When Jimmy Buffett passed away on Sept. 1, 2023 at age 76, the decorated singer/songwriter, performer, author and entrepreneur left behind a legacy that unified a swath of musical genres and people.

The man behind "Margaritaville" — the song and later the brand — and so many other tunes that bridged folk sensibilities with country and rock touches, sometimes called "Gulf & Western," was much more than the beach-obsessed character he played in song. Although he had plenty of industry successes, notching 13 Billboard Hot 100 hits, a pair of GRAMMY Award nominations, while selling more than 20 million albums, his fans loved him for how he made them feel.

In song, he was a true storyteller that was clever, funny and introspective; in performances, he was the quintessential Parrothead to the core. As the ringleader of the party, he was generous enough to share the spotlight with members of his Coral Reefer Band as well as the fans who dressed up, tailgated outside the venues and spread their joy to others.

Both sides of Buffett were crucial building blocks in the business empire he built around his persona as the laid-back, casually philosophical beach bum. The Margaritaville restaurant and resort chains, his Landshark Lager beer and many other ventures made him a billionaire, while his storytelling prowess made him one of few authors to top both fiction and nonfiction bestsellers' lists. While his legacy may be both musical and merchandisable, the endearing qualities of the Parrothead personality he created is the real reward for his fans.

Below, remember Buffett's illustrious career through 15 classic songs — just a glimpse of his genius that made it okay for country singers to loosen up, for rockers to pick up an acoustic guitar, and for the Parrotheads to while away their days in the sun.

While Buffett's first two albums showed glimpses of the celebrated artist he would become, his songwriting largely hewed close to the earnest observations typical of early-seventies folkies. By his third album, though, he had grown into his winking style of satire and breezy, Nashville-meets-Key West flair.

This cut from A White Sports Coat and a Pink Crustacean combined both, and created the template for hundreds of bleary-eyed sing-alongs to follow. "The Great Filling Station Hold-Up" may have been the proper album single, but "Why Don't We Get Drunk," its controversial B-side, became the bigger tune — and the one featured on his seven-times Platinum compilation, Songs You Know By Heart.

As Buffett pulled away from his folk sensibilities, Nashville-style balladry became a big part of his sound. "Come Monday"  brings orchestral strings into the mix to help express the yearnings he felt while stuck in "a brown L.A. haze," pining for his love back home. The song resonated with new fans, becoming his first Top 40 single, as it peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"A Pirate Looks at Forty," 'A1A' (1974)

It probably wasn't a stretch for Buffett to sing so convincingly from the perspective of a seafaring, modern-day pirate. He considered his own later entrepreneurial forays an adventure on the high seas of life. But back in '74, he was so inspired by the real-life stories of a Key West smuggler and rapscallion he befriended that he wrote "A Pirate Looks at Forty" from his perspective. 

A key cut on his second long-player of '74, A1A, "Pirate" is empathetic to the dashed dreams and yearnings of a man looking back at his wins and losses. And despite the eventual billionaire fortunes of Buffett himself, his narrator determines the balance is a draw.

Buffett's next album, Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude, launched his music career into the stratosphere — and its success had a lot to do with "Margaritaville," a Top 10 hit and the basis of the global brand he later built.

Essentially, "Margaritaville" established the beach-boho lifestyle as an aspiration for millions. Against a backdrop of tropical instruments like steel drum and marimba, Buffett sang of the quiet pleasures of an unhurried life, unconcerned with the tides and buoyed by his favorite blender drink. In 2016, the tune was voted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame, while the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry in April 2023. 

"Son Of A Son Of A Sailor," 'Son Of A Son Of A Sailor' (1978)

Whether Buffett's soft and breezy music can be considered "yacht rock" is a subject of debate, but he certainly rocked a yacht or two in his day — and he dressed the part for the cover of his album Son Of A Son Of A Sailor. The title track is a definitive take on his love of the wandering life, untethered from the anchors many cling to and always in search of the next port of call. A master of ballads whimsical and wistful, Buffett manages to be both at once here.

Before it was a menu item at his Margaritaville-branded restaurants and resorts, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was a mirage Buffett dreamed about while marooned at sea. As the story goes, a misadventure in the Caribbean left Buffett with only meager rations to survive. And when he finally struck a landing on dry ground, his first meal inspired one of his most enduring songs: an easy-rockin' Top 40 hit about cheeseburgers that somehow isn't a novelty cut — a hat trick only Buffett could pull off.

"Fins," 'Volcano' (1979)

As the lead tune from his 11th album, Volcano, "Fins" entered the pantheon of Buffett concert staples immediately and helped inspire plenty of Parrothead ephemera, as well as the title of the 1990 live album Feeding Frenzy and his Landshark Lager brand. But none of that would be important if not for Buffett's song about a hapless woman who travels to the beach to relax, but instead is encircled by "sharks that can swim on the land." With "fins" to the left and right of her, she's "the only bait in town."

Buffett had a knack for coining phrases — and "Boat Drinks" certainly qualifies among the best. What makes a boat ride better? Boat drinks, of course.

An album cut from Volcano (also featured as a B-side to the single "Survive"), Buffett ironically wrote the song while on a winter sojourn in Boston, exiled from his native habitat and wishing the city's fresh blanket of snow were the sugar-white sands of Florida. Musically, the tune is a quintessential cut from his whirlwind late-seventies period, when Caribbean themes and sonic textures became his calling card.

"It's My Job," 'Coconut Telegraph' (1981)

Long before Mac McAnally joined Buffett as a sideman in the Coral Reefer Band, Buffett sent the young artist a note praising his songwriting. Then, for his 1981 album, Coconut Telegraph, Buffett boosted his new friend's fortunes by recording "It's My Job," a tune McAnally wrote about taking pride in your work — however menial or miserable it may be — while working on a hot Mississippi highway in the summertime. The tune reached No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Buffett's last appearance on the chart until 2003 (more on that later).

The 1980s were the beginning of Buffett's transition from chart champion to blockbuster concert draw. But he still had plenty of gas in the songwriting tank, as songs like "One Particular Harbor" proved.

Inspired by his travels in Polynesia, Buffett sings in Tahitian about the "abundance of the sea" after leaving behind the mainland. While the song was a minor hit on Adult Contemporary radio, it became a fan favorite and a mainstay of live shows from the era. 

"Jamaica Mistaica," 'Banana Wind' (1996)

Like on "Cheeseburger in Paradise," Buffett's penchant for seeing the humor in the unfortunate dustups of his real life shines on the Banana Wind cut "Jamaica Mistaica." In this case, Jamaican police opened fire on his plane, believing he was a smuggler or criminal straight out of his own song "A Pirate Looks at Forty." Set to a reggae beat, though, Buffett lets listeners in on the joke — an endearing quality that earned him the love not only of Parrotheads, but also an official apology from the Jamaican government.

By the dawn of the new century, Buffett's beach-bum aesthetic had conquered Nashville, the town he left in the early '70s to find his identity as an artist in Key West. And "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," recorded with country star Alan Jackson and featured on his Greatest Hits Volume II, was exactly the new Buffett-style anthem Music City needed.

It was also what Buffett's 21st century career needed: "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" earned the veteran singer his first No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart as well as his first GRAMMY nomination (in the Best Country Collaboration With Vocals Category) and his first Country Music Association Award (for Vocal Event of the Year). Later, the song notched the No. 3 song of the decade on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, proving Buffett's staying power amid shifting musical trends.

"Bama Breeze," 'Take the Weather With You' (2006)

After Hurricane Katrina made matchsticks of Buffett's home territory in 2005 — the beachfront bars of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida where he cut his teeth — he responded with the album Take the Weather With You and its leadoff track, "Bama Breeze." The country-rock tune extols the virtues of the so-called "Redneck Riviera" and coming of age as the sun came up outside the dive bars of the Gulf Coast, many of which were now ruined. The song also nods to the fans who have stuck by him since the beginning: "At the Bama Breeze, you're one of our own down there/ You'll never drink alone down there/ Good god, I feel at home down there."

One of the most rewarding markers of a mature career in music is the respect paid by each successive generation of musicians. Newly minted country star Zac Brown paid homage with "Knee Deep," which was written with Buffett in mind and borrows heavily from his long-established beachbound, escape-by-tropics aesthetic. But it truly takes off when Buffett himself takes the second verse and then harmonizes the choruses with Brown. And the combination proved sweet for both acts: the song was certified triple Platinum and landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.

Although the public wasn't aware at the time, Buffett was dealing with the effects of Merkel cell carcinoma — the disease that claimed his life — throughout his final years of touring and recording music. Released two months after he passed, Equal Strain On All Parts, his 32nd and final album, arrived like a comforting voice from beyond to Parrotheads and casual fans alike.

On "Bubbles Up," Buffett was in a particularly reflective mood, facing his own mortality in his most measured, reassuring manner. The title phrase came from his survival training — if he were to find himself submerged in water, either from a boat or plane wreck, his trainers advised him to follow the bubbles up to the surface. "They will always point you toward home," he sings, "no matter how deep or how far you roam." 

For a songwriter and performer who spent his life showing the world how to relax, enjoy life and see the humor in life's challenges, the reassuring sentiment — to quote the title of his 2004 album — underscores that a License to Chill has no expiration date.

Warren Zeiders has a whiteboard in his house where he writes himself daily reminders. But there's one that always stays: a quote that reads, "Nothing changes if nothing changes."

That sentiment couldn't be more fitting for the 25-year-old, whose life has changed drastically over the last few years. After an injury derailed his plans to pursue a career in lacrosse, Zeiders pivoted to music in 2021, and immediately made waves with the viral single "Ride the Lightning." Just three years later, he's one of country music's most unique new male voices, who has already scored a No. 1 hit and headlined multiple sold-out tours.

"I'm a firm believer, in three years of doing this, that this is what I was put here on this Earth to do," Zeiders tells GRAMMY.com. "I couldn't envision myself doing anything else. It's so funny how things have a way of working out."

What's perhaps even more remarkable about Zeiders' country music success story is that he had never even written a song prior to 2021. Stats aside, it's undeniable that he's a star — from the compelling grit of his voice and his candidly emotional lyrics, to his onstage swagger. Music clearly comes naturally, because Zeiders has already released his second album.

Relapse, the follow-up to 2023's Pretty Little Poison, offers a deeper look into Zeiders' artistry, from the racing, pop-tinged title track, to the impassioned ballad "High Desert Road," to the harrowing confessional "Devil I Know." It further proves he's equally unafraid to be raw in his storytelling and to push his vocal ability, both attributes that have helped him break through in the booming country music scene.

Just four days after Relapse arrived, Zeiders hit the road with Jelly Roll on The Beautifully Broken Tour. The Pennsylvania-born singer will serve as direct support on the two-month trek, which will hit arenas around the United States including New York's famed Madison Square Garden — adding more huge milestones to his already stacked resume.

"It does nothing but motivate me and want me to push that much harder," Zeiders says of the tour. And with The Relapse Tour already set for the spring of 2025, he's ready for things to only keep getting bigger. "I'm a personality that always likes to be growing, expanding and trying new things. So we'll see what the future holds."

Ahead of releasing Relapse, Zeiders reflected on his major achievements over the past year. Below, hear from the budding star himself about landing a No. 1 hit with "Pretty Little Poison," winning his first award and more.

