.

• 58:50Speaker 05

  It just felt so like, like it was just a door opening. Like I just found like a little crack and I was just like, alright, I'm, I'm walking through here and I'm just gonna chase this because at that time I had nothing else going on. And I felt like I just kinda snuck into this little like crack in the door and I was just like, don't tell anybody I'm in here, but I'm gonna work while I'm in here, you know? And so that happened, had a couple of other songs go viral, started making some money off my music. One random morning, I, every morning I'd wake up and I would be like, Alexa, play 90's country. And it would just play whatever. And I had my phone propped up and I had avocado toast

• 59:31Speaker 05

  and I had just started making my own like lattes because I couldn't afford to go to Starbucks anymore. And so I was like, I'm gonna figure out how to.

• 59:39Bunnie XO?

  Homemade lattes are better anyways.

• 59:41Speaker 05

  They are. They are. And the coffee's not burnt.

• 59:42Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, exactly. Not a Starbucks fan either.

• 59:47Speaker 05

  Yeah, all the time. And so I slid in, sang a Jodie Messina, no, sang, uh, yeah, a Jodie Messina song. And then somebody comments and says, how do you make your coffee? And I responded to that and I made my, a second coffee and I sang Cowboy Take Me Away. And it got three million views. And I said, okay, this might be a thing. Next morning, woke up, did it again. Few more million. And I'm not kidding, it was, everything I posted was a million at least.

• 1:00:15Bunnie XO?

  No, I remember that era. I was like, this girl is singing, making coffee, and the views are crazy. Go, girl.

• 1:00:23Speaker 05

  Wild.

• 1:00:24Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:24Speaker 05

  And so, at this time, Nick had just started in a social media role for me. So I called him and was like, dude, what is happening? And he was like, I don't know, but like, you better be making coffee. I was making those videos three times a day.

• 1:00:41Bunnie XO?

  Oh, my goodness.

• 1:00:42Speaker 05

  Yeah, and just stockpiling them, so that if I couldn't be at my house in the morning, I had something to post. And it was every single day, and then...

• 1:00:49Bunnie XO?

  Did you ever get burnt out doing that?

• 1:00:51Speaker 05

  Very much.

• 1:00:52Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, I do that too.

• 1:00:53Speaker 05

  And it became stressful. Which is so strange to think, right? That I would get stressed about making coffee in my kitchen and posting a video. But it felt like my lifeline, because I got so addicted to those numbers. And I was like, so I started this kind of strategy. Okay, this is gonna go viral, and then I can post an original song. And that will kind of like, fall into that same momentum tornado. And I'll get a lot of views on an original song. And I would post, coffee, original, coffee, original. And I'd post at least twice a day. And that's how I got my, my numbers up for my original music.

• 1:01:29Speaker 09

  At California Closets, we design for the little things. Take this moment of a parent walking across their toy-filled living room for a glass of water.

• 1:01:42Speaker 09

  And now, the California Closets version of that moment.

• 1:01:52Speaker 09

  Family room and home storage solutions by designers who get you. California Closets, more room for what matters.

• 1:01:59Speaker 10

  Finding everyday essentials that are actually clean, effective, and easy to incorporate into your routine can feel overwhelming. They make simple, non-toxic swaps that actually work. Their Clean Start Bundle is the perfect place to begin. With three everyday essentials. Their best-selling aluminum-free deodorant, mini body butter, and lip balm for fresh pits, nourished skin, and hydrated lips. Whether you're new to Primally Pure, refreshing your routine, the Clean Start Bundle makes switching to cleaner care simple. And gives you an even better value when you start with the bundle.

• 1:02:30Speaker 05

  And eventually, I just had to stop doing it, because I was like...

• 1:02:36Speaker 05

  I'm stressed.

• 1:02:37Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, it's a lot of pressure. People don't realize like, they're like, oh, all you do is create content. And it's like, let me see you do it for six months straight and see how you feel. Like, it's a lot of pressure to put on yourself because if something tanks, you're like, what happened? Why did I do this? Or, you know, like, you just want to always make sure that you're moving forward. And sometimes the algorithms don't allow us to do that.

