Artist: Stone Cupid with Julie Christensen
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Song: "The Cardinal"
Album: The Cardinal
Release Date: January 22
In Their Words: "The song 'The Cardinal' started as a folky ode to the bird, but went south into the murder ballad territory when I started rifling through my past. My association with the Cardinal mascot of my youth, dead friends communicating via birds, and betrayals all tumbled in. When you write songs, you need to lie your face off to get to the truth sometimes. My band rocked it into an even darker place and we just went for it." — Julie Christensen
Photo courtesy of the artist