I think a lot of people forget I was an athlete my whole life. I was playing lacrosse for 12 years. That was my livelihood, that was my passion, that was everything to me. Obviously I love music and I love what I get to do, but music wasn't a lifetime goal when I was a little kid. It wasn't until COVID had hit where I started posting videos on social media, and things started to kind of snowball.

I firmly believe that the good Lord always did have music on my heart, because I always loved to sing and play guitar, but it was just nothing that I ever thought was worth pursuing. That all to be said, I think I did have a healthy chip on my shoulder [about my first album]. I did want to solidify myself [as] not a flash in the pan, not just a dude who had a viral moment on social media. I took that and kind of just ran with it, and was like, I know the gift that I believe that the good Lord gave me, and my fan base is growing, and people are showing up to these shows. 

So when it came to making my debut record, I really did take my time on that. I was very selective with the songs, and [tried] to make my first cohesive body of work. It was one of the most stressful times of my life, because I was so hard on myself — and always have been, whether it was in sports or now doing this — but I really did want to prove it to myself, and want to prove it to the people that were already believing in me. 

When that album finally came out, I felt so much relief for a moment. [I also know] that now is the time to continuously push the record and let people know it's out. But it's made me grow so much in my artistry and have more faith in myself.

I actually got really, really sick when my album dropped. The following day, I was like, deathly sick signing thousands of records for fans. I wasn't contagious, but it was just a fun story to look back on. It's God's sense of humor, just letting you know you're still alive.

I remember posting it for the first time on Instagram. I can vividly remember the clip; it was of me in the vocal booth singing. That song, I must have sang over 100-plus times [in the booth]. I was beating myself up so much to the point of, like, I'm not believing the person singing this song right now. I was having to get myself back into that headspace [of] when I wrote it.

I took that clip and threw it up on social media. It got a decent amount of views, but it was nothing crazy. It wasn't until almost a week later, when I posted another video of me in the studio, sitting with my engineer at the time, in the studio, listening back. And I remember texting my manager, being like, "Um, this thing's going uber viral right now," and he was like, "I think we got one." 

We were seeing the thing unfold before its release, and then when it came out, through the streaming numbers and the interactions on social media, we knew that we had something special. I had faith in it from the beginning, and seeing what it was doing performance-wise, on the streaming side, I was like, This is a great piece of art to take to country radio… It'll be my first kind of splash into the scene. And lo and behold, 34 weeks on the charts, and it's a No. 1 — a pretty fast climb. 

The night it officially went No. 1, I had my dad out on the road, which was super cool. We were playing a place called Emo's in Austin, Texas. I vividly remember popping off a bottle of champagne after the show and giving a speech, and then we went across the street and played a couple rounds of pool. [And] my momma surprised me when I got home that weekend. She made me breakfast and had number one balloons and everything. 

Shout out to my CEO, Aaron Bay-Schuck, over at Warner L.A. When we first met, he was like, "You get about one victory lap for each win." I'm a firm believer in that, just from my athletic background. It's one thing to soak the win in for a second, but the reality is, the job's never done. As a guy who has been doing it for a short term, but I plan to be for a long time, and I have very high goals for myself — that is, stepping into arenas and stadiums one day myself. It's gonna take time, a lot of effort, but the job's never done.

It wasn't that I was nervous, it was just a new experience, and it was trusting in my ability and trusting in my gift and being like, This is another day in the office. The song was officially already  No. 1, and that gives you a little bit more confidence when you're singing it for the first time on live television.

I was actually supposed to play "Kimmel" the year prior, but the writer's strike had occurred. Once they got back on the air, it lined up almost a year to year to the date, of me finally getting onto Jimmy Kimmel. Rather than playing it on live television when the song had recently just come out, ["Pretty Little Poison" was a] No. 1 song, and [had] hundreds of millions of streams, and [it was] double platinum. 

Unfortunately, Jimmy wasn't there by the time we got in to record. And we waited as long as we could to hopefully see if he was going to be back, but, you know, I can relate — we all have our busy schedules. We had to catch a flight. We were flying back to Nashville, and me and some of the guys on my team, we got to watch [the performance] on our Southwest flight. It was super cool.

Winning His First Award, The CMT Music Award For Breakthrough Male Video

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Two days prior, I did some interviews, and they were like, "How are you feeling about your first nomination?" I was like, "I'm excited to accept my award on Sunday night." The only moment of doubt I had was when it finally came down to the nominees for my [category]. I was like, Man, you're up against great competition here. Those few moments were up, and they said my name. And I was like, Okay, that's right.

My mom, dad and sister were all at the CMT Awards — mom and sister were, like, 10 rows behind us, but me and my dad were in the seats with all the artists. My dad has always been my best friend and my biggest supporter, and I attest a lot of my success to how he and my mom raised me — my work ethic, my drive and my faith, and how I view life and what I want to achieve. 

That being said, I did get emotional when I accepted my award. I stood up and gave [my dad] a really big hug, and I could already see him tearing up. And when I went to take the stage, I was like, Just make sure you give thanks to God, and keep it short and sweet. I want to make sure I thank the fans a lot. And it was second nature to say something about my dad.

I have a wall dedicated for "Pretty Little Poison" plaques, and then I have some mantles in my kitchen/living room space. I've got the CMT award next to my first vinyl of the Pretty Little Poison album, my Opry sign from when I played it for the first time, my letter that I wrote to my fans when the Pretty Little Poison album dropped. Just a lot of cool, fun stuff. It's the inner athlete of me. [Laughs.]

I was [still] learning my voice. Your voice is a muscle. [Singing is] my daily grind of working out — the time and the energy, and just putting in the hours of work. My voice had developed so much from posting videos on social media to then going out and singing night after night. You're constantly growing and figuring yourself out.

The same applies to the writing mentality. The more you do it, the more you know what you want to say. It's been a lot of fun, and I've really gotten a good grasp on what I wanted to say on that first record, and now, this new one.

I like to say there's a lot of different facets to [my] artistry. I'm really excited about this album, but there are definitely other things in the works for the near future. So let's just say what's coming out in August is a great sampler — some tastes and flavors of what's to come. 

Obviously, there's music in this new [album that's] a reincarnation of Pretty Little Poison, lyrically and musically. But then there's stuff that's acoustic driven, like "Addictions," [which is] meant for you to soak in the words that I'm saying. But then there is stuff like "Relapse" that fits more into that modern — I don't even know if I want to say pop, but it's a different side of me.

I've been very hands-on with my producers on this music. And whether somebody likes this song or doesn't like this song, they can find something in this project that they like. It's gonna keep the fan base that's already pre-existing and it's going to bring in a new side too, which I'm really excited for.

Hitting The Road With Jelly Roll

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Here's what I'll say: it won't be new to me in numbers. What'll be new to me is the atmosphere.

I've been doing the whole headlining thing since I started hitting the road, minus, obviously, festivals and stuff like that. But these will be the biggest arenas I've stepped into, and being direct support for Jelly Roll, who is having an iconic year, I think it just was a match made in heaven for us to come together and hit the road.

The rooms are getting bigger, but it just gives you that much more of a taste to be like, Let's go put on a hell of a show. Before you know it, you keep working your ass off, and we'll be playing these places and headlining them ourselves.

I've gotten a chance to talk to Jelly Roll and his bandmates quite a bit, and they're just good people. I'm sure there'll be a bunch of fun going on behind backstage and in the parking lots — I guess he's bringing a portable gym, ice baths and saunas. And I'm like, "Dude, you're speaking my love language." So I'm sure there'll be a lot of stories to tell — and not tell.

Thomas Rhett married his wife, Lauren, in 2012 — the same year he launched his career in country music. Naturally, the majority of his catalog has been inspired by their relationship. Over a decade into their marriage, Rhett has officially dedicated an entire album to the love of his life, the aptly titled About A Woman. And is she surprised? Absolutely not.

"A lot of people are like, 'Oh my gosh, does she just melt when she hears these songs?' And I'm like, 'Maybe back in the day, but not anymore,'" Rhett tells GRAMMY.com with a laugh. "It's actually gotten to the point where she's like, 'How do you continue to write about me?'"

But unlike Rhett's GRAMMY-nominated ballad "Die a Happy Man" or his 21st country radio No. 1, "Angels (Don't Always Have Wings)," About A Woman is largely full of upbeat tracks — something that did surprise his wife. "That was her favorite part," the singer adds. "She wants to know there's some fun that can be had with a love song."

From the racing, pop-tinged melody of "Fool" to the bluesy, howling hook of the title track, About A Woman is a feel-good celebration of love. Thomas and Lauren's love story — which dates back to grade school — is most vividly reflected in "What Could Go Right," a retelling of the night they went from friends to lovers. Other personal touches are scattered across the album, including "Church," an ode to their favorite artist, Eric Church, and "Overdrive," which features an anecdote from a high school party.

Of course, there is one ballad on the album, the heartfelt closer "I Could Spend Forever Loving You." But while Rhett was making About A Woman, he knew that the best way he could accurately portray their relationship was with uptempo songs.     

"It kind of feels like we're 21 again — there's a lot more flirting going on, there's more dates, there's more adventure. Even though we have four children, our love level today feels very young and wild and reckless," Rhett says. "That was a fun thing to get to capture on a lot of these songs. I was writing from this giddy phase."

Ahead of About A Woman's Aug. 23 arrival, Rhett sat down with GRAMMY.com for an in-depth chat, well, about a woman. Below, hear from the singer himself on how his wife inspired some of the songs on the album.

I've been trying to write this song for, like, five years. There was a moment when I was 21 years old — and if you don't know anything about me and Lauren's story, we grew up knowing each other, and I always was head over heels for her. We dated a little bit in high school, but it was kind of a young, dumb high school relationship.

We still remained best friends — she would date somebody else, I would date somebody else, but we would always double date with each other. And I think that she was fully over me in her mind, but there was like this little part of me in the back of my mind that just never got over her.

Right before her last semester of college, I texted her, and I was like, "Hey, this is gonna sound really awkward, but I don't know that I can be your friend anymore, because I'm actually, like, in love with you." I think she didn't know how to respond to that. 

So I called her dad, and I was like, "You think I should tell her?" And he was like, "Well, if you don't tell her tonight how you feel about her, I'm gonna tell her." And I was like, "Well that would be even more awkward."  

The night her sister graduated high school, the crowd had started to die down, and Lauren's dad looked at me and he said, "Now's your time." I remember walking out there and kind of just laying it all out. And she looked at me, and she was like, "I feel like you just ruined our friendship." And I said, "Well, I would rather ruin our friendship today knowing that we can be friends later, rather than pretend to be your buddy, but I really just want to make out with you." 

I pulled the cheesiest line ever — it felt like Ryan Gosling out of The Notebook — I was like, "I dare you to kiss me. And if you don't feel any fireworks, if you don't feel any butterflies in your stomach, then let's just move on." And she was like, "Alright, we'll give it a shot." So we kissed, and that was the beginning of everything. We started dating the day after that, and six months later, we got engaged, and, nine months after that, got married, and here we are with four children, 12 years later. And it all started because of that night. 

That's why that song resonates with me so much. It kind of reminds me of [my song] "Life Changes" — it's just so vividly detailed that it could only come from my mouth. For me and Lauren both, that song holds such a special place in our hearts.

It was my junior year, and my wife was the homecoming queen — everybody in our school wanted to date Lauren. She was just so breathtakingly gorgeous, and her heart was so real and authentic.

