Carrie Underwood debuted her "Cry Pretty" music video on Sunday night (May 6). Readers can press play above to watch the clip, which finds the country superstar holding it all together in public and onstage ... but letting herself ugly cry when she's alone.

Written by Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose and Lori McKenny, Underwood says the title of "Cry Pretty" refers to when emotions take over and you just can’t hold them back." In the song, the country star sings, "You can pretty lie, and say it’s okay / You can pretty smile, and just walk away / Pretty much fake your way through anything / But you can’t cry pretty." 

"It really speaks to a lot of things that have happened in the past year, and I hope when you hear it, you can relate those feelings to those times in your life," Underwood adds of the song. "It’s emotional. It’s real. And it ROCKS!"

"Cry Pretty" is the debut single from and title track of Underwood's forthcoming new album, due out on Sept. 14. It will be her first since she released Storyteller in 2015; she's co-producing the project with writer and producer David Garcia, whom she met in 2017.

"We hit it off in a big way," Underwood says. "I’ve always been lucky to have a voice in the writing and recording process, but this is the first time I am this involved in the production of my music. It’s been challenging and incredibly rewarding to be involved in every aspect from start to finish. David has been an amazing teacher and partner, and I’m so proud of what we have created."

After Storyteller came out, Underwood spent much of 2016 touring in support of the record, and then, for the most part, took 2017 off. Underwood's 2018 calendar is still largely open, though she will headline WE Fest 2018, in Detroit Lakes, Minn., in August. She admits that she and her team are "already talking about a tour," but hasn't yet shared any details.

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