HunterGirl opens 2026 with a release that feels grounded in memory and movement. Somewhere Wild, out now via 19 Recordings, BBR Music Group and BMG Nashville, marks a defining moment for the Tennessee born singer songwriter as she reconnects with the instincts that first pulled her toward music. The song arrives as a slow building, windswept piece that leans into space, reflection and the quiet desire to step away from noise and return to something elemental.
Written alongside Jeff Garrison and Bob DiPiero, Somewhere Wild unfolds with patience. A steady pulse runs beneath the track, giving it a sense of forward motion without urgency. Dobro and pedal steel drift through the arrangement like light shifting across a tree line, shaping a cinematic backdrop that feels expansive without being overproduced. The song allows HunterGirl’s voice to sit at the centre, textured with grit and openness, carrying the weight of experience while still reaching for wonder.
Lyrically, Somewhere Wild circles the idea of escape, though not in the sense of running from responsibility. Instead, it frames escape as remembrance. The narrative is rooted in childhood imagination and the places that once felt infinite. For HunterGirl, that place was a creek side stretch of land her grandfather called The Wilderness, a setting that became a private universe of possibility. That memory becomes the emotional compass of the song, guiding it toward themes of self recovery and renewal.
HunterGirl has explained that the song emerged naturally in the writing room, reflecting where she found herself at the beginning of the year. As an adult, the idea that anything can happen often carries more weight and uncertainty than excitement. Somewhere Wild documents the process of standing in that uncertainty and choosing to move through it. The song does not rush toward resolution. It allows space for being lost, acknowledging that disorientation can be part of finding the way back.
Musically, the track continues the path HunterGirl has been carving since her Tennessee Girl EP. That release established her as a storyteller grounded in detail and emotional clarity. Somewhere Wild extends that identity, broadening the landscape while staying true to the intimacy that defines her writing. It follows Dirt, released last year, a song that resonated through its small town imagery and sense of belonging. Together, these songs sketch a larger picture of an artist mapping where she comes from and where she is headed.
HunterGirl’s journey to this point has been shaped by persistence and craft. Raised in Winchester, Tennessee, she was on stage almost as soon as she could walk and began writing songs before she reached her teens. By the time she moved to Nashville at eighteen, she had already absorbed the discipline of live performance, honing her skills in honky tonks across the Southeast. Alongside that, she spent years working with veterans’ organisations, helping service members turn personal stories into songs, an experience that deepened her respect for narrative and authenticity.
National attention followed her appearance as runner up on the twentieth season of American Idol in 2022, a platform that introduced her voice to a broader audience. Rather than rushing the next step, HunterGirl continued to build deliberately. She signed with Wheelhouse and 19 Recordings and released Ain’t About You, a deeply personal song written during a period when she was questioning whether to continue pursuing music. The track set the tone for a career defined by honesty and self authored storytelling.
Since then, HunterGirl has accumulated nearly 80 million global streams, made her Grand Ole Opry debut to enthusiastic audiences and toured alongside established names, experiences that have sharpened her sense of purpose. Somewhere Wild feels like a culmination of those chapters rather than a departure from them. It carries the confidence of an artist who understands her voice and trusts it enough to let a song breathe.
As 2026 unfolds, Somewhere Wild stands as both a reflection and an invitation. It asks listeners to remember the places that once made the world feel wide open and to consider how those feelings can still exist, even after the paths become more complex.
For HunterGirl, that journey is ongoing, rooted in the soil of Tennessee storytelling and reaching outward with clarity and resolve.
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