I remember driving to this party that everybody was going to, and Lauren texted me, like, "Can you pick me up and take me to this thing?" So it was this feeling of being 16, 17 years old, just like, Man, I know that it's your boys before everybody else, but in this case, I'm dropping y'all. The hottest girl in my world just asked me to pick her up to take me to this party, so I'm getting there as fast as I possibly can. 

I think the only line that does not directly correlate to my wife is in the second verse, when it says [something] like, I had to put you on my shoulders because you're wearing high heels to a bonfire party. My wife would rather die than put high heels on and/or put makeup on.

If I'm being completely honest with you, it is the only track on the record that does not directly relate to my wife. When I listened to that chorus, I was like, Man, our genre is having such a massive moment. And there's so many stories I've heard of girls or guys from the city meeting a girl or a guy from the country, and falling in love with the simplicity of the lifestyle.

At the end of the day, I didn't need it to fit the rest of the story. I couldn't get enough of the song, so I was like, You know what, I'm gonna let this one slide a little bit.

My wife is as country as crap. [Laughs.] When I played this for her, she's like, "This is not about me, right?" I was like, "No, this is about people just really wanting to be inundated in the country music culture."

We're pretty dadgum equal [when it comes to being country]. I was born in Valdosta, Georgia, which is a real southern part of Georgia, but I grew up in Nashville. My dad's probably the biggest redneck that I know, alongside Lauren's dad. But we both grew up hunting, fishing, riding four wheelers, catching bream out of some stale pond and frying them in Crisco, eating biscuits and gravy for breakfast. She would say that she's more country than me, but I'm just going to let her believe that. Happy wife, happy life.

"Beautiful As You" (The Instagram Version)

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Our whole relationship has been based on picking on each other. Even in middle school when I first got to know her at church camp, she would always look at me and be like, "You're shorter than me." That was how we started our friendship, and that's kind of how we flirted with each other.

It's a really good feeling to know that we have never lost that bit of our relationship. We both have the same humor — like, on Instagram, when we see memes and we show them to our whole family, and me and Lauren are dying laughing. That's how you know that you're made for each other, in a certain way.

It's always fun to kind of slide one in that's unflattering of Lauren — because the irony of that is, there's really nothing that's unflattering about her, and there's so many things that are unflattering about me. So when she wants to get me back, it's such a more in-depth getting back than me getting back at her. [Laughs.]

I can list like, five to 10 moments — even in the last six months — where that was our story of just like, "Hey, the kids are down. Let's go build a fire and let's sleep outside tonight." Whereas, even two years ago, it was like, get me to my pillow as fast as humanly possible, because life was just so fast and chaotic.

Last year, we did this road trip out West. We did Zion National Park, went all over to the National Parks in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Those nights where we were hiking all day, and our kids are so worn out — that was when me and Lauren would go grab some random craft beer out of the fridge, [sit] on the back porch, and get out our star app and try to find as many as many constellations as we possibly could. And [we'd] get to reminisce about the week, and laugh, and flirt, and kiss. Those things sound really normal for a newlywed couple, but when you experience a lot of years of marriage and start to have kids, you realize those moments can be very few and far between, if you don't make a diligent point to make those nights happen.

Lauren loves to play board games. [When] the rest of our family is, like, dead tired, Lauren looks at me, she's like, "What game are we gonna play?" and I'm like, "Are you not exhausted?" And she's like, "Yes, but this is where my cup gets filled up for the next day." 

As sort of PG as all of that sounds, that is sort of my rendition of "After All The Bars Are Closed." I had this conversation with Julian [Bunetta, Rhett's longtime co-writer/producer] a lot, but it's like, "Man, how do you take things that are actually happening in your life and have them apply to an 18-year-old kid?" 

So "After All The Bars Are Closed" was just like, "Everyone's down for the count, but me and you still have energy to keep this party going" — which can relate to people in their mid 30s and 40s, but also can relate to kids going to the bar when they're 18 years old and wanting to go find the field to park in afterwards.

I was about to headline Stagecoach for the first time, and I got this chorus and verse sent to me by a couple of guys that I've written with a ton. Me and these co-writers really bond over being Eric Church nerds. When I heard this hook [with] all these super inside Eric Church references, I knew from that moment that this was going to be — besides "What Could Go Right" — the [song] that [Lauren] goes back to the most.

The majority of me and Lauren's high school and college really revolved around two people: Corey Smith and Eric Church. So I have all these memories of seeing Eric Church with my wife, or her buying me a copy of "These Boots," and me buying her a copy of Chief, and just spending our days memorizing these words. It was always my mission to learn so many Eric Church songs so that I could play them around bonfires and parties.

As I've been in this career for 15 years, me and Lauren have gotten to know him and his wife pretty well. I remember finishing that song and sending it to Eric, and getting his stamp of approval on that song was one of the biggest highlights of my career. His music meant so much to our love story, and I have so many memories that are attached with Lauren to his music, that this song just had to be on the project.

It was like, 1 o'clock in the morning after a show. I'd learned these random jazz chords that day that I started kind of playing. My bus driver's name is Rhett — he's 82 years old, and he drove buses for, like, Mötley Crüe and Dolly Parton — and I looked at Rhett, and I said, "What should we write about?" And he just looked at me, and he said, "I don't know. I guess something about a woman." And this song fell out in 30 minutes.

I love this track so much because it's something I've been trying to write for a long time, but it's never really come out in a unique way. This song has such a vibe, so much sauce. It's like, Steely Dan meets the Rolling Stones meets my love for R&B. It's kind of my best attempt at doing what Chris Stapleton does every day.

We went into that session not even thinking we were writing a song for this record. Our ultimate mission was to try to write a song we could get in the "Yellowstone" [TV show] soundtrack.

I'm obsessed with love films that end with the couple being old together. I'm obsessed with nostalgia, and I'm obsessed with things working out in a positive light. I cannot wait to be 40. I can't wait to be 50. I can't wait to be 60. Because it's just sort of like, "Hey, we made it another decade!" 

