Miranda Lambert On The Song That Inspired Her New Album Name

While performing at her iHeartCountry Album Release Party in New York City (hosted by Brooke Taylor) on Wednesday (November 6), Miranda Lambert revealed what it took to create her seventh studio album, Wildcard, and the song that inspired its name. She also performed a handful of fan-favorites from previous albums along with some brand-new tracks off Wildcard

“It's like you wait for a really long time, you finish the record and you're excited and they're like, 'okay, five months from now!'” she said about finally letting fans hear the album. “The fans feedback really, that's all that matters. You use life for your art then you go in the studio, you go in the writing room, then work hard and put something together that you really believe in but it doesn't matter if the fans don't love it.”

Lambert wrote a ton of songs for her album and had to sift through them and cut it down to the lucky 14 that made the track list. She revealed that she actually saves a few songs for other projects. “On this record, I just put a bunch of songs that I loved. It wasn't necessarily a storyline or too thought out,” she said, before adding, “It was stuff I wanted to play live with the band and I think it was a good mix.”

iHeartCountry Album Release Miranda Lambert 2019

The country titan also revealed she keeps song titles and lyrics on a long list in her phone's notes and goes back to look at them. As for Wildcard, Lambert opened up to the audience on why she calls it her “Queen of Heart.”

“I got a tattoo last October that was a wildcard up my sleeve. It's a favorite line of mine from an old song by Emmylou Harris it says, 'when the morning comes and it's time for me to leave/Don't worry about me/I got a wild card up my sleeve' and it always just stuck with me,” she explained. “I feel like I've kind of pulled out wildcards here and there in my life whether it was taking a risk in my career or my personal life or getting out of something that was bad. The Queen of Hearts was just a reminder to be the queen of my own heart and this record sort of embraced all of those feelings.”

Lambert kicked off his set with a performance of her 2011 smash hit “Mama's Broken Heart” before giving fans a performance of her new song, “It All Comes Out In The Wash.”

Miranda Lambert Performs "It All Comes Out in The Wash"

She admitted that she still gets nervous playing on live TV as well as at award shows in front of her peers because many of them are her close friends. “It's terrifying!” she said. “It's always nerve wracking but it gets easier.” 

On the subject of award shows, she's nominated for the 12th year in a row for Female Vocalist of The Year at the 2019 CMA Awards (airing November 13) and she discussed what it feels like to be nominated. “It's awesome, but I'm also okay, I've won it, it's amazing, it's one of the greatest moments of my life.. It's cool to just be there and support the other women in the category,” she said. “If it's time to pass the torch, it's time to pass the torch!”

After discussing what influenced the name of Wildcard, Lambert jumped into playing a few new songs off the record — “Bluebird” and “Tequila Does” as well as some old fan favorites including “Gunpowder & Lead,” “Kerosene,” and “Airstream Song.” You can check out the full set list below!

iHeartCountry Album Release Miranda Lambert 2019

Miranda Lambert's iHeartCountry Album Release Party Setlist:

1. “Mama's Broken Heart”

2. “It All Comes Out In The Wash”

3. “Bluebird”

4. “Tequila Does”

5. “Gunpowder & Lead”

6. “Kerosene”

7. “Mess with My Head”

8. “Heart Like Mine”

9. “Airstream Song”

10. “White Trash”

11. “Automatic”

12. “Little Red Wagon”

Wildcard is out now!

Photos: Katherine Tyler for iHeartRadio