Mackenzie Carpenter arrives as country singer-songwriter to watch with 'Hey Country Queen'

Platinum-selling songwriter Mackenzie Carpenter demonstrates the breadth of her artistry earlier in her career than most with her new debut album "Hey Country Queen."

The 25-year-old performer is on the fast track to establishing herself as a long-term contributor to mainstream country music success. A Georgia native, Carpenter graduated from Belmont University less than five years ago and now plies her trade a stone's throw from the campus.

She made her Grand Ole Opry debut as a CMT Next Women of Country 2023 class member. Now, she's added credits on Megan Moroney's 2024-released all-genre Billboard Top 10 album "Am I Okay" to her growing acclaim. She also worked with recent Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Rhett Akins and Liz Rose on her debut album.

She's keenly aware that her sound, which embraces creative and sonic diversity, allows for her stylings to be compatible with radio airplay, streaming playlists and all facets of country's dynamic industry.

"Play me next to SZA, Shania and Sabrina — or play me next to Toby Keith," said Carpenter, smiling.

'Cowgirl Like Me' and Carpenter's 'lifestyle' anthems

"Cowgirl Like Me" highlights "lifestyle" music — the other subset of country's broad industry that Carpenter's album serves.

"Sometimes a young girl also needs a crazy and out there hot-girl anthem to sing that soundtracks going out and getting drunk on Lower Broadway with her friends," she adds, about the pop-country anthem underpinned by the rat-a-tat of drum machine-made trap beats.

Working as a lead artist with those familiar with her songwriting process, including frequent collaborators like 2024's Academy of Country Music Songwriter of the Year Jessie Jo Dillon, Nicolle Galyon and Ben Johnson, allows authentic confidence to define those songs on her release.

"Because my voice expresses these songs, they feel like they landed precisely how I wanted them to," Carpenter said, about the uniqueness of being equally in control in the writing room as in the recording booth.

Of note in that regard is the steamy, 80's country throwback Midland duet "I Wish You Would."

"I can see it on your lips / This tequila wants a kiss / I wish, I wish, I wish you would," sings Carpenter and Midland's Mark Wystrach. Close your eyes and it's every bit as young and deeply in a feeling nowhere near love as John Travolta and Debra Winger in "Urban Cowboy."

"Writing to create emotional tension creates tangible emotion — in this case, building a song around the type of missed opportunity for an obsessive crush that turns into a romance that keeps you up at night (develops into) something perfect," said Carpenter.

'Dozen Red Flags'

Within the first three songs of her album, it's apparent that Carpenter's desire to build songs not just through the art of songwriting but by weaving that art through choruses built on easily accessible stereotypes showcases her artistic growth.

Numerous times on her album, she folds her life's headlines into familiar tropes — among them, being lovestruck then heartbroken by boyfriends watching Saturday and Sunday afternoon football games with her brother and father.

"Our families are our number-one fans. In my case, my father sends around what he calls a 'Sunday Sermon' about me," she said. "Plus, I'm more deeply intertwined with my family than most because I co-write with my brother Micah, who also produces me and is in my live band.

"Because country music is a genre that values strong family ties so much and my fans know how much my family means to me, the fact that I'm willing to give them a deeper glimpse into what they already know, my fans — and fans of country music in general — can relate to me more."

For example, on "Dozen Red Flags", she sings: "Man, he was cute and damn, he was funny / My brother thought he was the man / If violets are blue, then I'm such a dummy / To think he′d have roses in hand / I would've settled for tulips or daisies / I ain't picking petals ′cause all that he gave me / Was reasons for running / And a couple dozen red flags,"

The song weaves in a double ear-worm in hearkening back to the type of familially-felt heartbreak that drove the acclaim of Ingrid Andress' COVID-19 quarantine favorite "More Hearts Than Mine."

"Because I'm a sucker for a turn of phrase that can be developed into a lyrical hook, I filled the album with all kinds of hooks that hammer into you," said Carpenter. "Couple that with the catchy melodies that I'm drawn to while in songwriting rooms and I feel like ("Hey Country Queen") is the cornerstone of what I believe will (continue to represent the) best work I have to offer."

Conveying her artistry's vibe to new fans

For Carpenter, performing these songs live will test her ability to convey the vibe of her art as well as how she writes its words.

To wit, songs like "Jesus I'm Jealous" and "Don't Mess With Exes" turn what has worked so far for Carptenter a bit to the left and up to 11.

"Jesus I'm Jealous" opens with: "Is it okay to pray at a bar? / I know I probably shouldn't be here." It's a first-person retelling of third-person antagonism over love that is not Carptenter's to be experiencing.

It's a fan favorite singalong that, because it bears strong similarities to many heartbreak anthems familiar to Country Music Association Best New Artist Megan Moroney, feels very "of the moment" for a vein of top-tier female artistry in country music.

Insofar as "Don't Mess With Exes," Carpenter said her Big Machine label boss Scott Borchetta was excited that five-time ACM Award-winning premier session guitarist Tom Bukovac added some electrified sonic heft to a style that typically lends itself best to acoustic guitars.

"Scott knew that my record needed to sound bigger as well as be well-written and well-performed in order to really connect (with country's modern fanbase)," Carpenter said.

Carpenter on developing the sound for 'Hey Country Queen'

Carpenter describes "Hey Country Queen" as reflecting the pure joy she felt while putting "a bunch of her favorite sounds that (she thought were) cool" into the same body of work.

In 2023, she understood that mining a humble awareness of how to double down on her strengths while learning from her weaknesses to develop platinum-selling success is a "magical" balancing act.

Now, engaging in doing just that, her debut album has the potential for tremendous success compared to what most perceive as possible for an initial run at achieving her artistic peak.

"I'm just a girl pursuing a career doing something I fell in love with at a very young age. It all still sounds cool to me," she said.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Mackenzie Carpenter arrives as country singer-songwriter to watch with 'Hey Country Queen'