Lauren Alaina is on cloud nine. The American Idol alum turned country music mainstay is gearing up to release her EP, Unlocked. Ahead of the release on Friday, June 9, Alaina caught up with Entertainment Tonight to dish on the project and her wedding with fiancé Cameron Scott Arnold.
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The singer/songwriter told the outlet that everything in her life is falling into place. The six-track collection is expected to display Alaina’s current state – happy and content. After 11 years with Universal Music Group Nashville, the vocalist made a shift to Big Loud last July to work on her first project with producer Joey Moi. Two months before the career-altering move, she got engaged.
“This project is so important to me. I’m getting married, I’ve got this new label. I feel like I unlocked myself completely,” she said while getting teary-eyed. “I just feel at home and at peace in my life.”
Alaina gave country music fans a taste of what’s to come with “A Walk In The Bar,” a modern twist on a breakup banger. Alaina penned “Hangovers” alongside John Bryon, Greylan James, Josh Osborne, and Matt Roy. Despite the storyline about heartache, she declared that she’s head-over-heels in love.
The chart-topping artist credits Luke Bryan for her happiness. Alaina revealed that she met her finacé at Bryan’s annual music festival, Crash My Playa.
“Fun fact, we met in Mexico at the Crash My Playa festival that Luke Bryan has every year,” she said. “Luke Bryan brought us together. He came home and told his best friend, ‘I met the woman I’m going to marry.’ I did not leave Mexico feeling that way, but he was right. I’m gonna marry him.”
She continued, “He’s friends with Luke’s niece and her husband. So, he was backstage, and we were at the taco stand. Apparently, I ate my tacos really fast, and he was like, ‘Nobody’s gonna take those tacos away from you!’ First thing he ever said to me. And that was when I knew.”
Alaina revealed her engagement during a performance at the Grand Ole Opry in November. In the midst of her set, she flashed her diamond ring and pulled Arnold on stage to introduce him to her Opry family.
“Everybody, this is my fiancé,” she said on stage. “I told him he had to come out here, and we had to get a picture – we’re doing it because this is the circle, and I’m going to hold my hand up and do the thing. Make some noise for my future husband, everybody!”
Since then, Alaina has been in wedding mode. The Georgia native said she’s been enjoying every minute.
“It’s going great,” she said about wedding dress shopping. “I am actually getting my dress made. My mom and I went to New York, and we tried on all these dresses. It was so sweet. One of my favorite memories ever.”
The vocalist did not reveal her wedding date but hopes the guest list will be star-studded. She mentioned that Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood would be getting an invitation in the mail.
“The day I got inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, was the best day of my life so far,” she stressed. “So, that wedding day…Dolly is going to be there, Trisha and Garth have to be there. We’re going to have a pretty stout guest list.”
Photo Credit: Robby Klein/Courtesy of Big Loud Records
