Country artist Lauren Alaina says the past year has changed her, and she’s put that transformation into her new song.
The former American Idol contestant just dropped a new single called “Little Things” that she says is so much more than a song.
The “All My Exes” singer just marked the one-year anniversary of her dad’s unexpected death July 23, 2024.
In an emotional Instagram post, Lauren wrote an open letter about the loss of her dad, saying “July 23rd. One year. How can that be? I’ve spent the last 365 days learning to live in a world that doesn’t have my daddy in it. Some days I forget and reach for the phone to tell him something. Other days, I sit in the silence and let the grief come in.”
Lauren, who is known for keeping it real with fans, is transparent about that grief.
She writes, “I’ve learned that grief isn’t loud. It’s not always in the big moments, It’s in the little things… the empty chair during a game, the first Alabama kickoff that I didn’t get a ‘ROLL TIDE’ text and not having someone to tell when I heard a new joke.” She goes on, “It’s the call I didn’t get to make when I found out I was pregnant. It’s the absence in the hospital when the grandparents came to meet my little girl. It’s not saying Happy birthday, happy Father’s Day, Merry Christmas.”
Lauren reveals her daily struggle with grief, writing, “It’s dreaming you’re here and waking up remembering. It’s life moving forward but your heart feeling stuck in what it was. It’s in the way I go about my days now. Slower. Softer. More aware of what truly matters and what doesn’t.”
Lauren Alaina Says She is a New Version of Herself
In the Instagram post, Lauren Alaina tells her followers that she’s become a different person over the past year.
“There’s a version of me that existed before July 23, 2024,” she writes. “And then there’s me now. This version of me handles things differently. I try to let go quicker, I laugh harder, I love more intentionally. I don’t flinch at the ‘little things’ anymore. A car cuts me off, and I just let it go. Because I know that time is not promised, and life is too short to waste on anything that doesn’t really matter.”
All those changes inspired Lauren’s latest song, “Little Things.”
She explains, “I can’t call my dad anymore. I can’t tell him about the things happening in my world right now, so I wrote him a song. It’s called ‘Little Things.'”
Lauren Alaina Says ‘Little Things’ Is ‘Not Just a Song’
Lauren Alaina’s heartfelt post makes it clear that for her, “Little Things” isn’t just her latest song.
She says it’s also an open letter to her dad, writing it’s “a way of telling him how my heart and perspective have changed since he left us. I want him to know that his passing opened my eyes so much. To prioritize my mental health, To call people back when I say I’m going to, To share if I’m struggling. To let go of things that don’t matter and focus on what does.”
She goes on with the list writing, “To be quick to forgive, To Be kinder. To be Slow to anger. To love harder and deeper. I hope he would be proud.”
Lauren also says she pictures her new song reaching all the way to heaven. “I hope he’s up on a cloud listening to it right now and learning to play it on guitar” she writes, signing the post “Love you, Daddy. Pinky.”
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Lauren Alaina Says Past Year Has ‘Opened My Eyes So Much’