{"id":2467092,"date":"2026-06-19T15:29:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2467092"},"modified":"2026-06-19T15:29:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:29:48","slug":"bridging-past-and-present-jo-dee-messinas-latest-project-marks-first-album-of-new-music-in-12-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/bridging-past-and-present-jo-dee-messinas-latest-project-marks-first-album-of-new-music-in-12-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging Past and Present: Jo Dee Messina\u2019s Latest Project Marks First Album of New Music in 12 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jo Dee Messina<\/a> is known for her powerful anthems, confident kiss-offs, and heartfelt ballads. Throughout her career, the singer has amassed nine No. 1 hits and 16 Top 40 songs. A fixture on country radio in the \u201990s, Messina made chart history in 1998 as the first female country artist to garner three consecutive multi-week No. 1 songs from an album with \u201cBye Bye,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m Alright,\u201d and \u201cStand Beside Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 30 years later, the Massachusetts native returns. Her first album of new music in over 12 years, Bridges <\/em>finds Messina as a confessional songwriter willing to tell her story. She wrote nearly every track on the project, a first for the singer. While Messina has penned songs on past releases, including several solo, she says her songs often took a back seat on those projects.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot that goes into making a record, and people had staff writers, [and] they wanted to get those cuts,\u201d Messina tells American Songwriter<\/em> from her home in Nashville. \u201cI didn\u2019t think my songs were very good. I didn\u2019t think that they held water to the songs like \u2018Bye Bye\u2019 and \u2018I\u2019m Alright,\u2019 which they didn\u2019t at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo Dee Messina (PHoto by Madison Sharp<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Messina says she had a lot to say when it came to writing Bridges<\/em>. So, she decided to \u201cgrab some writers\u201d and get it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeading into the project, I had no partners, management, publicists, marketing, label, so people weren\u2019t going to give out the greatest material,\u201d she admits. \u201cIt was, \u2018OK, I\u2019m on my own. Let\u2019s write this stuff,\u2019 and then I started to get calls from really fabulous songwriters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Songwriters on the project include veteran country hitmakers Tim Nichols, James Slater, and Mark Trussell, alongside Christian-based artists and writers Mia Fieldes, Ethan Hulse, and Blessing Offor. Messina, who at nine years old wrote her first song, \u201cHere I Am,\u201d about Jesus, says she has more confidence in her songwriting today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also more wisdom where it\u2019s coming from,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve lived a lot more life since then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messina moved to Nashville at 19 to pursue a career as a country singer. She soon found herself in the writing room with veteran songwriters. \u201cTo sit in a room with an established writer was very intimidating, because they know how to do it, and they\u2019ve got ideas,\u201d she says. \u201cI would walk in with an idea\u2014one\u2014and they\u2019d be like, \u2018Oh, we can write this. We can write that; we can do whatever.\u2019 So, it was a little scary at first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messina\u2019s early life was surrounded by music. There were always instruments around her home, and the family has pictures of Messina at 18 months sitting at the piano with her hands on the keys. She never took a lesson and learned everything by ear. By the time she was in middle school, Messina also played guitar and saxophone, while her brother played drums. The pair jammed at the house together. Pretty soon, her sister joined in on bass, and they served as her backing band when Messina performed around New England.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[RELATED: \u201cDo Y\u2019all Know Who Y\u2019all Watching?\u201d: Social Media Calls Out Crowd\u2019s Lackluster Reaction to New Music From 90s Country Legend]<\/a><\/p>\n

Around 13, she was introduced to country music and was immediately hooked. Songs like \u201cBaby I Lied\u201d by Deborah Allen and \u201cBreak It to Me Gently\u201d by Juice Newton were early favorites, she explains as she sings verses from each track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ones that were really gut-wrenching, heartbroken songs, those are the ones I gravitated towards at first,\u201d she says, \u201cand I think it\u2019s because I was a teenager and going through all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before she could drive, Messina\u2019s mother chauffeured her to performances. A charismatic and personable artist, Messina gradually built a following. Knowing her dream of moving to Nashville, some fans who relocated to Music City told Messina that when she got there, she would have a place to stay. \u201cThey used to come to a lot of my shows, so I stayed with them until I found a place to rent,\u201d she recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Messina and her brother drove from Massachusetts in her manual-transmission Pontiac Sunbird. \u201cI had everything I owned, which was nothing, packed in the back of my car,\u201d she says. \u201cThen my brother left the next day, flew home, and that was very sad for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While her father thought she was crazy and hoped she would get \u201ca real job,\u201d her mother was supportive and gave her the $500 she had in savings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have a plan B,\u201d she says. \u201cI was naive. I didn\u2019t realize everyone else who lived here had the same dream going.\u201d<\/p>\n

