Tammy CochranTammy Cochran, who recently released '30 Something and Single,' is speaking out, but about a lot more than just her music. The powerhouse vocalist, who may have appeared to retreat from the spotlight after churning out six chart-topping singles between 2000 and 2002, was actually dealing with a very personal battle. One that, by her own admission, tested her strength in every way.

"I started adopting a child back in 2005 and ran into some difficulties pretty quickly with that adoption," she tells The 9513. "My facilitator got arrested for some illegal activities that she participated in. It kind of put all of our adoptions in jeopardy -- with everyone that was working with her on adoptions at the time."

The adoption, which was supposed to take about nine months, took two long years to become finalized. During that painful process, Tammy -- not about to give up on the little boy who had already found his way into her heart from hundreds of miles away -- channeled her feelings into her songwriting.

"It was a huge emotional roller coaster. I was home here in Nashville. At that point, my adoption was completely in jeopardy. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to bring my son home. I was very upset, obviously. I wrote this song 'Half the World Away.' It's kind of a lullaby-type of song pouring my heart out. I wanted to let this little boy know that I was going to wait for him as long as I had to wait for him. It just expressed what I was feeling at that time. And it honors the birth mom that had the courage to let her baby go."

Thankfully, Tammy is now the proud mother of the growing boy, Shawn Alan, and is focusing her energy on her other love, music. Releasing '30 Something and Single' as an independent artist is a sharp contrast to her earlier days when she was on a major record label. But while she says she's grateful for her experience with Sony Music, which included the hit 'Angels in Waiting,' (written as a tribute to her brothers Shawn and Alan, who passed away from cystic fibrosis), Tammy says she's much more at peace being out on her own.

Writing all but one song on the album -- the classic Tammy Wynette hit, 'Stand By Your Man' -- the singer-songwriter loves the freedom to create music she wants. "Being indie is the freedom to be yourself. I can cut anything I want, even stuff like 'Stand By Your Man.' It is something that a major label wouldn't think highly of."

Tammy's single, 'He Really Thinks He Got It' is set for release after the first of the year.

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