{"id":67294,"date":"2017-10-12T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-10-12T17:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whisnews21.com\/?p=67294"},"modified":"2017-10-12T12:00:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-12T17:00:43","slug":"the-writers-round-with-nicolle-galyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/12\/the-writers-round-with-nicolle-galyon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Writers Round with Nicolle Galyon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"The Writers Round with Nicolle Galyon<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Welcome to the Writers Round, a monthly column where Sounds Like Nashville sits down with Nashville-based songwriters and learns about each writer\u2019s journey to Music City. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This month,\u00a0Nicolle Galyon\u00a0sheds some light into her life as a songwriter as well as shares the stories behind some of her many hits including\u00a0Keith Urban\u2019s \u201cWe Were Us,\u201d\u00a0Lee Brice\u2019s \u201cBoy\u201d and\u00a0Lady Antebellum\u2019s \u201cHeart Break.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"There\u2019s a very good chance when you turn on the radio one of Nicolle Galyon\u2019s songs will be playing. Ten years since signing her first publishing deal, the songwriter currently has five singles at country radio including\u00a0Kenny Chesney\u2019s \u201cAll the Pretty Girls,\u201d Lady Antebellum\u2019s \u201cHeart Break,\u201d\u00a0RaeLynn\u2019s \u201cLonely Call,\u201d\u00a0Florida Georgia Line\u2019s \u201cSmooth\u201d and Lee Brice\u2019s \u201cBoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kansas native\u2019s songwriting journey is more than a decade in the making as she moved to Nashville in 2002 with the plan to pursue a career in artist management. During her time as a student at Belmont she worked as a personal assistant for Greg Oswald at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) where she was frequently surrounded by music and industry professionals. She recalls being mesmerized while attending guitar pulls her first year in Music City and it\u2019s there that she was first hit with the songwriting bug.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Wait, this is a job? You can do this? I think this is actually what I should be doing,’\u201d Galyon tells\u00a0Sounds Like Nashville<\/em>\u00a0over the phone.<\/p>\n

Galyon grew up around music and played classical piano. Her real passion was country music though and somewhere between classes and acting as a personal assistant, songwriting spread like wildfire in her heart and overtook all the things she previously thought she\u2019d pursue. By the time she graduated from Belmont her dream of a career as an artist manager changed to becoming a songwriter. She took all the lessons from working for a booking agent with her and admits that one of the most important things she learned was to have thick skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really taught me to not take anything personally and to have a thick skin and to see behind the curtain of how deals get done and how business really goes down,\u201d she explains of her time shadowing Oswald. \u201cThat perspective has really helped me, even as a songwriter, when something doesn\u2019t go my way or my song isn\u2019t a single or my song doesn\u2019t make a record. That job gave me the 30,000-foot perspective to realize it\u2019s not all about you and it\u2019s not about the song. There\u2019s a lot of moving parts here that has to go right in order for something to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her time as Oswald\u2019s assistant frequently had her in the presence of other songwriters, publishers and producers. Galyon vividly remembers parties where she\u2019d be cleaning up and someone would ask her to play them a song she wrote. She says it was in these moments that she earned her stripes in bravery and thanks to Paul Worley, one of the people in the room that heard her songs, she was introduced to BJ Hill from Warner\/Chappell Nashville where she signed in 2007.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met so many people through that job,\u201d Galyon reflects. \u201cI say I got my degree from Belmont, but my education from working for Greg Oswald.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2013, Galyon saw her first taste of success when Keith Urban recorded \u201cWe Were Us,\u201d a song she co-wrote with longtime collaborators Jimmy Robbins and Jon Nite. Galyon recalls writing the No. 1 song shortly after she came back from her 10-year high school reunion. Robbins and Nite had written with\u00a0Thomas Rhett\u00a0earlier that day and played her an idea that they didn\u2019t wind up using. She says they had the beginning of the song\u2019s chorus, \u201cBack when that song was a song I could sing along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had the top of the chorus written, but they didn\u2019t know what the title would be. There was really no idea yet. Because I had just come back from my hometown, this little rural farm town in Kansas, all of this small town imagery started coming out of my mouth. Then I started singing some of the verses,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI was really nostalgic thinking about my whole class because I had just seen all my classmates. We\u2019re all married and some are pregnant and have kids and I\u2019m just looking at us going, \u2018Man, that\u2019s when we were us. Now we\u2019ll never be us again, me and my class. You can never go back to that time.’\u201d<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dlFEJ-Ctpjc?feature=oembed]<\/div>\n

It\u2019s hard to envision \u201cWe Were Us\u201d being sung by anyone other than Urban and\u00a0Miranda Lambert, but Galyon admits that they first sent the track to\u00a0Lauren Alainawho was looking for a duet for her album. Robbins\u2019 publisher was Urban so he heard every song that he wrote and fell in love with \u201cWe Were Us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKeith had heard it and before Lauren could ever get back to us, Keith hit us back and was like, \u2018I want this song for me,’\u201d Galyon explains. \u201cThen it was one of those things where we had a good problem on our hands where more than one artist wanted to cut it. Ultimately that stuff is out of our hands as songwriters. I wouldn\u2019t change history. I love the way that it all worked out. The song takes on a life of its own after it leaves your hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Galyon has penned hundreds of songs over the years and cites Lee Brice\u2019s \u201cBoy\u201d as the most honest one she has ever written. She says the song, which she co-wrote with Nite, wrote itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a deep level, I feel like God told me who my son was going to be through the words of that song before my son was born,\u201d she confesses. \u201cIt was the last song I wrote before I had my son. It just felt like a really natural thing for us to write together. Now I look at my son who\u2019s two years old running around the house going, \u2018How did every line of that song work for you? I had never seen your face yet.\u2019 That song was really honest and powerful for me personally. If that\u2019s all that it ever was, for me to hear, it would have been enough, but now hearing the stories and seeing other people relate to it is really powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oUqJftD86-o?feature=oembed]<\/div>\n

A\u00a0mother of two, Galyon says her writing time is her me time during the day. Instead of penning emotional or deep songs, she finds herself wanting to create fun moments in the writing room.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome days I don\u2019t want it to be as heavy as maybe I used to want it to be,\u201d she admits. \u201cAs much as I love writing really deep, heavy things like \u2018Love Triangle\u2019 and \u2018Boy\u2019 and even \u2018Automatic,\u2019 I see the value in \u2018All the Pretty Girls.\u2019 When it comes on the radio and I\u2019m sitting in the pickup line waiting to pick my kids up from school, I see how it makes me feel good. I want to write more songs like that because I know when I look in the rearview mirror and I see my kids bopping their heads back and forth and we\u2019re all singing along to a song, that\u2019s a moment in itself. A song doesn\u2019t always have to save the world to create a really special moment. I think having kids has given me more of that perspective as a writer.\u201d<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pksszku7l0g?feature=oembed]<\/div>\n

Galyon remembers getting the title for Chesney\u2019s latest hit \u201cAll the Pretty Girls\u201d while at the library with her daughter. She saw a book with a similar title,\u00a0All the Pretty Girls Said<\/em>, and she thought it sounded like an artistic title for a country song.<\/p>\n

While Galyon is seeing plenty of success at radio, she remembers a time when she was first getting started and she couldn\u2019t write as well as she had hoped. She said the early years can be deceiving for a songwriter and it\u2019s usually then when one will give up entirely. It\u2019s in these moments that she advises songwriters to \u201cput your head down and write, write, write as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me it took a long time, but when that thing clicked, when I was writing songs that even I liked, then it just becomes like, \u2018This is bonus. This is the coolest thing ever. It doesn\u2019t feel like a job anymore. It doesn\u2019t feel like I\u2019m practicing to just get better,\u2019 which is what the beginning many years of my career felt like,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n

Another song Galyon wrote is Lady Antebellum\u2019s new single, \u201cHeart Break.\u201d The title track to the trio\u2019s latest album, she penned it while on a writing retreat in Rosemary Beach, Florida, with the band and Jesse Frasure. The idea of the song came from\u00a0Dave Haywood, who suggested they write about a spring heartbreak. A pun on spring break, spring heartbreak eventually developed into \u201cHeart Break.\u201d<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vvnZ1eLHWQs?feature=oembed]<\/div>\n

Galyon was joined by her husband, songwriter Rodney Clawson (Kenny Chesney\u2019s \u201cAmerican Kids,\u201d \u201cLady Antebellum\u2019s \u201cBartender,\u201d\u00a0Luke Bryan\u2019s \u201cCrash My Party\u201d), on the retreat and admits that there was some friendly competition between the two writers. Interestingly, Galyon and Clawson only recently began writing together this year. The couple has been married for 10 years and as Galyon explains, they had good reason for not getting into the writing room together sooner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been very deliberate about not writing together just because when we first got married, Rodney had a few hits under his belt and I was just getting started,\u201d she explains. \u201cI had just signed a publishing deal. He didn\u2019t want anyone to think that I needed him to have a writing career and I didn\u2019t want that either. We just kept our writing separate all these years. Now it feels like there\u2019s been a shift where we don\u2019t worry about that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple has written several songs together this year and the second song they created was recently recorded by Luke Bryan. \u201cWin Life,\u201d the last track on Bryan\u2019s forthcoming sixth studio album,\u00a0What Makes You Country,\u00a0<\/em>was penned by Galyon, Clawson and Ross Copperman. Their latest cut may convince them to set aside more time in the writing room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny because when we do write together now, we both walk out of the door at the same time, get in different cars, and then drive to the same place because we\u2019re creatures of habit,\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cWe\u2019re just so used to walking out and going and writing with someone else that when we do write together now, we\u2019re getting ready in the same bathroom, then we drive separate cars and then we walk in. It\u2019s kind of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to songwriting, Galyon has proven herself a successful producer. The songwriter co-produced RaeLynn\u2019s debut album\u00a0WildHorse<\/em>\u00a0and has been producing several songs for\u00a0Jana Kramer\u00a0including new single \u201cI\u2019ve Done Love,\u201d which she co-wrote with\u00a0Shane McAnally\u00a0and\u00a0Josh Osborne. Galyon says she\u2019s proud of the new single, explaining that she and Kramer are pioneering their way through the industry as Kramer is currently without a label.<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BtnBgHEGDsU?feature=oembed]<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen there\u2019s a label involved, there\u2019s a lot of people that all need to sign off on things. All of a sudden we realized, \u2018Wait, I guess we don\u2019t have to ask anybody for permission to record the songs since I want you to have them and you want to have them.\u2019 I\u2019m really excited for her to get to put out new music and to do it her way,\u201d Galyon says.<\/p>\n

She adds that being the same age of Kramer, working with the singer is fulfilling as they\u2019re both in the same chapter of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love writing with young people. They keep me fresh and excited and inspired, but Jana makes me feel at home,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t have to put on any other hat than the one I\u2019ve already got on when it comes to songs for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the release of Kramer\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ve Done Love,\u201d Galyon has six country singles to her name on country radio this year. Ten years after signing her first publishing deal, Galyon is grateful for the success.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these years I\u2019ve been so happy and satisfied with the crumbs of whatever falls through the cracks and I get to be a part of. Now it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my gosh! I don\u2019t know how this all happened,’\u201d she concedes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Writers Round with Nicolle Galyon Welcome to the Writers Round, a monthly column where Sounds Like Nashville sits down with Nashville-based songwriters and learns about each writer\u2019s journey to Music City. This month,\u00a0Nicolle Galyon\u00a0sheds some light into her life as a songwriter as well as shares the stories behind some of her many hits including\u00a0Keith Urban\u2019s \u201cWe Were Us,\u201d\u00a0Lee Brice\u2019s \u201cBoy\u201d and\u00a0Lady Antebellum\u2019s \u201cHeart Break.\u201d There\u2019s a very good chance when you turn on the radio one of Nicolle Galyon\u2019s songs will be playing. Ten years since signing her<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}