The country artist achieved great success in her native Canada but failed to gain traction Stateside
Tenille Townes attends the 55th annual Country Music Association awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 10, 2021 in Nashville. Jason Kempin/Getty Images
After seven years on her label, Tenille Townes and Sony Nashville have parted ways.
Though Townes has achieved much success in her native Canada, including winning 15 Canadian Country Music Association Awards over the past five years, her Stateside career never experienced the same liftoff, even after winning the ACM Award for new female artist of the year in 2020. (That same year, she won a second ACM Award as a featured artist on Miranda Lambert’s remake of “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which was voted music event of the year.)
On Monday (Aug. 26), Townes took to Instagram to update her fans in a narrated video over various images, including a Polaroid photo of herself with the words “I’m free” beside a heart, as an acoustic, instrumental version of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” played.
“My Nashville record label and I have parted ways. This is not a sob story, but a story of opportunity. We had a really good run and this is a big shift for me. We’ve been working together for over seven years, but we haven’t been seeing eye to eye on my music and my path and it’s creatively been a struggle waiting on green lights inside a corporate system that doesn’t make a lot of sense anymore,” she said. “I want the freedom to write and record a song and be able to get it to you guys, and making this decision means I can do that as I take back ownership of what I create. And that feels liberating and if I’m honest it also feels terrifying. Lots of fear but I’m doing it anyway and I’m excited to figure out what’s next on my own terms. So this is me as a newly independent artist and a work-in-progress human telling you I’m starting a new journey learning to bet on myself again and I hope you’ll come with me.”
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Though critically acclaimed, Townes biggest success in the U.S. was 2018’s “Somebody’s Daughter,” which reached No. 1 in Canada but peaked at No. 26 on the Country Airplay chart in the U.S.
Townes released one full-length album in the U.S., 2020’s The Lemonade Stand, reached No. 41 on the Top Country Albums chart. She also put out four EPs, the most recent being Train Track Worktapes last year.
Townes starts a Canadian tour Oct. 9.
Sony Nashville did not return a request for comment.
