Reba McEntire has said that her new project, Stronger Than the Truthis the most "traditional country"-leaning record she has ever released. The country icon explains that the tracks on the record take her back to her early days of performing in dance halls and honky-tonks, and remind her of the kind of country music that she grew up listening to and loving.

Among all of the songs on Stronger Than the Truth, McEntire says that she selected "Freedom" -- co-written by Jay Brunswick, Tommy Cecil, Real Country winner Jaida Dreyer and John Pierce -- as the project's first single because of its overarching relatability. To learn more about why the song holds such universal appeal, and why McEntire chose it as a single, read on.

Everybody was unanimous on ["Freedom"] being the first single, because it's an anthem. When you first listen to it, some people might think it's a patriotic anthem, but once you listen to the words, you know it's an anthem for this woman finding true love. And I think a lot of people are going to be able to relate to it.

I want everybody to be able to relate to these songs. That makes a very successful song and a very popular song, when they can relate to it, when they come back and say, "Oh my gosh, she wrote this song for me." Or, "That's my life story." Or, "Me and my best friend can relate to that." That's what makes a really good song.

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