Everything We Know About Maddie and Tae’s ‘Start Here’

Raise your hand if you're excited for Maddie & Tae’s full-length freshman record, Start Here! (Yeah, our hands are up, too.)

The duo, comprised of Madison (Maddie) Marlow and Taylor Elizabeth (Tae) Dye -- who are both still teenagers! -- made a huge splash in the country music scene in 2014 with their massive hit, "Girl in a Country Song," and their self-titled EP ... and they're only getting started.

The young women recently announced their upcoming freshman record, Start Here -- and this is everything we know about it so far.

The Title

Start Here wasn't the type of title that just dropped out of the blue; it took a lot of ruminating on the part of the duo.

"We had so many names,” Marlow says. “Pieces of lyrics, song titles, our names. But when it really came down to it, what this record is to us is the beginning of everything! You only get one first album.”

Dye adds, "Start Here. It says it all ... [I]t is one of those sentiments that holds all the promise, all the chances and maybe a little bit of being scared. But you have to start somewhere, and this is pretty great place to begin.”

The Release Date

The new album will be available on Aug. 28. Start Here was originally scheduled for release on June 2, but the girls say that the delay is nothing to worry about.

“We had to push it back because we wanted everything to be perfect, down to the music and artwork and everything,” Marlow explains. “Our team got a little too anxious thinking we could make the [original] release date, and the only way we could get it exactly the way we wanted was to push it back.”

The album is available for pre-order via iTunes.

The Cover

The Start Here cover shows Marlow and Dye hanging out in what appears to be the back of a pickup truck.

The Singles

"Girl in a Country Song" was Maddie & Tae's first-ever country single, and although it came off their EP, it will also be on their full-length album. "Fly," which was also on the EP, is their current single, and it, too, will be on Start Here.

The Songs

While a complete track listing is not yet available for Start Here, it sounds like Maddie & Tae's record will range in topics from bullies to fishing to growing pains. In addition to the tongue-in-cheek “Girl in a Country Song” and the beautiful "Fly," the duo's record will include a song called "Downside of Growing Up."

"We poured our whole hearts into Start Here, and I cannot wait to just show our fans the whole Maddie & Tae spiel," Marlow says. "Songs that cover all different topics."

Maddie & Tae, Start Here Track Listing:

1. “Waitin’ on a Plane”
2. “Girl in a Country Song”
3. “Smoke”
4. “Shut Up and Fish”
5. “Fly”
6. “Sierra”
7. “Your Side of Town”
8. “Right Here, Right Now”
9. “No Place Like You”
10. “After the Storm Blows Through”
11. “Downside of Growing Up”

The Producer

Dann Huff, who is the 2006 and 2009 ACM Awards Producer of the Year will produce the album, and the duo is more than happy about it.

"Our first album means so much to us, and we wanted to get it right, to get it just the way we heard all these songs," Marlow says. "Dann Huff is amazing and so patient."

The Record Label

The duo signed to Republic and Dot, a new imprint of Big Machine Records, in June 2014.

The Songwriting Process

Not only are Maddie & Tae musical soulmates, they're also best friends and incredible songwriters. While some individuals may balk at being vulnerable during the songwriting process, the duo isn't scared.

“It’s such a fun experience getting to kind of create something from nothing with your best friend,” says Marlow. “There’s so many songs on this record where we remember that writing session, sharing that story and having it all come together.”

Adds Dye, “Basically, songwriting is free therapy, and that’s what’s fun about it. You can put all your emotions out into a song, and then when you’re performing out on a stage and you see your fans’ reactions to it, that’s the most humbling part of it all.”

The Vibe

In one word, Start Here will be full of honesty, which is something that country fans always appreciate.

“There’s gonna be all kinds of different stories being told that are real, honest stories,” Marlow says. “Some of ‘em are a little too honest, but I mean, honesty is the best policy right?”

Dye adds, "We've been writing this record for five years, so we've had this kind of evolution of music, and our journey over the past five years has changed a lot, but it's been fun for us, 'cause we've gotten to write about it and kind of get our different emotions out.”

The Tour

Fans don't have to wait too long to see Maddie & Tae bringing their songs to the stage; they will embark on Dierks Bentley's 2015 Sounds of Summer Tour on June 5, along with Kip Moore and Canaan Smith.

“Kip, Maddie & Tae and Canaan are three of the hottest rising artists out there right now, and I feel fortunate to be spending the summer with them,” Bentley says. “No one is going to have more fun this summer than us!”

“Maddie and I are still pretty new to all that game, even though we have been together for five years, so we’re just excited to kind of soak all that in,” says Dye. “Dierks, Kip and Canaan are all like our big brothers, and we’ve been having a lot of fun with pranking. We’re kind of excited to see how that continues throughout the tour."

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