I dream about sitting on the front porch in the middle of the country with Lauren, in a rocking chair, watching our kids who we raised, and looking at our grandchildren. I'm obsessed with the thought of knowing that we're gonna finish this race really strong. 

That's where the inspiration of "I Could Spend Forever Loving You" came from. It's like, there's gonna be ups and there's going to be downs, but we can kind of weather any storm — because we've already weathered plenty of storms.

Sabrina Carpenter is the first to admit that it's taken her a bit of time to find her way to the top of the music industry. She even likens herself to the tortoise in the fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" — even if she didn't want to believe the metaphor growing up.

"Something that my mom always said to me as a little girl that really annoyed me was that I am the tortoise… throughout my life, [I was] being told, 'Sabrina, you're the tortoise, just chill,'" Carpenter recalled while accepting the Variety Hitmakers Rising Artist Award in December 2023. "In moments of frustration and confusion it can feel like a letdown, but it turns out it's actually a very good thing."

It's been a very good thing for Carpenter, indeed. A decade since the release of her debut single, the singer/songwriter isn't just breaking through — she's one of pop's new reigning queens. Over the last year, Carpenter has nabbed her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, made a stellar debut at Coachella, and performed on "Saturday Night Live," all the while racking up billions of streams on her music new and old. It's all built excitement for one of the most anticipated pop albums of the summer: Short n' Sweet.

As Carpenter unveils her new album, take a deep dive into her decade-long journey to pop stardom.

Growing up, Carpenter filled the sounds of her family home in Pennsylvania with covers of songs like Adele's "Set Fire To The Rain" and "Picture to Burn" by future Eras Tour companion Taylor Swift (more on that later). After submitting videos for a singing contest spearheaded by Miley Cyrus, Carpenter would get her first taste of success. Placing third, she caught the eye of Hollywood Records, who signed her following the competition.

Simultaneously, Carpenter also began pursuing acting, landing guest spots on series like "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in 2011 and joining "The Goodwin Games" in 2012. In 2014, she landed a lead role in the Disney Channel series "Girl Meets World," a spin-off of the beloved '90s series "Boy Meets World," which served as a breakthrough moment for the burgeoning star — and a catalyst for her music career.

Just before the show debuted, Carpenter released her debut single, "Can't Blame A Girl for Trying," the title track to her debut EP that arrived a month later. While the four-track EP was the typical output of a teenage Disney star — bubblegum pop sounds with digestible, family-friendly lyricism — it showed off her youthful timbre and offered themes that would become prevalent later in Carpenter's songwriting: love, heartache, and navigating life.

A year later, she released her debut album, Eyes Wide Open. A mix of pop with folk and country influences — a soundscape that remains on Short n' Sweet — Carpenter's debut showed maturity and growth following Can't Blame A Girl For Trying; songs like "Eyes Wide Open" and "We'll Be the Stars" showed a more introspective side, reflecting on the pressures of being in the spotlight and the journey of finding her identity. Eyes Wide Open also hinted that Carpenter was beginning to hone her songwriting skills, penning four of the 12 tracks.

It would be on her 2016 sophomore album, EVOLution, where Carpenter would find confidence as a songwriter, co-writing all but one song on the 10-track project. In turn, the lyrics reflected her growing sense of self and a new perspective on past themes, like embracing non-romantic forms of love in "All We Have is Love," being there for a struggling friend in "Shadows," and learning to assert boundaries in "Space."

EVOLution transitioned Carpenter out of the teen pop aesthetic into a more sophisticated sound, experimenting with dance-pop and techno sonics. Genre versatility would become a throughline of sorts for Carpenter, and EVOLution foreshadowed the multifaceted musicality that was to come.

After "Girl Meets World" came to an end at the beginning of 2017, Carpenter was ready for reinvention. Much like Britney Spears' Britney and Cyrus' Can't Be Tamed before her, as Carpenter grew into an adult, she felt like she needed to shed the Disney-fied image that has become a rite of passage for teen stars. Thus began the Singular era.

Released in 2018 and 2019, respectively, Singular: Act I and Singular: Act II featured songs that were more risqué and mature in nature. A far cry from her tamer work of the past, the R&B track "Hold Tight" is equal parts sultry and evocative with Carpenter singing, "Wanna keep you in, wanna keep you in right/ Wanna feel your skin, wanna feel it on mine."

As she noted in an interview with Billboard, Singular: Act I  was a natural progression for a girl now in her late teens — even if it was against the squeaky-clean image of her beginnings.

"I was known as a fictional character on television with lines that were written for her with an attitude that was portrayed in a way by other people. So for a lot of people, their first impression of me was as a 13-year-old girl [singing] the kinds of songs that she should be singing," she said. "Then, flash forward to 19, and people are asking why I am not singing about the same things that I did when I was 13, as if that's normal."

One of the more notable Singular tracks is from Act I, "Sue Me." Sneakily disguised as a story about a romantic relationship, the song is Carpenter's response to being sued by her ex music managers: "That's my shape, I made the shadow/ That's my name, don't wear it out though/ Feelin' myself can't be illegal." Its tongue-in-cheek and snarky nature would inevitably embolden Carpenter to continue writing more confessional songs with attitude, whether she's responding to media scrutiny in "because i liked a boy" from 2022's emails i can't send, or warning a suitor to be careful in Short n' Sweet's "Please, Please, Please."

Singular: Act I and Act II further helped demonstrate different facets of Carpenter's musicality, with the former leaning into pop tendencies and the latter embracing an R&B flair. And as her final albums with Hollywood Records, she used Singular: Act I and Act II to indicate that she wasn't going to let any sort of previous perceptions hold her back. Their coming-of-age themes showcased Carpenter as an artist coming into her own — regardless of whether listeners wanted to keep her in the Disney box or not.

