Photo credit: Jess Williams
[Ingrid Andress](https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fingridandress%2F%3Fhl%3Den&data=02%7C01%7CAndrew.George%40atlanticrecords.com%7Cec04dce21ea74429182608d86a4b53ba%7C8367939002ec4ba1ad3d69da3fdd637e%7C0%7C0%7C637376219064988988&sdata=ziKeNbtejctG%2Bdo9ypY0sxvr0PS4fL35o5NIJDaISxI%3D&reserved=0) sparked an entire movement with the release of her debut single “Lady Like,” with the music video seeing the vibrant, blue-eyed singer-songwriter performing the record flexing her sharp vocals and equally bold personality. Since then, she’s blessed fans with endless records that speak volumes to feminism and female empowerment amidst our often misogynist society.
She states, “I guess some would call me country, I just write about my real thoughts and feelings.”
Following the standout single, which officially impacted radio earlier this week, the Nashville-based recording artist unleashed her critically-acclaimed debut album of the same title, _Lady Like_, which has accumulated over 360 million streams to date. The official music video for “[More Hearts Than Mine”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK-tR-aRRNQ) has earned nearly 26 million views and counting, while the Platinum-certified record catapulted to the #1 spot on country radio.
With recent CMA Awards nominations for New Artist and Song of the Year under her belt, Ingrid continues to bring passion, dedication, and nothing but good energy to her growing fanbase. Ingrid also prides herself in being a female force beyond just country music, but the world as a whole. Flaunt caught up with Ingrid via Zoom on the heels of her new _Lady Like Deluxe_ album, which features a standout cover of “Boys” (originally co-written by Andress for Charli XCX) as well as a new original song called “Feeling Things_._” Read below as we discuss her upbringing and how she got started in music,
**Being from Colorado originally, what was the household like growing up?**
We had a really large family, it was people everywhere. I snowboarded a lot and played piano, it was a really chill childhood actually.
**Biggest influences coming up?**
John Denver. The Chicks. A bit of everybody really. I went through a metal phase for a second, but that doesn't influence my music. Metal like Metallica, Slipknot. Those days are far behind me.
**At what point did you realize you could do music for a living?**
When I found out that you could actually do it. Nobody I knew growing up pursued music as a career, I thought it was just a hobby. Nobody told me there were music colleges. I was like “oh, what am I even doing?”
**You released the “Lady Like” visual last year, how’d you come up with that concept?**
My biggest fear is having a cheesy music video, literally my deepest fear.
**That's valid!**
Yes! I will not go down in history as someone who has cheesy country music videos. I wanted it to be more cinematic and less rhinestones, less cowgirl, more suits. I don't really do dresses. It was more encompassing what lady-like meant to me, which is being whoever the hell I want to be. It was more of the visual aspect of it that I appreciated: lots of mood lighting, lots of color. We also wanted to make sure to include a diverse representation of people when casting the dancers to show that ballet isn’t necessarily made up of only women, though that may be the stereotype.
**How have you evolved personally, as an artist and as a human being?**
In every way, the same as everybody else has during this weird year. I’ve become a little more introspective. I wrote the songs about my personal experience but now I'm realizing that everybody has the same emotions and feelings, we all experience them at different times. It’s really opened my mind that we're actually all more alike than what we think. Especially during this time when everybody thinks we're all divided and have nothing in common, it turns out we do. We all have the same emotions, we're all trying to navigate them.
**What does feminism mean to you?**
At least right now how I feel about it, feminism is being compassionate and understanding that people are coming from different places in their lives. Judging people is not very feminist if you ask me because we don't know people's backgrounds. We don't know why they make the decisions they do. Being accepting of all walks of life is being feminist because you're not putting a label on something and judging it. Being a feminist is believing you’re as dope as everybody else because we are all equal and deserve to be treated that way.
**How do you bring that energy into the country music landscape?**
By living my life, to be honest. I've never really even thought that people viewed women differently until I moved to the South. I've always operated like I’m going to do whatever I want and just because I'm a woman, doesn't make that any different. I'm bringing that energy with me to the country market because there could definitely be more of it. There's still too many stereotypes of what women should be doing. We need to eliminate the ‘should’ 100%.
**Greatest memories from "The More Hearts Than Mine" visual?**
I remember being really glad that I didn't have to act in it. I hate acting. Unless it's comedic, otherwise I cannot take myself seriously enough to portray such an emotional song. I really loved the storyline of encompassing what it feels like to have brought somebody home to meet your family, and then them not being in your life anymore. It's tough, because your family remembers them. It's complicated.
**“The Stranger” visual is at almost 4 million views in a few months. How does that make you feel?**
Oh, that's great. I like that music video too, that one was really fun. Those are real couples in the video, we made them play a game where they had to stare at each other for 4 minutes without saying anything to each other.
**That's intense!**
I know! 4 minutes, they probably felt like they were being tortured. They all had different emotions that came up from that moment, which was really cool to see and capture. That was a great idea.
