2016 was a year of great achievement for Canadian singer/songwriter Madeline Merlo. She released her debut album Free Soul​, scored her first Top 10 single with "Whatcha Wanna Do About It" and much more. She took the time to chat with Queens of Country about her debut record, new music, and summer plans.

As Canadian singer-songwriter Jessica Mitchell gears up to perform at Cavendish Beach Music Festival on ​July 9, she took the time to answer some questions about her newest songs and plans for the upcoming months.

With a voice that rivals superstars like Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood, and her keen ear for selecting and writing great songs, April Kry is on the verge of becoming the next big up-and-coming star. Her most recent single, "While We're Young" is another example of her fun personality and insanely catchy pop-country songs. April took some time to answer some questions about her new single and what she'll be up to the next few months.

On the day of the Delta Airlines shutdown last year, singer/songwriter Nora Collins was supposed to be boarding a flight to Nashville to shoot a video for her song "Guess I Woulda Known By Now." One canceled flight and one delayed flight later, and five hours after the shoot was supposed to start, Collins landed in Music City. "It was kind of a stressful day," Collins said over the phone recently. "It is a personal song, so trying to perform that was kind of hard and scary to let those feelings come through, but everybody was wonderful and made me feel very comfortable." The result is a beautiful black and white performance video (watch below) to accompany a track that is one that you should definitely take three minutes to listen to.

"This album is basically my heart on a platter," country singer and songwriter Camille Rae said about her second full-length record, Come Find Me. And listening to it, it's easy to hear it. Be on the lookout for this fabulous record, out March 17. Camille took the time to answer some of my questions about her brand new album, so to learn a little bit about her thoughts on the album as a whole and a look into some specific tracks, continue reading!

Hailing from Southern California, but now based in Nashville, Cierra Louise released her first EP on Thursday, February 2. The project mixes traditional country sounds with exceptional lyrics, and a youthful perspective on the genre we all love. Cierra took the time to answer some of my questions about her debut project, so read below to learn all about the process of making her first official EP!

​Mississippi-born singer/songwriter Jordyn Mallory released her debut EP to iTunes in May, led by the infectious summer-themed "Boat Friend." Jordyn took some time to talk to me about the making of the EP and the inspiration behind each track.

Olivia Lane just turned 25, and although it may seem like she has it all figured out, she admits she doesn't. The second track on her new EP, "Quarter Life Crisis" is the most autobiographical song on this EP, according to her. "Once you graduate school, and when you're in reality and real life, there are no grades anymore," Lane said. "You're not trying to get an A+ in reality. So it's sort of an adjustment for those six months to basically two years after you graduate school and you're like, 'what do I want to do with my life?' The more adults I'm hanging out with, it's like, you know what, the only conclusion that I've got is that no one has it figured out."

If you ask rising contemporary country singer Brittany McLamb what her favorite experience in country music so far has been, she'll say playing on WSM 65o, the radio station for the Grand Ole Opry. "I got to play a song live and they also played my current single at that time on the air," she said. "So that was just a big deal for me cause my dream is to play the Opry. And to be a part of something that's close to the Opry was very exciting for me."

Kelleigh Bannen has been an active member of the country music community ever since 2012, when she released her debut single, "Sorry On the Rocks." This year, Bannen took a chance and parted from her label, and released her debut EP, a collection titled Cheap Sunglasses independently. The EP stretches from summer-themed tracks like lead single "Landlocked" and "All Good Things" to more personal tracks like the title track, "Cheap Sunglasses." I recently chatted with Bannen about the EP and this exciting new chapter in her music career.