BMLGWhen it came time for Jennifer Nettles to pick the first single from her sophomore album, the Sugarland frontwoman had a unique problem. She’s managed to make a record she feels so confident about, it really didn’t matter to her.
“I love all of these songs. So for me, whenever the label posed the question to me, ‘Well which song would you like to be the first single?’ I said, ‘I love all of ’em. You want to know which song I want to be the first single? The one they’re gonna play the most!” she says candidly.
So to answer that question, Jennifer turned to some trusted radio friends she’s developed strong relationships with through the years. She also took advantage of the chance to test her new tunes on the road.
“’Unlove You’ is definitely a moment within the show that everybody gets excited about,” she says of her eventual choice, “especially now that they’ve been hearing it on the radio and they’re more connected to it by familiarity. But I’ve been using this tour as an opportunity to play this new music and introduce it to my fans and to see what gets a response.”
If you like the album’s first hit, Jennifer’s fans are telling her there’s more where that came from.
“They love ‘Drunk in Heels,’ they love ‘Hey Heartbreak.’ You know, interestingly enough, ‘Salvation Works’ is one that always has, I think, an emotional little hook there for folks. I play ‘Playing with Fire’ first, you know… I think I could play anything for the first song and they’d be excited!”
One song she hasn’t had the chance to do live yet is the record’s final track, where in her own words, “Jenny from the dirt road” meets “Jenny from the Block.” “My House” is a duet with Jennifer Lopez.
The 12-song Playing with Fire is new in stores and online today.
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