**Where was it shot?**
It was in LA actually at a cute little house in Beverly Hills. The owner of the house was still there, he had his parrot and I was really confused. That’s the first thing I saw when I walked in, it was a vibe.
[**_Lady Like_**](https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwmna.sh%2Fladylike&data=02%7C01%7CAndrew.George%40atlanticrecords.com%7Cec04dce21ea74429182608d86a4b53ba%7C8367939002ec4ba1ad3d69da3fdd637e%7C0%7C0%7C637376219065008907&sdata=9Ei8UgDe653F8z%2B%2BsPdjUHaw1Vybyyy9%2FK0OwQRekTQ%3D&reserved=0) **_Deluxe_ album out now! How are you feeling?**
We're feeling good! Honestly, when I listened to my album when I put it out in March, I thought “I don't think the _Lady Like_ chapter is over with yet.” I had more songs to add, I actually rearranged the whole tracklist of it. It's nothing like the OG album, I redid it because I wanted people to see what emotional journey I was on when I was writing those songs. I reorganized them to tell that story. At the beginning, I was super numb and didn't feel anything. Really missed feeling things. Then you dive in, you fall in love and fall out of it. You feel confident, then you don't. You're nostalgic, it’s taking you on that whole journey of real human emotion. It’s another layer to that story.
**I love that it’s both original songs and covers.**
Yes! I did a cover of “Boys.” I wrote it forever ago. Charli XCX put it out and she killed it. I thought it fit really well with the _Lady Like_ vibe. I remember when I wrote it, I thought “why do guys get to sing about all their ‘hoes in different area codes’? What happens if girls are seeing more than one guy?” We should be able to talk about it.
**Can you bring us back to when you wrote that record?**
Oh my god, it was in LA. It was in a friend's bedroom, Lauv is what he goes by now. My friend Michael Pollack, we were in one of their bedrooms. We’re freestyling over this beat that this Swedish producer sent us and that's what came out of it. I was a bottle of red wine deep.
They weren’t drinking, I was. I came from a session where these guys were talking about all the girls they had. Well, I want to talk about all the guys I've had. That’d be fun.
**Favorite records on the new project and why?**
I really like the stripped down versions of songs, like “The Stranger (Reimagined)” and [](https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DVK-tR-aRRNQ&data=02%7C01%7CAndrew.George%40atlanticrecords.com%7Cec04dce21ea74429182608d86a4b53ba%7C8367939002ec4ba1ad3d69da3fdd637e%7C0%7C0%7C637376219065028817&sdata=SlMUXR31okdMzPvo5SfSWIg6hwTQOI9KYS%2BvMhgKMcE%3D&reserved=0)[“More Hearts Than Mine” with Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK-tR-aRRNQ) There's something really special about stripping a song down so you can really hear the story in the lyrics. My favorite part of music is being able to hear the story. It’s fun to be able to fully produce things and make it sound like a wall of sound but at the end of the day, it comes down to what you're trying to say in the message. I’m a sucker for anything stripped down, so I'm really excited for this.
**How has quarantine been? Do you miss performing?**
I do miss performing a lot. There's something different about social media that doesn't fill me up as much as being there in person. It's tough. It's obviously all we can do right now but it's getting to a point of how much longer do I have to do this? All this fake connection is really wearing on my soul. I'm so excited to be in the moment again and not have to worry about setting up my selfie light in order to do a livestream. I hate doing that shit.
**Same, I hate social media!**
Ugh, it’s the worst! I’m ready for in-person, but I do appreciate everybody wanting to be safe. I obviously don't want to go back out until we come up with a protocol to where we don't have to go into pandemic mode again.
**Did you pick up any new hobbies or interests during this time?**
Girl, I tried to learn how to cook and it has not gone well. It's still not working for me. I’ve been reading a lot more, and drinking tequila if that's a hobby.
**3 things you need in the studio?**
Okay, tequila. \[laughs\] I need a notepad because as much as I use my computer to write lyrics down, there's something about writing them down that helps my brain process them a little better. I need a piano as well. It's hard to find, but I express myself better on the keyboard.
**How would you describe your fashion sense?**
Like I said before, I don't do dresses. It's not because I have this vengeance out for dresses, I just don't feel myself in them. My fashion sense is tomboy mixed with whatever I feel like that day. I love the masculine and feminine balance when you put on an outfit. I love little sexy feminine elements. I don't wear a shirt under my blazer, but it's still comfortable. The yin and the yang of masculine and feminine is how I’d describe my style.
**Goals for yourself as an artist at this point in your career?**
Touring would be lovely, because I haven't really been on the road. I was booked on some big tours this year but they all got cancelled and those would’ve been my first big tours. My goals have remained the same, which is to get better and grow as a songwriter and artist. Hopefully I’ll come up with new ideas that haven't been written about before. Or if they have, I’ll find a more creative way to say them.
**What are you most excited for with the _Lady Like Deluxe Edition_?**
I'm excited that people get to go on this emotional journey with me. Hopefully they get it and love it as much as I do. It’s very raw and human, so I hope people enjoy that about the music.
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