Elle King Loves To Identify As A Country Artist Now

Elle King is happy with her choice to become part of the country music community and release her debut country album, Come Get Your Wife, in January.

During a recent interview, Elle explained how she can now identify and use her creative expression in country music. She said, "The thread throughout the whole record is my voice, and it's me and my stories. But now I understand that I had all of these influences and all of these things to make me this type of performer, songwriter, and now producer, and help me become this type of country artist, and it's everything that I love."

King added, "I pour it all into this. And I think that's really cool. And now, when you step outside of like the snow globe, shake it up, and watch it settle. It's like, you start to put the pieces together, and maybe I'm just getting old. I don't know. But it makes sense. You know, I never knew what to say. And, you know, there's still a lot of people like, I'm not that famous, like, they'll be like, 'Oh, you're a musician? Like yeah, what kind of music do you play?' I used to always be like, 'I don't know.' And now I'm like, 'Well, country.' A couple of things, but yeah, we play country,' and it's cool, and I like the country music I play. "

King is one of the hosts for the CMA Fest 2023 ABC TV special as she joins Dierks Bentley and Lainey Wilson for the special to air in July. She stepped backstage to chat with us before she began work last night, hosting last month at CMA Fest (6/8).

Elle loves her co-hosts for the TV special, and when asked about Lainey Wilson, she said she would love to do more than TV hosting with her. She told us, "I would do anything with Lainey, and she might be the most country person I've ever met in my life. She's just badass. I won't wear tight pants next to her, but I'd sing with her."

Elle King celebrates her 35th birthday today (7/3). King, who has moved from pop to country, is currently touring with Jelly Roll. In January of this year, she released her debut country album Come Get Your Wife and has been a fixture in country music ever since.

Elle played a show at the San Diego Fair a couple of days ago and ran into a fan she has known for a while. King posted an image of her and the fan hugging on Instagram.

She captioned the photo, "I met this lil mama at 9 years old. I saw her front row singing every word to my songs and brought her up on stage. Since then, Olivia and I have become family, along with her whole entire blended family. It's what I love about touring the most. The people who make an impact on your show, which turns into the person who makes an impact on your life. I love you, Olivia. I love your family."

She added, "Thank you to people who come to my shows. Thank you to the people who become more than fans. You inspire me, you drive me, and you remind me that the reason we do this is connection. I love you forever."

As Elle, country music's newest musical transplant, celebrates her 35th birthday today (7/3), we gathered five songs from her debut country project that we believe are her very best.

A seriously catchy song and so much fun. The video for this song is just infectious.

One of country music's best songs to come out of the 2020s. This catchy tune made it to the number-one spot on the country charts. It has become sort of an anthem for girls throwing down a few now and then. To put perspective on how good this song is, it's this journalist's favorite song in the last several years, and I don't even drink.

Another duet with Dierks Bentley, the reason King found her way to country music. This solid song and an award-worthy video transport her and Bentley into the Old West.

This is a rocking fun country tune, and we can only hope Elle releases it as a single. This song is reminiscent of the outlaw days of country music in the 1970s. One line in the song sings, "Well that good for nothing / Mother truckin' son of a gun / I don't need to know her name / 'Cause I can tell you which one."

A song King wrote about having her toddler son Lucky. When the song came out, Elle released a "visual" featuring clips of herself with her son Lucky. The visual is as sweet as the song itself.