By Dawn Pearson
She’s back on the bricks after touring the nation all year, and Kendall Phillips couldn’t feel more at home. This rising country music star is a recent inductee in the Country Music Association.
“I was inducted into the Country Music Association which was super huge and it’s a very difficult process,” Phillips said. “You have to have so many CMA references, have so many songs chart at a certain position, have so many record sales, have a certain number of fans and play a certain number of shows each year with a certain number of artist turn out. I cried when I got the news.”
And Phillips waited and waited on edge of her tour bus seat for the official induction notice of a “blue check” to pop up.
“I’ve been a little jealous of so many of my friends for getting their blue check and I still hadn’t gotten mine, but alas I got it and yes, I called everyone and jumped up and down,” Phillips said. “I know, I know, it’s just a blue check that says ‘I’m legit’ but still that kind of made my day. Obviously, this whole fame thing hasn’t changed the fact that I’m a total dork.”
Phillips has been busy on the road and on tour and has enjoyed her traveling experiences.
“I’ve gotten to travel to a lot of amazing places and do a lot of amazing things along the way like skydive, kayak, work face to face with a bald eagle, and (rather unintentionally) swim with sharks,” she said.
And for the first time, this year’s tour was with Phillips as a headliner.
“I did get to open for some pretty cool country acts along the way, but this tour was primarily about me connecting with fans.” Phillips said. “Because let’s face it, when you open for Keith Urban, as amazing as it is, people love to see you perform, but rather than come say hi after the show – they’re going to be watching Keith perform, so you don’t really get to meet the fans or make potential new connections that way.”
This month, she is taking a break from Nashville, but said she will head back soon to continue working, writing and recording new material.
“I’m actually recording at a new studio in Nashville. My engineer, Joe Carrell, got residency at Sound Stage in Nashville, which is really cool,” she said. “I got to cut my songs where some seriously heavy hitters cut theirs and that’s kind of magical.”
As for her favorite show on the road….
“Oh gosh, there were so many on this tour that stood out but definitely one of the top shows was an impromptu show in Hawley, Pa., where I learned that I have a fan club run by a bunch of adorable little girls,” Phillips said. “I was having a rather rough day and when I walked on stage I heard these blood-curdling, deafening screams that caught me off guard at first. But then I realized they were going bananas because I’d arrived and they’d all brought me fan art (which, I keep from every show and now have them all proudly displayed with my CMA plaque, Charting Positions and Country Showdown Awards).”
And Phillips even brought one little girl on stage and she say ever single word to her son ‘My Heart Belongs in the Poconos.
“It was where my perception switched from ‘Oh, I’m just an opening act trying to go out on my own’ and wondering if I’d really have the audience to come support, to ‘Wow. I’ve got the greatest fans in the world and I have really made it!’, she said. “I’m so proud of all this tour accomplished for me and my career.”
While she’s not on the road….
And she is taking total ownership of her recordings.
“I’ve got an all in approach to these recordings, I wrote the songs, I’m singing them, producing the songs, and executive producing them as well. So it will be interesting to see if I don’t lose a little bit of my marbles by the time they’re finished,” Phillips said.
Phillips said she wants her fans to know they make everything possible and that she adores them.
“I couldn’t do what I do without their continued support not just on radio but at the shows,” Phillips said.
They’re so appreciated, I love every fan e-mail, fan craft that they give me, every supportive gesture big and small. Every time I’m recognized I literally call my mom and dad or anyone else who will answer their phone to gush and I’ll say ‘Guess who just got recognized! Kendall Phillips! I’m Kendlall Phillips, it’s cool… you know… you can feel important too on account of giving birth to me/being my best friend/being my sister, etc.’ Honestly, that’s the coolest thing in the world to me and it never gets old.”
