Mackenzie Carpenter Shimmers Into The Spotlight With Debut Album [Interview]
Mackenzie Carpenter. Photo: Harper Smith
Rising singer-songwriter Mackenzie Carpenter is making a commanding entrance with her full-length debut, Hey Country Queen, released Friday (March 7) via The Valory Music Co. With this 13-track collection, she isn’t just introducing herself—she’s making it clear that Nashville has been missing out.
Carpenter, who co-wrote every song on the album, delivers a confident, dynamic project packed with standout tracks, including the previously-released fan-favorites “Dozen Red Flags,” “Sound of a Heartbreak,” “Only Girl” and “Jesus, I’m Jealous.” While each of these songs showcases the Georgia native’s sharp songwriting and vocal prowess, the full body of work cements her place as a country star on the rise, ready to claim her lane.
She kicks things off with the biting wit of “Dozen Red Flags,” a rollicking anthem that counts off all the ways a man has revealed his true colors—red, to be exact—while cheekily admitting, “man, he was cute and, damn, he was funny.” The track perfectly encapsulates Carpenter’s knack for blending humor and heartache, a skill that has helped her carve out a space in country music.
That songwriting prowess has been on display for years. Carpenter first turned heads by co-writing Lily Rose’s 2021 No. 1 hit “Villain” and has since penned multiple tracks for Megan Moroney, including the top 15 single “I’m Not Pretty” as well as “Indifferent” and “28th of June.” Now, with Hey Country Queen, she steps into the spotlight as an artist in her own right.
Carpenter keeps the energy high with “Boots On,” a playful, sultry invitation to a lover, written alongside the album’s producer Brandon Hood as well as Rhett Akins and Ben Williams. With a wink and a nudge, she delivers a flirty romp that recalls the suggestive charm of Trace Adkins’ 1996 hit “I Left Something Turned On at Home,” balancing sensuality with just the right touch of restraint.
That same mischievous edge takes a darker turn with “Gone Fishing,” a cleverly twisted revenge tale penned with Mia Mantia and SJ McDonald. The song follows a scorned woman who sends her cheating husband to the depths of Nashville’s Percy Priest Lake—and hints that the same fate is coming to his mistress for good measure.
“I was thinking about what my album was missing, and it was my female rage murder song. I needed my ‘Goodbye Earl’ and my ‘Before He Cheats,'” Carpenter quips. “I brought that idea in a couple times to people and nobody was really going for it. Then I took it into my girl’s SJ and Mia and we had so much fun writing it.
“As for the ending, why murder one person and when you could murder two?”
One of the album’s undeniable highlights is its current single, “I Wish You Would” featuring Midland. Carpenter’s smoky, honeyed vocals melt seamlessly into the group’s signature barroom twang, creating a slow-burning waltz that captures the tension between two potential lovers. She says that the tune—written with Jonathan Hutcherson, Jamie Moore and Chris Tompkins—helped her dial in her sound.
“It’s so classic but so unique. It’s given me an exciting thing to look toward and know that I’m really digging in and finding my thing.”
Elsewhere, Carpenter lays bare her vulnerability with “Jesus, I’m Jealous,” a gut-wrenching barroom prayer whispered between sips as she watches her ex dance with someone new. She turns up the volume with “Sound of a Heartbreak,” a full-throttle anthem made for highway speeding and on-stage hair-flipping. On “Guys Like You,” she flips the script with a female-to-female perspective on the pitfalls of comparison, delivering her message with sincerity and strength.
“Sonically this record is very unique, but that’s how I listen to music,” she says of the collection. “When I’m in the car, I’m listening to SZA and then Shania Twain and then Megan [Moroney]. It could be anything from Sabrina Carpenter to Toby Keith. I wanted my record to have different sounds, but obviously like my love is for country music, so that’s the through-line.”
Another standout moment comes with “Red Wine Blue,” co-written with Luke Laird and Anna Vaus. The song’s heartbreak-laden lyrics swirl around Carpenter’s rich, expressive vocals, perfectly capturing the haze of sorrow and Cabernet. The song, Carpenter says, came to her as a gift from a “country queen” in a dream.
“Dolly Parton came to me in a dream and gave me the song idea. She has no clue, but to me, it’s very real,” Carpenter says with a laugh. “After I woke up that morning, I came downstairs and started writing it on my great-grandmother’s old piano. Then I took it into a write with Luke and Anna—it became such a beautiful song.”
She brings the album to a fitting close with “Country Queen,” a feel-good anthem that serves both as an empowering message to listeners and a tribute to the trailblazing women in country music who paved the way.
“I wanted to pay tribute to the country queens that raised me—all the ladies in my life that made me who I am, the country queens on the radio that inspired me to write music and all my best friends that I get to do life with and keep me going.”
Recently named one of MusicRow’s Next Big Thing Artists for 2025 as well as other industry recognitions, Carpenter makes good on that promise with Hey Country Queen. Whether she’s belting out a stadium-sized anthem or laying her heart bare in a ballad, she proves that the magic happens when an artist fully embraces the messiness of emotion—and turns it into country gold.
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