Burden on Her Shoulders with Abby Anderson

 
A woman with dark, curly hair, wearing a black outfit with red jewelry and boots, is sitting on a grey couch with her arm outstretched on the arm of the couch. Above her reads “Recovery Bites with Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS” in red brush font

Episode 89 -

Burden on Her Shoulders with Abby Anderson

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

In this episode, Karin is joined by American Texas-born country music singer-songwriter Abby Anderson. With authentic and genre-bending sound, Abby Anderson rose to stardom quickly and at an early age. Though it appeared her dreams were coming true, she was feeling anything but perfect. Abby realized she wasn’t being her most authentic self with the image she was projecting, so she listened to her heart and made some changes. Those changes shined through in the music she was creating and are reflected in the track “Bad Posture,” a tribute to her recovery from an eating disorder, and the start of Abby sharing music that embraces her past and her present with a sound that fully captures who she is as an artist and songwriter.

Writing 'Bad Posture' was a wake up call. It was everything I had been feeling the last three years of my career, and it felt so good to write my story freely.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • Breaking down the roles and habits formed from past experiences and societal conventions

  • Mindfulness practice as a means to find true self in the present moment

  • How eating disorders can grow when we deny our natural intuition

  • Conveying deep and intense feelings through music

  • The pull to censor our own, private thoughts

  • Being comfortable with big emotions

  • How trying to "fit in" creates distance from true self

  • Shedding shame and guilt to create space for healing

  • Recognizing and accepting that we are not responsible for other people's perceptions of us

  • The meaning behind and significance of Abby’s recovery anthem “Bad Posture”

ABOUT ABBY ANDERSON:

Blending new age tones and personal, heart-felt storytelling with catchy, overarching pop melodies, Abby Anderson's authentic and genre-bending sound is one that was developed long before her move to Nashville at the age of 17.

The second oldest of seven kids, Anderson caught the performing bug at a young age. Classically trained in piano from the age of five to writing her first song at age nine, she says, "I think i've always known I was going to do this, I don't remember ever thinking I wouldn't".

Quickly hitting the Nashville grind, Abby's hard work paid off in 2017 when she signed a record deal. Over the next two years Abby's star was on the rise. In 2018 she was recognized by Pandora as a "Country Artist to watch" and was named on both the "CMT 18 for 2018" and the "Next women of country Class". Shortly after she made her Grande Ole Opry debut, released her debut EP "I'm Good" and began touring the country. With that, her career had taken off and Anderson has accrued over 100 million streams since. 

In 2019 she was recognized as a member of Music Row Magazine's "Next Big Thing", Sounds like Nashville's list of "Country Artists to Watch", "The Bobby Bones Show Class of 2019" and landed a 44 date summer tour opening for Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas. Though it appeared her dreams were coming true, Abby was feeling anything but perfect. "I found myself listening to the people around me more than I was listening to myself."

In 2020 after her European tour was cut short due to Covid, Abby was forced to stop and sit with the thoughts and feelings she had been ignoring and suppressing as her career began to thrive. She decided it was time to listen to her instincts and create her own identity rather than trying to fit into a mold. She left her record deal and after meeting chart topping Executive producer Marshall Altman, Abby began a new journey in 2021. "Bad Posture", the lead single off her forthcoming album, was just the beginning. "Writing 'Bad Posture' was a wake up call. It was everything I had been feeling the last three years of my career, and it felt so good to write my story freely."

I found this photo of me, and don’t get me wrong, I was smiling and the right weight for my frame, dressed the way people thought a girl like me should dress. But it wasn’t me. I felt like I was looking at someone else. I asked, ‘why don’t I recognize this person?’ So, I made some changes. I gave myself permission to be happy, to eat what I wanted and make the music I wanted without trying to fit into some preconceived notion of what a woman should be. Somewhere along the way, I started standing up taller and actually smiling, not just the controlled grin that portrayed a happy version of my best in photos. And when the outside started to reflect what I was feeling inside, it also came out through the music I was writing.

Grateful for the experiences and early life lessons that have helped her recognize her own freedom, Anderson is releasing new music that embraces her past and her present with a sound that fully captures who she is as an artist and songwriter. With a new marriage, new music she loves, and a new outlook on life helping propel Abby into the future, she is full of joy, which is apparent in her new music.

CONNECT WITH ABBY: