Opening Up Her Heart – Lindsay Ell

Three years since her debut album, chart topping musician, vocalist and songwriter Lindsay Ell’s highly-anticipated sophomore album heart theory is set to arrive this Friday, August 14th.

The music has already received widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike. Ell currently covers the August issue of American Songwriter, who hails heart theory a “career-altering, masterpiece of an album.”

Pre-order the album HERE.

Beginning 11pm CT (5am BST on 14/8) on August 13th, Ell will go live on her Instagram for 24 hours through release day.

The livestream will include special guests, performances, and more surprises in a global celebration of the release of heart theory with fans all around the world.

The current ACM New Female Artist of the Year nominee will perform the record’s hit single “wAnt me back” on the NBC TODAY show in the US on August 17th from Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. The track was #1 most-added at Country radio in its debut week and continues to climb.

Ell is additionally nominated for Music Event of the Year at the upcoming 55th ACM Awards for “What Happens In A Small Town” with Brantley Gilbert – for which she garnered her first No. 1 at U.S.

Country radio. With her fellow New Female & New Male Artists nominees, she appears on the special August 13th release of “On The Road Again (ACM Lifting Lives® Edition)” alongside the legendary Willie Nelson, with downloads of the song benefitting ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund. Ell will also appear on “ACM Wine Down Wednesday” on August 19th and “The ACM Weekly” on August 25th. Both series can be accessed through ACM®: The Hub at TheHub.ACMcountry.com. 

heart theory is a concept album comprised of 12 tracks that explore each stage of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance. Ell co-wrote 11 of the songs, enlisting help from acclaimed writers & artists including Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line and Brandy Clark among others on the project. heart theory was completed by Ell and legendary producer Dann Huff from a distance and two different locations during the early stages of quarantine. 

iHeart Radio proclaims Ell’s “confidence is contagious” in lead single “wAnt me back” – which she co-wrote with award-winning country star Kane Brown (his first outside cut as a writer) along with acclaimed writers Matt McGinn and Lindsay Rimes.

On the deeply revelatory “make you” – released on July 7th, Global Forgiveness Day – PEOPLE proclaims the song “a symbol of the strength.” The track, co-written by Ell with GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Brandy Clark, marks the first time Ell publicly addresses being a survivor of sexual violence and appears as the first song in the acceptance stage of heart theory, a reflection of Ell’s determination to use her platform to help other sexual trauma survivors. 

In July, Ell launched the Make You Movement, a charitable fund whose mission is to help organisations that support at-risk youth, domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors by providing funds on an as-needed basis. For more information, please visit http://www.cfmt.org/makeyoumovement.

“If theory is the science of music, heart theory is the science of a heart,” Ell says of the record. “I hope this roadmap can be a comfort if you need it, reassurance when you need to remember to believe in yourself or maybe just a glimpse into a memory that’s made you who you are.” 

The Project – Ell’s first full-length album – debuted at No. 1 on the Country Album Sales Chart and was named Billboard’s Best Country Album of 2017. Over the course of her career, Ell has amassed more than 123 million on demand streams to date.

heart theory track listing (with writers)
a journey through the seven stages of grief

shock
1. “Hits me” (Lindsay Ell, Tyler Hubbard, Corey Crowder)

denial
2. “how good” (Lindsay Ell, Brandy Clark)
3. “i don’t lovE you” (Adam Hambrick, Melissa Fuller, Neil Medley)

anger
4. “wAnt me back” (Lindsay Ell, Kane Brown, Matt McGinn, Lindsay Rimes)
5. “get oveR you” (Lindsay Ell, Gordie Sampson, Kelly Archer)
6. “wrong girl” (Lindsay Ell, Steph Jones, Matt McGinn, Luke Niccoli)

bargaining
7. “body language of a breakup” (Lindsay Ell, Laura Veltz, Sam Ellis)

depression
8. “good on you” (Lindsay Ell, Sam Ellis, Micah Premnath)

testing
9. “The oTHEr side” (Lindsay Ell, Jessie Jo Dillon, Matt McGinn)
10. “gO to” (Lindsay Ell, Nicolle Gaylon, Jordan Reynolds)

acceptance
11. “make you” (Lindsay Ell, Brandy Clark)
12. “ReadY to love” (Lindsay Ell, Jessie Jo Dillon, Matt McGinn, Joey Hyde)

Official Website