• 1:02:58Speaker 05

  Right. And I mean, I'm sure you've, you've heard just as much as I've heard, really incredible songs on TikTok that have no views.

• 1:03:05Bunnie XO?

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:03:06Speaker 05

  And I'm like, it's not because this song isn't amazing. You just didn't get picked to go into that algorithm. And it's, it's heartbreaking because I don't think that way anymore. Like, we post our blogs on TikTok. If they get a hundred thousand views, like, we're happy.

• 1:03:17Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, that's how I am too.

• 1:03:18Speaker 05

  Yeah, but we're not gonna just not post blogs.

• 1:03:22Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:22Speaker 05

  Just because they only get a hundred thousand views, because that core fanbase that knows us.

• 1:03:26Bunnie XO?

  Loves it.

• 1:03:27Speaker 05

  They love it.

• 1:03:28Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:28Speaker 05

  And they want to see personality, and they want to meet Steph, and they want to meet Nick, and see how funny Beth is.

• 1:03:33Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:33Speaker 05

  And like, you know, and so why would we just deprive them of that? Just because it's not hitting the for you page and going viral every single time?

• 1:03:39Bunnie XO?

  I love that you include your team because I'm the same exact way. I remember I sat down with my team and I was like, listen, you guys need to make Facebook pages, you need to get your Facebooks up, we're gonna start, you know, I want people to get to know your personalities. And I really feel like the people that help you, it's, you want them to win with you, you know, and I think that's a sign of, um, you know, just somebody who brings their team along with them is just, and I don't want to like, compliment because then I sound like I'm bragging on myself, but I feel like that's a character of a good human. Because a lot of people don't do that, you know, they don't, they want to keep their teams hidden and, you know, we don't do that, so I think that's amazing.

• 1:04:17Speaker 05

  I mean, it would be detrimental to me if Beth and I weren't working together.

• 1:04:23Bunnie XO?

  Beth, you better never leave.

• 1:04:26Speaker 05

  She ain't going anywhere. Girl, I was like, I will find you.

• 1:04:29Bunnie XO?

  I was like, Mimi, I'm like, Mimi, don't ever leave me. I will hunt you down. You have no idea.

• 1:04:34Speaker 05

  No, she can't. And you know, when Beth and I,

• 1:04:37Bunnie XO?

  Haley too.

• 1:04:38Speaker 05

  Beth found me on Facebook in 2020, which we didn't, we didn't really touch on this, but during the pandemic, all of my dive bar shows went away. So, and that's how I was making my money. So I would play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, four hour sets a night. And by Sunday, I could not even talk.

• 1:04:55Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, that's a lot.

• 1:04:56Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was crazy. And then we would, you know, talk, drink, hang out with everybody afterwards. And I started to gain like a local following during this. Well, all of that gets shut down, all the bars closed during the pandemic. So I called up my band and I was like, you guys are gonna come over every Thursday and we're gonna do a Facebook Live session.

• 1:05:15Bunnie XO?

  Oh.

• 1:05:16Speaker 05

  Girl, these Facebook Live sessions were paying us more

• 1:05:20Bunnie XO?

  Wow.

• 1:05:21Speaker 05

  than what we were making at our shows because I put my PayPal link up there and they were tipping us.

• 1:05:26Bunnie XO?

  Oh.

• 1:05:27Speaker 05

  So anytime somebody would like, they'd be like $5 in PayPal, you know how you can add a little note, they'd be like strawberry wine. And I'd be like, thank you so much. Read their full name and then sing strawberry wine for them. And I mean, the tips would roll. And I kept my whole band afloat and me, the whole pandemic from doing those Facebook Lives. But we would have half a million people in there at once.

• 1:05:49Bunnie XO?

  Wow.

• 1:05:50Speaker 05

  By the, by the end of it, just because it became a thing. Like it was like,

• 1:05:53Bunnie XO?

  People would look forward to it. They would plan their days around. People love live entertainment on their computers because they don't have to go anywhere.

• 1:06:00Speaker 05

  Yeah. And they would be like, hey, like, we're so excited. We have our dinner and our, and our wine and we're just, we have you on the TV.

• 1:06:07Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:07Speaker 05

  Like watching it every Thursday. So that was really cool. And one of Beth's friends shared a Facebook Live and was like, oh, this girl's awesome. And so Beth checked me out and then called me and she wanted to book me as an agent. And then, I mean, we just became best friends and like I've never met anybody who works like who matches my work ethic.

• 1:06:31Bunnie XO?

  When's your birthday Beth?

• 1:06:32Speaker 00

  12/22.

• 1:06:33Bunnie XO?

  You're Capricorn. I knew it before you. You even said it.

• 1:06:36Speaker 05

  Does that make sense with our signs?

• 1:06:37Bunnie XO?

  Capricorn and Virgo are soulmate signs.

• 1:06:39Speaker 05

  That makes so much sense.

• 1:06:41Bunnie XO?

  I'm a Cap Aquarius and Cap Rising, so that's why, you know, and the Virgo too. I just, I don't stop.

• 1:06:47Speaker 05

  Oh, it makes so much sense. I mean, she was in LA and I would have a couple hours on her and she would still be up. I would have to get up earlier just to make sure that I was up when she was up so that we could work together. We worked for over Skype all day long. I mean, like, we never weren't on the phone. And we grew it together and this is another invisible string moment. But we had our first number one, I kinda know, on iTunes. Second one, which nobody had done yet in like the indie country thing. So Priscilla had her number one song on iTunes and then right after. Yeah, she's amazing.

• 1:07:28Bunnie XO?

  Such a sweetie pie.

• 1:07:29Speaker 05

  And then right after her came mine. And then I had put a second song out and I was like, oh yeah, we definitely need this one to be up there too. Like, pre-save, pre-save. And like, nobody, we really couldn't get the attention of anybody in Nashville. They were just kind of like dusting us off because she was in LA and I was in Illinois and like, we weren't part of the, you know?

• 1:07:47Bunnie XO?

  Yeah. Nashville's kind of a little, do I dare say culty?

• 1:07:51Speaker 05

  Yeah, they're culty.

• 1:07:52Bunnie XO?

  You have to know somebody that knows somebody, like, you have to be accepted. They're not just gonna let you in and just come in off the street.

• 1:08:00Speaker 05

  No, I just now-

• 1:08:01Bunnie XO?

  You have to court them.

• 1:08:03Speaker 05

  Right, 100%. I just now feel like we're getting let in the doors. And I mean, we've been, you know, five years in there. And so we went and bought a billboard with my last, actually Beth had to pay for it because it overdrafted my account. And, um- We spent every cent on this billboard and we put it up, all the cowboys, we put it up on Music Row. We took a picture in front of it. I shit you not, there were cranes, there are cranes in the back. And it's building my building I live in.

• 1:08:32Bunnie XO?

  Oh my goodness, I love that.

• 1:08:36Speaker 05

  Yep.

• 1:08:36Bunnie XO?

  That's amazing.

• 1:08:38Speaker 05

  And we were in there, and I was in there, you know, with my ex. And who is now her ex and, you know, and now it's, you know, us. And when I look down from my balcony, it's that billboard that I bought.

• 1:08:47Bunnie XO?

  Oh my goodness, I love that.

• 1:08:49Speaker 05

  That's what I mean, where God is just like, and you're right back where you're supposed to be.

• 1:08:54Bunnie XO?

  No, just showing you your growth every step of the way, that's amazing.

• 1:08:58Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was incredible. And so when we started shopping for managers, Beth and I met with everybody. And I sat in the car with her, we went through all of our options. And I was like, I don't trust anybody like I trust you. And I know you've never managed anybody in your life, but will you please manage me? And she's like, let's do it, we'll see what happens, you know?

• 1:09:17Bunnie XO?

  That's so me and Mimi dude, I swear to God, it's the same. We've built everything from the ground up. We've like, I don't trust anybody, I don't want anybody in my, like, to hire anybody new. Mimi has to literally like, it's, it's a process.

• 1:09:29Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:09:30Bunnie XO?