While the world was going through a period of change amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so was Carpenter. She signed with Universal Music Group's Island Records in 2021, and soon she would be able to fully introduce the world to who Sabrina Carpenter is as an artist.

As she noted herself to Variety earlier this year, her 2022 LP, emails i can't send, "marked the beginning of a really freeing and artistic time for me." Once again, she co-wrote every song on the album; this time, though, she only had one co-writer for each track, and even wrote two songs solo ("emails i can't send" and "how many things") — proving that she was more assured as a songwriter than ever.

As a result, Carpenter's knack for confessional songwriting is on full display. emails i can't send represents a reflective time capsule of sorts; one that brings the curiosity of her earlier work with the perspective and wisdom of a young adult. Her growing fame meant there was more attention on her personal life, and emails i can't send allowed her to reclaim her narrative and express her side of the story.

Carpenter's candidness struck a chord with listeners, and upon the release of emails i can't send in July 2022, it was clear Carpenter was on a new trajectory. The album debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200, which marked her highest entry on the chart to date (as of press time); the 2022 stretch of her Emails I Can't Send Tour sold out in less than a day. And once  "Nonsense" was released as a single that November, her place as a rapidly rising star was solidified.

"Nonsense" was initially written as a means to an end after Carpenter was writing a sad song and had writer's block. Now, the track is the epitome of Carpenter's lyricism, weaving together her wit and humor with an infectious hook. First gaining traction on TikTok because of its catchiness, it's become a beloved part of Carpenter's canon thanks to her inventive and bespoke outros during her live shows. It's since become a tradition for fans to check to see what outro she created for each performance, adding to the fan fervor.

Carpenter further satiated fans' taste for her cheeky lyricism in March 2023, when she released emails i can't send fwd:, the deluxe version of her album, which featured a new track called "Feather." She took the playful, flirting energy of "Nonsense" and infused "Feather" with buoyant, airy production that mimics the feeling of self-liberation after moving on from a relationship. Earning Carpenter her first pop radio No. 1, "Feather" proved that the singer's audacious style was taking hold — and it set the stage for an even bigger 2024.

After her own extensive — and very sold out — tour in support of Emails I Can't Send, Carpenter's rising star status was further confirmed by pop's current queen, Taylor Swift. The singer earned a coveted opening slot on Swift's monumental Eras Tour in Mexico, South America, Australia, and Asia.

Just after her last Eras Tour show in March 2024, Carpenter hinted that her own new era was beginning. "I'm starting to feel like I've outgrown the songs I'm singing," she admitted to Cosmopolitan, "which is always an exciting feeling because I think that means the next chapter is right around the corner."

That chapter began with "Espresso," which dropped a day before her debut Coachella performance. Doubling down on the playful, self-assured vibe of "Nonsense," the song immediately hinted that big things were coming for Carpenter, debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 3.

Upon announcing her sixth album, Short n' Sweet, Carpenter released "Please Please Please." Combining her now-signature playful, carefree lyricism with an airy, disco-tinged sound, "Please Please Please" didn't just present Carpenter as a confident superstar —  it became her first Hot 100-topping smash.

Carpenter has referred to Short n' Sweet as the "hot older sister" of emails i can't send. "It's my second 'big girl' album; it's a companion but it's not the same," she explained to Variety, to whom she also admitted she feels a "sense of separation" from her work prior to emails. "When it comes to having full creative control and being a full-fledged adult, I would consider this a sophomore album."

It's apt, then, that her Short n' Sweet collaborators — including songwriters Julia Michaels, Amy Allen and Steph Jones — are largely the same as the team from emails i can't send. "I've really honed in on the people that I love making music with," she told Rolling Stone in June.

Even more telling of the direction she's heading is her work with one of pop's hottest producers — and Swift's right-hand man — Jack Antonoff, for the first time. At a GRAMMY Museum event with Antonoff himself, Carpenter debuted the country-infused "Slim Pickins," presenting yet another pop style from Short n' Sweet. And as "Slim Pickins," "Espresso" and "Please Please Please" indicate, Carpenter's knack for infectious and edgy lyrics isn't just the throughline across Short n' Sweet — it's become the epitome of both her artistry and her stardom.

Just like her metaphorical friend the tortoise, Carpenter's long but steady journey has clearly paid off. As she's figured out who she is on her own terms, she's manifested the bonafide superstardom she's always imagined.

"I never had the plan B, and it wasn't even a thought in my mind that it wouldn't work out," she told Rolling Stone. "I just always knew it was about not if it would happen but when it would happen."

For Carpenter, every chapter of her artistry has built on the last; she's refused to rest on her laurels and continuously pursued new directions. She's creating work that wholeheartedly reflects her, and growing a loyal fan base because of it. Her next album might be named Short n' Sweet, but her time as a pop superstar will be anything but.

Lainey Wilson will be in discussion, with a performace to follow, at the GRAMMY Museum on Sept. 5. Learn more about the event here.

If there's one word to describe Lainey Wilson's life in the past year, it's whirlwind — which is exactly how she chose the name of her third album.

Since releasing Bell Bottom Country in 2022, the Louisiana-bred singer has been on an unprecedented tear. Whether she's selling out arenas nationwide, collecting countless awards, or launching or own line with Wrangler, Wilson is country music's newest queen. 

It's the culmination of a long and hard-fought journey for Wilson, who first moved to Nashville over a decade ago with not much more than a dream. But as she explained to GRAMMY.com earlier this year, Wilson has been manifesting this level of country music success since she wrote her first song at just 9 years old. 

"I've dedicated my life to it," she said. "And it really is cool to just feel like that little 9-year-old girl who was writing her first song, that she wasn't completely crazy."

Read More: Lainey Wilson On How Her Stardom Is A Testament To "Believin' And Receivin'"

Wilson grinded behind the scenes in songwriter rooms and at local gigs during her early years in Nashville, independently releasing her self-titled debut record in 2014, followed by the fittingly titled Tougher in 2016. It was a time of trial by fire as Wilson was learning how to navigate not only Nashville's music scene, but honing her own voice as a songwriter as well.

"Each album has been a reflection of the season I was in at the time,"  Wilson tells GRAMMY.com now. "My first album was the safest. I was young and had just moved to Nashville, but still hadn't seen too much of the world just yet. My next album became more confident and a little sassy. After that, I started to really discover my north star, staying open to all kinds of people and opportunities and sticking with the parts that felt the most authentic to me."

Just months before signing with Broken Bow Records in 2018, she delivered another self-titled project – this time, an EP, which conveyed both gratitude and sensitivity with songs like "Dreamcatcher" and "Breakin' Your Heart." Both qualities would soon become Wilson's trademark, and what particularly made listeners gravitate toward her breakthrough hit (and eventual first No. 1 at country radio), "Things A Man Oughta Know."

First appearing on her 2019 EP, Redneck Hollywood, "Things" was the second single on her debut studio album, 2021's Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'. Along with putting Wilson on the map, the LP also introduced fans to her unique style that she calls "bell bottom country" — sonically, a mix of nostalgic and twangy, pop-tinged sounds that never takes itself too seriously; visually, presented with flair (and flare) in her now-signature bell bottom pants.

"It's finding that thing that makes you unique, and leaning into it," Wilson told Rolling Stone in 2021. "It could be your story, your sound, where you're from, how you're raised, how you dress. I kept thinking about those words, 'bell-bottom country'…how can we do this? I definitely wanted a bit of Bobbie Gentry vibe, but also the pureness of Lee Ann Womack but also the sassiness of Dolly Parton. I wanted it to feel timeless and classic and, honestly, a little not too perfect."

Once "Things A Man Oughta Know" topped the charts, it wasn't long before Wilson did it again with Cole Swindell on "Never Say Never," her first of several chart-topping duets to come. She also hit the road opening for Jason Aldean, setting her up as an artist to watch and ensuring that she wouldn't be a flash-in-the-pan success story.  

After being unapologetically herself on Sayin' What I'm Thinkin', Wilson doubled down on that sentiment — and her brand — with Bell Bottom Country, a 16-song exploration of classic country instrumentation with glimmering '70s rock elements. It saw Wilson tell her story more than ever before, from the heartfelt ode to her father, "Those Boots (Deddy's Song)," to the strong-willed generational tale of "Wildflowers & Wild Horses." 

Though Bell Bottom Country was a bit of a slow burn — peaking at No. 9 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart — Wilson's place in the country music zeitgeist was rapidly rising. Two weeks after Bell Bottom Country arrived, she made her acting debut as a guest star in "Yellowstone"; a month later, her booty-hugging bell bottoms went viral on TikTok.

Within the next several months, Bell Bottom Country spawned two No. 1 hits: the dynamic resilience tale, "Heart Like a Truck," and the "Strawberry Wine"-esque "Watermelon Moonshine." By the end of 2023, she'd score four No. 1s (thanks to collabs with HARDY and Jelly Roll), serve as direct support for Luke Combs' stadium tour, and become a brand ambassador for Wrangler jeans and Stella Rosa wines — all of it propelling Wilson to becoming a household name. And by May 2024, she'd scooped up three of the most coveted country awards: Entertainer Of The Year at both the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy Of Country Music Awards, and a GRAMMY for Best Country Album for Bell Bottom Country.

As her fame rose, Wilson had to make a conscious effort to stay grounded — especially because her personal life presented a whirlwind of its own. While the singer's career, as she puts it, "had me feeling like I was holding on to the tail of an airplane," her dad experienced several health issues, and simultaneously, she was balancing a relationship with former NFL quarterback Devlin Hodges.

"I had to learn how to rise to the occasion, deal with the pressure, and tend to my feelings and personal life around it all," Wilson explains. "I didn't feel in control of anything; like I was the victim of the chaos."

But as she started to make peace with her new reality, Wilson found solace in music. Soon, she had the makings of her fifth album, Whirlwind. "I [found] my footing through writing these songs and committing to a few good habits that have helped me become my best self," she adds.

Like Bell Bottom Country, Whirlwind sees Wilson telling her story — so, naturally, this time, there's a lot more love songs. "Counting Chickens" and "4x4xU" hint that she's found her life partner, while "Hang Tight Honey" and "Good Horses" remind that she won't let fame get in the way of a good thing. (Even the title track flips the proverbial whirlwind of her career into a metaphor for love: "We're a whirlwind/ But baby, loving you's a breeze.")

Whirlwind largely expands on Wilson's signature country flair, but a standout is the hip-hop, rock and country mash-up "Ring Finger" (which, ironically, is a breakup song; "I got the ring, he got the finger," she sings on the chorus). Much like with her previous two albums, Wilson teamed up with producer Jay Joyce for the project, noting that his willingness to experiment has helped her establish a sound that's fresh and unique, but also classic and timeless — a formula that's only proving to be more and more successful for the singer.

"I've become more confident, first and foremost," Wilson says of her growth. "I've seen beautiful things that come from pressure, and the things it can break. From that, I feel like I am writing with more wisdom and understanding and doing so in a way that kind of observes feelings instead of getting lost in them."

That wisdom and understanding is perhaps most apparent on "Middle Of It," an autobiographical illustration of how she's navigated her growing success. But whether she's exploring new sounds or new storylines, Wilson continues to prove that she'll never lose sight of the country-loving, hard-working girl she's always been.

Whirlwind paints a picture of Wilson rising above her success and its ensuing chaos, ultimately finding herself more at ease than ever before. It's all proof that her long-traveled journey has been well worth it — she's helped make country music cool again, and she doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon.