Ingrid Andress Parents' Perfect Reaction to More Hearts Than Mine

What's remarkable about Ingrid Andress' debut single "More Hearts Than Mine" isn't how everyone gets it — it's how everyone gets it differently.

The ballad is cross-generational and reaches men differently than women. Andress recognized this only after she wrote it with Sam Ellis and Derrick Southerland and started to get messages from both sexes of every generation. That she wrote it with two men, she shares, is part of the reason.

“First of all I didn’t even think about it until (Billboard) asked me that question,” the Colorado native says referring to a Makin' Tracks article published last month. “I was like ‘Oh, they were just my two friends that I could just be open with.’ But I feel like it definitely helped tell the story from what dads treat them like if they went and met — because you know, most families that I ever meet — if I ever meet — their parents the dad’s not pouring me whiskey over ice and taking me fishing even though I would want that."

"More Hearts Than Mine" is an example of how great collaborative songwriting works in Nashville. Andress brought the idea to the meeting somewhat timidly wondering if they should even try to write this story because no one ever had before. Releasing it as her first radio single freaked her out because it's so personal but immediate responses from those she shared it with quieted any fears about being too vulnerable too quickly. There's power in vulnerability, she'd learn.

Lyrically everyone who's loved has been there. Young women can relate to the anxiety of waiting for mom and dad's approval of a new boyfriend. Young men may recall a girlfriend's father testing his mettle. Older couples have told Andress through tears that their story was exactly the same — proof that as everything changes, nothing really does.

Moms and dads may recall one of their kids' old girl or boyfriends with quiet fondness and a tear. That's how the singer's parents took it. “It brought up the one guy that I brought back home,” she says, laughing, “which is what the song was about and I haven’t brought anybody home since then. This is like 10 years ago.”

Andress is a newcomer by country radio standards only. She's sharpened her songwriting and performance skills across a decade and lived in Nashville for several years. "Both" and "Lady Like" are two other songs she's released since signing with Warner Music Nashville. There's so much more to come.

“I don’t take myself as seriously as my songs will sound,” she admits. “I also am very carefree and adventurous and very sarcastic. I feel like that’s a side of me that will help balance out the moodiness. I’m not always so deep in my feels.”

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