20 March 9-15, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | CONTENTS | UNFAIR PARK | SCHUTZE | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | MOVIES | DISH | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | Big Bopper Alaura Lynne lights up TikTok with her ‘porchy pop.’ BY NIKKI JOHNSON-BOLDEN T he beginning banjo strums of her debut single “I Ain’t a Bitch” signaled Alaura Lynne’s arrival on the Dallas music scene with a big bang. Suited in a pink mini dress and mischievous smile, she sings “I ain’t a bitch ’til you make me one/ Pushin’ my buttons I go off like a shotgun/ and I can be a stone-cold bitch if you make me one.” Introducing herself as an artist in the country realm with a song that says the word bitch just short of a million times is a ballsy move that has proven to pay off for Lynne. Since dropping the song in late September, “I Ain’t a Bitch” has seen organic growth online, especially on TikTok, where there are a little over 63,000 videos that use the sound. The tune also hit No. 9 on the iTunes country charts in January, which is quite a feat for an unsigned new artist who didn’t even know she could sing until she was around 20 years old. The Crandall native found her voice while singing karaoke at a wedding and took the DJ’s advice to pursue her hidden talent. “I started taking lessons the next week, and just realized that I really loved singing,” Lynne says. “I started doing cover gigs around Dallas, and also started doing radio jingles and ads. I was doing that for a lot of other country artists, promoting their songs. I just decided that the cover gigs weren’t really what I wanted to do. I wanted to be perform- ing my own songs.” Lynne has loved music her whole life but says she was “pretty shy” for most of her younger years. It’s safe to say that her shyness has vanished as she steps into the spot- light with her gutsy country pop singles. After hearing about someone who asked about her reputation and whether she was a bitch, Lynne got inspired to record her viral debut song. “When [my producer] told me that they were asking that, I was just like, ‘I think I need to put out ‘I Ain’t a Bitch,’ and I think it needs to be the first release,” she says. “Because I’m not a bitch, but I know my image could [have people] won- dering, ‘Is she nice or …’” Starting out as a country artist and putting out a song like “I Ain’t a Bitch” was definitely taking a chance, a fact that isn’t lost on Lynne. “When I put out ‘I Ain’t a Bitch,’ I knew that it was going to be very shocking to people and it was a little risky,” Lynne says. “Even though it’s not bad, I just knew that there was gonna be some people that might not be sure about it, but I just had to trust how I felt about it. I’m glad that I listened to myself and just went with that, because it’s the one that’s re- ally blown up.” Famed country music producer Michael Clute, who has hits attributed to Diamond Rio and Faith Hill, met Lynne when she and her husband were sitting near him at a din- ner. Lynne played for Clute a performance she had done at church, which piqued his interest in the singer. “[From there] we started talking and started on the path — which probably was three years long — of trying to de- velop as an artist,” Clute says. “We worked on writing, and we worked on performance, and we started to cut a few songs just to learn about her. It was a pretty long process of going through and kind of finding strengths and just kind of defining what she was about.” Lynne is excited about the success “I Ain’t a Bitch” has seen online, especially given that she is an independent artist. “I’m really happy that my songs are doing really well and that I am independent right now,” she says. “I’m defi- nitely open to signing with a label, but it would just have to make sense.” Lynne says she feels that it’s important to have eye- catching visuals as a new artist. The video for “I Ain’t a Bitch features setups of Lynne in a pink dress with a pink background portraying a sweet persona, and also shows her in a black ribbed dress with a Dolce & Gabbana choker lighting clothes on fire. “That’s the first thing people are seeing of me, and I just really enjoy that part of it too,” she says. “I just had that vi- sion of what I wanted it to be, and I’m really happy with how it all turned out.” Clute says that Lynne stands out because of her “sweet” personality and dedication, but it was her voice above all that caught his attention. “She’s ‘small town in Texas’ in certain areas, but she’s very uptown and urban in others,” Clute says. “I really liked the combination of those things, I felt that helped make her distinctive, and then we stumbled on a kind of a pretty pro- gressive, maybe poppy, and fun element to a lot of things that we did, almost kind of like ‘porch-y pop.’ “There’s a lot of organic elements to it like banjos and fid- dles and real traditional elements, but the percussion and the grooves and the structures of a lot of things are really progressive.” Her newest song, “I Wanna Hear a Love Song,” is a de- parture from her previous sassy, upbeat material. The song is an earnest ballad that landed a spot on Spotify’s New Mu- sic Friday Country editorial playlist. “I love a ballad, and I have some other songs that are coming that are a little similar,” Lynne says. “I just felt like it was time to introduce that side of me, and ‘I Wanna Hear a Love Song’ was the perfect one.” Alaura Lynne might sing with a classic country twang, but she is still all about the glamour. As a kid, she begged her dad for pink cowboy boots instead of the traditional kind. Now she is eager to expand her brand into the fash- ion and beauty space while still focusing on her music. “Obviously music is number one, but [fashion] is just an- other passion of mine,” she says. “We’re thinking big the whole time, even from the beginning. Like, ‘Where do we see this going in the future?’” The singer takes inspiration from many different genres of music, from ’90s country to rap. She loves listening to Tay Money and Britney Spears when she’s out running er- rands, and turns to Celine Dion when she needs to hear a good ballad. “I appreciate all artists and what they do, but I really love powerful women,” she says. Lynne is certainly a powerful woman herself, com- manding control of what she wants in songs such as “Ev- erything a Woman Wants” and “Redneck Country Boys.” So what’s next for her? More fiery singles, and yes, her first album. ▼ Music Obidigbo Nzeribe Crandall native Alaura Lynne wrote a relatable song about being pushed into your bitchiest side. Hand built not bougHt. Franklins TaTToo and supply TWo loCaTions: 469-904-2665 • 4910 Columbia ave, dallas, TX 75214 682-499-5755 • 8323 Camp Bowie w Blvd • Fort worth, tX 76116 proFessional TaTToo supply For pros only Call for your appointment or design commissions today! SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS
