Working cowgirl and songstress Jenna Paulette has worn her authenticity on her sleeve throughout her career with a mix of grit and vulnerability. On her debut album The Girl I Was in 2023, Paulette candidly depicted her journey of self discovery following a toxic ten year relationship. Now, Paulette is arriving on the other side of that journey, with a project that reflects on all the experiences and values that have shaped her into that girl, with the release of her sophomore album, Horseback, available now via Leo33.
Listen to Horseback HERE.
“The Horseback album is a culmination of perspectives I have of myself—to the things my family instilled in me, the men and women I grew up with and the one’s I am blessed to be surrounded by where we live in a small town in West Texas,” shares Paulette. “A window into the way so many of us feel and the things we value.”
Consisting of 13 tracks, Horseback starts off with “Wild Is Her Favorite Color,” celebrating the freedom that comes with living authentically, before delving into “3 Kings,” a tip of her hat to the three kings that have influenced her lifestyle, “King George, King Ranch, King James.”
The album intertwines upbeat tracks, including previously released “Outside” and “Run The Damn Ball,” harkening back to the values of grit and hard work that Paulette has come to embody, with the heartbreak ballad “Chasin’ Whiskey” and empowering “Darlin,’” both of which signal the redemption of love lost and found again.
Having co-written eight of the 13 songs on the project, Paulette reflects on the songwriting and selection process, stating, “The songs were mostly inspired on the back of my horse driving cattle to the next pasture or set of pens. Sung into my phone in hopes of not forgetting the budding melody or thought. Out where there is enough room to think. Anything I didn’t write myself was most likely listened to on one bar of service in my husband’s dusty Dodge full of cowboys or horseback on the top of a hill looking for cows. I then put my heart and story into the lyric.
“So much has happened, so much good, since The Girl I Was. All I’ve got to say is the girl I was pretending to be before I got back to me…you ain’t getting that Horseback. The woman I am is here to stay. This album is a picture of who she was always meant to be.”
Perhaps the most poignant of all is Paulette’s title track, “Horseback,” which portrays Paulette arriving confident in this new era of her life. “The title track is my ‘Wide Open Spaces,’ my rebellion against the way people say things need to be…It’s the bridge between leaving somewhere and finding some place in what’s left of the middle of nowhere that is real and is home,” she shares.
To coincide with the album’s release, and in a partnership with Ely & Walker apparel company (Home of Ely Cattleman shirts), Jenna Paulette brings to life a functional working female cowboy collection called CowboyGirl. This collection addresses the need for functionality in the saddle, designed to offer all the same benefits that men need working cattle, but with a style that is vintage and feminine. Small details tie the CowboyGirl collection together and make it relative to today’s functional needs, while honoring generations past.
The collection will highlight two new ideologies: the State Flowers of Texas, where Jenna grew up, and Oklahoma, where Jenna’s family ranch was, and will be available exclusively at over 200 Boot Barn locations beginning November 1, 2024.
About Jenna Paulette:
A CMT Next Women of Country honoree and an Apple Music’s Country Riser, singer-songwriter Jenna Paulette — a cowgirl who came of age amid the gritty realities of ranch life — is part of Nashville’s growing wave of female artists who are rewriting the rules and charting their own paths. Paulette settled in Nashville in 2015, where she struck up a mentorship with Ashley Gorley – a veteran songwriter with 70+ No. 1 tunes under his belt – which ultimately led to her publishing deal with Sea Gayle Music in June 2021. Since collaborating with songwriters Will Bundy, Rhett Akins and Jessie Jo Dillion, as well as opening for Mason Ramsey, Parmalee, John Michael Montgomery, Clay Walker and most recently Aaron Watson, Paulette has landed brand partnerships with Justin Boots, Boot Barn, Ely Cattleman and Ranch Water.
With the arrival of her debut album The Girl I Was in 2023, Grammy.com remarked the project as “transformative,” noting it “fuses the sounds of Twain and Miranda Lambert, tackling mental health with the somber ‘You Ain't No Cowboy’ and waxing philosophical on ‘Country In The Girl.’” She continued to spotlight her authentic western lifestyle last year, performing the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo, making her Grand Ole Opry Debut and performing in multiple festivals including CMA Fest. Paulette recently signed with independent label Leo33. Paulette’s sophomore album, Horseback, is available everywhere now. For more information, visit www.jennapaulette.com.
