Michaela Anne Is The Answer To Bro Country v. Everyone Else With "Won't Go Down"

Image courtesy of the artist.

The thing about bro-country is that, while the lyrics are pedestrian at best and leave you with no real feeling other than ‘hell yeah let’s down these Coors and play beer pong in the bed of my truck that is also a pool now,’ the tunes are catchy as hell. You can’t deny it. And a lot of people want it to go away — Maddie and Tae have built their career on it and endless think pieces have been penned about it — yet it endures.

Enter Michaela Anne, who has come out of nowhere as our saving grace, our angel, the person who will help usher us into a new age with her latest album Bright Lights and Fame. “Won’t Go Down,” the song we’re premiering below, is a “come and make me” kind of anthem, a song that places her identity firmly into your brain as someone who only does what she wants, and if you don’t like it, too bad.

"The first song I ever wrote, at age seven, was a rap called ‘Hey Don’t Smoke’” says Michaela. “I definitely got teased for being a bit of an outspoken ‘square' growing up, but I was also drawn to the kids who got in trouble and always dated 'bad boys.' 'Won’t Go Down’ came out of a conversation [co-writer] Dave Brainard and I were having about that and how it fits into our current lives as adults; especially as adult musicians who both, coincidentally, grew up in fairly strict, disciplined families with fathers in the military. We were talking about the dichotomy of how we were raised versus the temptation of a free-wheelin' experimenting musician lifestyle, and about straddling that line. The song kind of wrote itself as we were chatting about our personalities and our different beliefs, choices and desires. Regardless of what the specifics are, I think the song became this kind of acceptance or empowerment anthem of knowing who you are, what you will and won't do, and not apologizing for it. And about how being a strong woman with principles and being carefree and fun are not mutually exclusive.”

Her album is out May 13, so mark your calendars.

Annalise Domenighini won't go down either, unless it's for a nap. Follow her on Twitter.