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Canada’s own Lindsay Ell has a lot to celebrate.
The country star just landed her first-ever Juno nomination for Country Album of the Year for her sophomore project Heart Theory, and just earned her first Gold Single as a solo artist for her ballad “Want Me Back”.
Speaking exclusively with ET Canada’s Sangita Patel, Ell admits she couldn’t believe the news when she heard her album was Juno-nominated.
“When they said my name, I was like ‘what? Is this actually happening?’ Especially getting nominated for Country Album of the Year, because this album Heart Theory is so important to me,” she says.
The new project, which marks Ell’s first new album in three years, takes listeners through seven stages of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing and acceptance.
“I put so much blood, sweat and tears into these songs and have just felt them connect to fans in ways that is really hard to describe or even feel in the middle of a pandemic,” she adds.
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Ell co-wrote 11 of the album’s 12 tracks, enlisting help from fellow country stars Kane Brown, Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard, and six-time Grammy-nominee Brandy Clark.
Heart Theory follows the singer’s first full-length album The Project, which debuted at No. 1 on the Country Album Sales Chart and was named Billboard’s Best Country Album of 2017.
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Meanwhile, Ell received the surprise of a lifetime when Patel shared the news that she just earned her first Gold-certified single for the album’s track “Want Me Back”.
On behalf of BMG Music Canada and Stoney Creek Records, ET Canada presented Ell with a gold plaque and she was visibly overcome with emotion.
She reacted with excitement: “What!? Are you serious?! Oh my…oh my god! Thank you guys… for believing in me!”
“To be able to finish the year last year with it going number one was like, so cool, but this it’s like, the proof is in the pudding, the proof is in the pudding. And this is the best tasting pudding ever,” she jokes.
The surprises didn’t stop there. Joining the Zoom call just moments later were Ell’s parents, Suzanne and Bob, calling in from Calgary to congratulate her on the news.
“It’s my No. 1 gold girl, we’re so proud of you,” her mom said emotionally. “She works so hard and we just get so, so happy for her!”
Fans can watch the emotional surprise above.
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