Fast-rising country star Hailey Benedict today releases the touching single “Things My Mama Says” along with the captivating official visualizer. Produced by Joey Moi and Scott Cooke, “Things My Mama Says” marks Benedict’s debut single via Big Loud Records and its Dallas Smith-founded imprint Local Hay Records.
Written by Benedict alongside Clara Park and Ava Suppelsa, the song is a deeply personal reflection on the emotional tension between trusting a mother’s advice and worrying about her from a distance – a narrative rooted in Benedict’s own experience.
“The day I signed my record deal was the same day I found out about my mom’s cancer diagnosis. I immediately felt like I should put my career on pause,” Benedict shares. “My mom has always been one of my biggest supporters, and despite her diagnosis, she urged me to keep pursuing my dreams. Most of the time she’s right – but this time I wasn’t so sure. ‘Things My Mama Says’ illustrates the irony of how our mothers spend their lives worrying about us, and then one day, the roles reverse.”
Writing the lyrics was somewhat of a therapeutic process, but at first, Benedict wasn’t sure she’d ever feel ready to release something so personal.
“As I began sharing the song and story, I realized that I wasn’t alone in these emotions, and that others connected with the sentiment of the song,” she says. “My hope is that people can relate to the song in their own way, drawing from their own relationships with loved ones.”
Benedict announced her worldwide recording and publishing deals with Big Loud / Local Hay last month, first revealing the news while on stage in Toronto at Billboard Canada’s Women in Music event, which celebrated influential and trailblazing women of the music industry. Following that, Benedict headed to the CCMA Awards in Edmonton, where she was nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, presented an award during the nationally televised broadcast, and performed at the sold-out Legends Show.
Hailed as “the future star of country music” by CityTV and praised as a “prodigy whose star is definitely on the rise” by The Calgary Herald, the guitar-wielding, CCMA Award-winner drew international attention at age 14 when Keith Urban pulled her on stage for an impromptu performance in front of a sold-out arena, instantly catapulting her into the spotlight.
2023 was a monumental year for Benedict, culminating in her victory at the SiriusXM Top of the Country competition. This summer, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by performing on the main stage at Big Valley Jamboree, her hometown festival where she has been a lifelong attendee. Benedict’s quarter-million-strong following on TikTok helped earn her a CCMA Award for Interactive Artist of the Year, to go along with four career nominations.
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