RaeLynn's new music focuses on vulnerability and connecting to her fanbase on a real-life level; she even used her own red Ford-150 as the truck in the music video for her newest song, "Tailgate." Although that song showcases the upbeat and fun-loving side of her life, the singer has a more reflective side to share as well, as evidenced by an as-yet-unnamed song she posted to Instagram in mid-October.

"I wrote that song a couple months back, earlier in the year," RaeLynn tells The Boot. "I don't know when or if I'm ever gonna release it, but it was heavy on my heart that night, and I was playing it. I thought, 'You know, I want my fans to know that if you've had a friendship that's gone south, and you miss them, it's okay to miss them and not know what went wrong.'"

While country songs often take inspiration from romantic -- not necessarily platonic -- relationships, RaeLynn knows that friendships can occupy just as important a place in people's lives, and that their dissolution can be just as upsetting. "I think friendship breakups can be harder than relationship breakups!" she goes on to say. "It's still someone in your life that was important to you, and then they're gone."

Whether fun-loving or reflective, RaeLynn knows the importance of sharing music that is authentic to her life. "Personally, I'm not gonna sing a song that I don't really relate to and can't put myself in those shoes," she adds. "Any song I'm going to release is going to be 'me' in some kind of way."

RaeLynn, and many other up-and-coming female country stars, have cited friendships -- particularly friendships with other women in country music -- as an important support system in an industry that often does not afford its female artists airplay and booking opportunities equal to those of their male counterparts. During the 2018 CMT Artists of the Year ceremony -- at which the year's honorees were all women -- Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild used her acceptance speech to list 35 on-the-rise country women who she felt deserved radio play and support. One of those artists was RaeLynn.

"She's a bada--, and to be put into that category with all those incredible women is awesome," the singer says of her inclusion in Fairchild's speech. "She could've said anything in those two minutes, but what did she decide to say? She decided to talk about all of us. And I think it just goes to show that she wants to see the change, too. Her band hasn't had it easy, and they've worked really hard to get to where they're at, so it's cool to see her put herself out there like that."

While RaeLynn loves seeing her peers and mentors speaking out in support of equality in the country music industry, she also wants to see the cultural conversation turn toward working together, not pitting men and women against one another.

"It shouldn't even be about women; it should be about the best song winning. Great music should get played," she continues. "That's the one thing I get irritated about. It's not about females and males. It should be all of us working together, the best song wins, let's go. You know what I mean? We're a team."

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