Many music fans were first introduced to the talents of Nicolle Galyon when she captivated viewers during the second season of The Voice in 2012. Although she didn’t make it to the singing competition’s final rounds, the Kansas native had already started building an impressive songwriting career in her adopted hometown of Nashville.
Videos by American Songwriter
Just months after her stint on The Voice, Galyon earned her first No. 1 cut with “We Were Us,” recorded by Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert. She’s now one of Music Row’s most in-demand writers, penning hits by Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, and many more.
[RELATED: 7 Songs You Didn’t Know Miranda Lambert Wrote for Other Artists]
In 2022, the award-winning talent came full circle by releasing her first solo album, firstborn. The acclaimed and intimately personal project was followed by 2023’s surprise EP, second wife. Galyon and her husband, fellow hit songsmith Rodney Clawson, reflect on the many eras of their relationship through six charming and heartfelt songs.
Below, in her own words, Nicolle Galyon tells American Songwriter about the inspiration behind her EP track “prenup.”
“We were sitting at our farmhouse writing these and joking about what a pain it would be, how much stuff we have now. Now, we have a house in Kansas with a farm and a house in Nashville. We were talking through how funny it is that we never even thought to sign a prenup because we were both so in the hole. When we got married, there was nothing to even sign a prenup over. In fact, all the stuff that we brought into our marriage was actually more of a financial liability because of my college loans, back taxes, and things like that. We were just really kind of high-fiving each other for how far we had come and what we’d built over all these years.
“But there’s also something so cool about knowing that you built something together, and that song represents that. We started talking about how much it cost for the catering at our wedding and bridesmaid shoot. We remember all of those things just because we didn’t have money. So that song is about how people always say they’re so proud of that first little apartment or house they live in because it was that first thing. And I think ‘prenup.’ captures that era of our life where we never saw what was coming for us in our careers and life ahead, and it was like humble pie.”
Photo by Claire Schaper, Courtesy of Sacks & Co.