  Cause we, it's, it's our baby dude, you know, like, it's so hard when you've built something so big that you're just so scared to let just anybody in. You only want to keep the people around that you trust.

• 1:09:40Speaker 05

  That's how we are with our touring family too, cause we're, we're all on one bus.

• 1:09:43Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:44Speaker 05

  So 12 people on one bus and we are literally family. We do everything together, we get our coffees together in the morning. If we're off and we're going to dinner, we go together.

• 1:09:53Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:54Speaker 05

  If we're going to a movie, we go together. And so when, when we're trying to figure out like who's coming into our crew, it's like they have to vibe with everybody, otherwise it's just a deal breaker.

• 1:10:03Bunnie XO?

  Oh, I love that though, I love that, I love how close you guys are. Tell me about Rocco.

• 1:10:11Speaker 05

  Okay, okay, sorry, I'm a talker.

• 1:10:13Bunnie XO?

  We'll stretch it a little bit, no, please, we'll stretch it a little bit. So tell me about Rocco.

• 1:10:18Speaker 05

  Okay, so, Rocco.

• 1:10:21Speaker 05

  And I met because I was working with a producer in Los Angeles. This producer used to be roommates with Rocco's brother. One day I- Another invisible string. I know. Isn't that insane? That's crazy. And one day I, once I moved back, he calls me. Um, and he's like, hey, miss you. I used to be at this dude's house all the time. And, uh, he was like, hey, uh, my roommate's brother is moving to Nashville. I know that you're going back and forth to Nashville. You ever need a guitar player, hit him up. I said, you got it. Couple of weeks go by, my guitar player couldn't do a gig. Um, I couldn't find anybody. I was like, maybe I'll see if this guy from California can do it.

• 1:11:01Speaker 05

  Called him. He paid for his own flight because I couldn't pay him like anything. Um, but like, I think it was like a hundred dollars is all we were like getting. So he paid for his own flight and Uber and everything came. He was so prepared and he was just incredible and so talented. And then he ended up just becoming my guitar player full time from then on. And so when we were friends and he was with somebody, he had a girlfriend, I was married. We never looked at each other like that. Like he, it sounds really weird to say now, but he was like my little brother. Right. No, no, I get it. But like sometimes the best relationships come from friendships.

• 1:11:44Speaker 05

  Yeah, like we were besties and like I always felt a trust with him. So it was like, if I ever needed anything done, I always trusted that Rocco would get it done and do it right. Yeah. Um, anyways, fast forward to my relationship fell apart and we were out on the road. And we would just be hanging out and, you know, drinking and I would just fall apart. And I just, one day just ended up opening up to everybody about what was going on. And he was just really an incredible friend, um, and was really there for me during that time. And then-

• 1:12:23Speaker 05

  Uh, what, maybe a year later? We were out on tour again and I had had a crush on him, but I was only telling Beth. I didn't tell anybody else.

• 1:12:34Bunnie XO?

  Beth holds all the secrets.

• 1:12:35Speaker 05

  I was just like dropping little flirtatious, like whatever, and he would just be like, "Oh, boss is drunk."

• 1:12:41Bunnie XO?

  What a great guy, though. Like, didn't take advantage of the situation or anything.

• 1:12:45Speaker 05

  Not at all. He actually like, he like pushed me away when I came on to him. He was like, "You are my boss. No, I love my job. This could go so wrong. We are not doing this." And I was just like, "You'll come around."

• 1:12:58Bunnie XO?

  She's like, "Oh, yes, we are."

• 1:12:59Speaker 05

  Yeah, just like, you know, because we all would drink and hang out and go to bars and stuff afterwards. And I would just get more flirty and more flirty with him. And then, yeah, we, we just ended up. It happened really, really naturally. And he is the best human I have ever had in a romantic relationship. Like, do you know what I mean when I say that I became so feminine with him?

• 1:13:25Bunnie XO?

  Soft. Yes, that's what my husband does to me.

• 1:13:28Speaker 05

  Oh, my gosh, he softened me up so much. Cause I was the one who took care of everything financially. And if he got into trouble, I was the one to, you know, make it go away and fix everything. And um, I just had a hard shell from that for so long. And with him, it's like, if the guy sees my shoes untied, he will stop and tie my shoes. I'm not kidding. He is just prince charming in every sense of the word. And uh,

• 1:13:55Bunnie XO?

  That says something about a man that can bring a woman out of um, her masculine energy and put her into her feminine energy.

• 1:14:01Speaker 05

  He really did. He really did. And um, he's been absolutely amazing. We work so well together. Everybody always asks about our working relationship on the road, but it's amazing. I'm looking at Beth and Beth's like, "Yeah, it's actually really good." I'm like, "I think it's great. Beth, do you think it's great?" Yeah, so it's, yeah, it's been the best year of my life.

• 1:14:21Bunnie XO?

  Oh, I love that for you because you deserve that. You deserve all the happiness that's coming. You know, you've, it's been a hard road here and I don't think people realize the journey that you've had, because I know I didn't realize your journey until I started researching you too. And I know that, you know, I think I've heard you say in some interviews that people look at you and they're like, "Oh, it's just the TikTok girl." But it's not. Like, you've done some, you've earned your stripes.

• 1:14:43Speaker 05

  Thank you.

• 1:14:43Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, for sure. Absolutely. What does?

• 1:14:47Bunnie XO?

  The rest of 2024, 2025 hold for Ms. Alexandra Kay.

• 1:14:53Speaker 05

  Well, you know, every night that I'm on this tour, I'm just going out and trying to be as present as possible, take it all in, learn everything I possibly can, and I feel like it's gonna be over before you know it, so I'm just really living in the moment right now. And then, at the end of the year-

• 1:15:08Bunnie XO?

  I think you're gonna be around for a while. I do.

• 1:15:11Speaker 05

  Thank you.

• 1:15:11Bunnie XO?

  You have that longevity.

• 1:15:13Speaker 05

  Thank you. And I, and I, um, I'm working on my second record, right now, and, and-

• 1:15:20Bunnie XO?

  Is this gonna be a love record, since you're in love? Cause you do pour your feelings out on paper.

• 1:15:24Speaker 05

  Yes, but not a cheesy love record.

• 1:15:26Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:27Speaker 05

  Do you know what I mean?

• 1:15:28Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:15:28Speaker 05

  Cause I started to write love songs at the beginning, and I was like, this feels so cheesy, it doesn't feel like me at all. You know what I mean?

• 1:15:34Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:34Speaker 05

  And so, I, um, I'm really excited. It's a very new sound-

• 1:15:38Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:38Speaker 05

  -for me, and I'm stoked.

• 1:15:40Bunnie XO?

  What is it? Is it like, country still?

• 1:15:42Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's country still, but it's, it's a little heavier. It's like a little rock.

• 1:15:47Bunnie XO?

  Yay!

• 1:15:47Speaker 05

  Yeah, and it's got a lot of, a lot of pop going on in there. So I definitely kind of stepped away a little bit from my, my kind of traditional country sound, and leaned into the pop a little bit more, but I think it's really, really cool. And, you know, I've been exploring opportunities with different labels, and I'm just really excited to take that step and expand our team, and, you know, do all the things. Like, as an independent artist, there are things that I haven't gotten to do, and I'm excited to, you know, sign with this partner, because they're incredible, and they believe in me, and they believe in my music, and the, the deal was so fair, and so, um, right for the artist. It was

• 1:16:32Speaker 05

  so for the artist. And I'm just really, really proud that we got there, and I'm proud that I held out-

• 1:16:37Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:16:37Speaker 05

  -until we got there.

• 1:16:38Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, I'm excited for you.

• 1:16:40Speaker 05

  Yeah, thank you.

• 1:16:41Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, that day were life-changing for my husband, too. It was like, really fair for the artists.

• 1:16:46Speaker 05

  So fair.

• 1:16:47Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, which I feel like no other record labels are like that.

• 1:16:49Speaker 05

  No, I was very, you know, I was surprised.

• 1:16:52Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:16:53Speaker 05

  But really, really happy, and it makes you trust them.

• 1:16:56Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:16:57Speaker 05

  You know?

• 1:16:57Bunnie XO?

  You can. You can trust them. They're a great team.

• 1:16:59Speaker 05

  Yeah, they're incredible, and they've been so great just in this, because it's, it's been really nice that they've been around so much for Jelly, because then they, they've brought me into opportunities, and I'm like, I'm not even- You know legally with them yet.

• 1:17:11Bunnie XO?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:11Speaker 05

  And they brought me into every radio room and introduced me to everybody and they've been really, really amazing. So, you know, Jelly and I have talked a lot about how I've waved my independent flag so high.

• 1:17:24Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:17:24Speaker 05

  And how.

• 1:17:27Bunnie XO?

  So did he.

• 1:17:28Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:17:29Bunnie XO?

  He did too.

• 1:17:29Speaker 05

  Yeah, but you know, the last thing that you want is for people to, you know, think you're.

• 1:17:34Bunnie XO?

  Be put off from it.

• 1:17:35Speaker 05

  Think you're like a sellout, right? That's the word, you know?

• 1:17:38Bunnie XO?

  I don't think people understand what signing a label can do. You can only do so much as an independent artist, you know?

• 1:17:45Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:17:45Bunnie XO?

  And to, for people who call, you know, people call my husband a sellout all the time. And I'm just like, do you even know like how long my husband's been doing this?

• 1:17:53Speaker 05

  Right.

• 1:17:54Bunnie XO?

  Like, and he, my husband actually has changed the trajectory for some artists because of how he did his deal. And I don't know if I can go into details about it, but you know, he has kind of been the blueprint for independent artists signing deals.

• 1:18:11Speaker 05

  I mean, he definitely helped out in my scenario.

• 1:18:13Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 1:18:14Speaker 05

  You know, and to be able to see what he was able to accomplish based on what he brought to the table.

• 1:18:19Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:18:20Speaker 05

  Kind of showed me it was a blueprint of what I could get and what was possible.

• 1:18:24Bunnie XO?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:18:24Speaker 05

  Um, and so, you know, we've talked a lot about it and he's been super, super supportive. And I'm just really excited for my fans to come on this journey. And everybody that wants to hear me on the radio, like, we gotta ink this deal.

• 1:18:37Bunnie XO?

  Let's go, baby.

• 1:18:38Speaker 05

  And then you will hear me on the radio, you know, so I'm excited.

• 1:18:41Bunnie XO?

  I'm excited. Well, tell everybody where they can find you if they already don't follow you.

• 1:18:44Speaker 05

  You can find me Alexandra K. Music on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok.

• 1:18:50Bunnie XO?

  Everywhere.

• 1:18:51Speaker 05

  I'm on Twitter, everywhere.

• 1:18:52Bunnie XO?

  God, Twitter scares me.

• 1:18:53Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah, X.

• 1:18:55Bunnie XO?

  Yeah, whatever. That, that app I don't even get on because those people over there are crazy.

• 1:18:59Speaker 05

  They're ruthless.

• 1:19:00Bunnie XO?

  No, they're crazy. Like, Facebook I can handle.

• 1:19:02Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:19:02Bunnie XO?

  Over there it's dark. I'm like, what is going on? Thank you Alexandra so much.

• 1:19:08Speaker 05

  Thank you. This was such an incredible conversation and I'm so happy that we did this.

• 1:19:11Bunnie XO?

  No, I appreciate you so much. And I can't wait to see how far you go, dude. We're rooting you on.

• 1:19:15Speaker 05

  Thank you so much.

• 1:19:16Bunnie XO?

  You're welcome. Thank you guys for tuning into another episode of Don't Blonde. I will see you guys next week. Bye.

• 1:19:26Speaker 11

  Every NFL game, every NBA game, all on Splash Quick Picks. Quick Picks is where you play DFS on all the sports you love. With multipliers up to 250 times and daily promos that are the best in the game. Download the Splash Sports app and shoot your shot every night. Terms apply. Quick Picks house rules at splashsports.com. 18 plus. For help, call 1-800-MYRESSET.