For rent money, Messina entered talent contests and began to win. She also won a radio show in which the prize was to perform every week.\u00a0She eventually secured a deal with Curb Records and released her self-titled debut album in 1996 following the success of lead single \u201cHeads Carolina, Tails California.\u201d Numerous radio hits and studio albums followed, including the crowd-funded 2014 project Me<\/em>. Bridges<\/em>, her first release in more than a decade, picks up where Me<\/em> left off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a bridge from then to now, which is these songs bridge that dark, quiet period to a bright, hopeful period,\u201d she says. \u201cUsually, an album reflects the season of life that someone is going through, but my current record reflects 10 years of seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messina wrote the album over the past year. Frequent co-writer and producer David Spencer encouraged her to record an album while on tour, promising that fans wanted to hear new music. From the overwhelming response on the road and on social media, he was right.<\/p>\n

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Jo Dee Messina (Photo by Madison ShARP<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The singer\u2019s faith is at the forefront of Bridges<\/em>(\u201cIf He Knew Jesus,\u201d \u201cThe Jesus I Know\u201d) as is her love for melodic-driven country anthems (\u201cDays You Don\u2019t Get Back,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Let Them Hide Your Beautiful\u201d). She also has powerful messages for those struggling (\u201cCan Anybody,\u201d \u201cLet Me Love You\u201d) and others navigating narcissists in their lives (\u201cWelcome to the Show,\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s All About You\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of this record is groove-oriented,\u201d she says. \u201cI love to rock out. I love to have fun with melodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The upbeat tongue-in-cheek \u201cWhere the Cowboys Ride,\u201d written by Messina, Spencer, and Emily Falvey, started with a simple question from Messina.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked in, and I was like, \u2018I want to know where the real cowboys are,\u2019\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cWe live in Nashville, so you can find people dressed to the nines. They\u2019re wearing the fancy boots. They got the pickup truck that\u2019s never seen dirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trio started listing the characteristics of cowboys: true to their word, work hard from dawn to dusk, and put God and family first. Quickly, the lyrics came together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He don\u2019t climb no corporate ladder \/ He puts in the work \/ All about what really matters \/ God and family first.<\/em><\/p>\n

While \u201cWhere the Cowboys Ride\u201d highlights Messina\u2019s undeniable vocal power alongside an ear-grabbing groove, the nostalgic \u201cDays You Don\u2019t Get Back\u201d showcases her knack for creating radio-friendly anthems. Penned with Tyler Hubbard, Jon Nite, and Ross Copperman, \u201cDays You Don\u2019t Get Back\u201d came together after Hubbard wondered how you look back in wisdom and say, \u201cDon\u2019t wish away the days you don\u2019t get back.\u201d The lyrics come straight from Messina\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And when those babies come and knock and wake you up at two \/ One day, you\u2019ll miss the cries and how they climb in bed with you.
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\u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d Messina says. \u201cI have teenagers now. I remember there was a time where all three of us slept in the same bed, me with two boys. Not anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

A mother and a ministry leader, Messina\u2019s life and faith inspired Bridges<\/em>. <\/em>The first song written for the project, \u201cLet Me Love You,\u201d was a sentiment she wanted to share with her son, who was struggling in high school. She says it can also be interpreted as God talking to his children.<\/p>\n

What if I told you, your past was just simply that \/ Those days, they\u2019re behind you. Mistakes don\u2019t define you. Don\u2019t fall in that trap. \/ Don\u2019t you think that I wouldn\u2019t love you for where you\u2019ve been \/ If you trust me, I promise, I\u2019ll show you. Just let me in.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the heart of the Father, and it\u2019s the heart of any parent with their child,\u201d she says after tearfully reciting the song\u2019s second verse. \u201cWhen you see them struggling, it\u2019s like a promise, \u2018I made tons of stupid mistakes. Let me help you.\u2019 I remember when my son finally talked to me, I said, \u2018You\u2019re not made to carry that kind of weight on your shoulders.\u2019 And I swear, that\u2019s what God says to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piano ballad \u201cCan Anybody,\u201d a song Messina describes as \u201ca teenager\u2019s lament,\u201d details feeling unseen. She says the idea for the song, written with Hulse, came from spending time around teenagers while teaching Bible study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWith social media and all the things that kids, especially girls, are getting hit with these days, they feel invisible,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s not just teenagers. People in the industry who have taken their own lives, and they feel like they don\u2019t matter, they\u2019re not important, and my heart broke seeing these situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messina acknowledges the pressure to be an artist today and welcomes her role \u201cto pray and be a shoulder for the new generation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if I had one piece of advice, it\u2019s don\u2019t sell out who you are just to have success,\u201d she stresses. \u201cI did it, and it\u2019s a deep pit to crawl out of.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lesson Messina herself learned the hard way. So, how did she crawl out of that pit?<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it has to do with Jesus, and what my identity really is,\u201d she says. \u201cWho am I if I don\u2019t have a hit record? Who cares about me? That was the mindset, and that\u2019s why I was constantly chasing the brass ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messina recalls a dark period in late 1999 when her song \u201cBecause You Love Me\u201d peaked at No. 8. During this time, she let the industry chatter of \u201cshe\u2019s done\u201d get to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to let those voices really dictate who I was and what I thought of myself, and it was heartbreaking,\u201d she says. \u201cI may have screwed up, but I screwed up trying, and I feel more gratification in that, and more lessons learned in that than someone who never tried at all. So, I tell people, \u2018Don\u2019t take advice from people who have never been where you want to go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Bridges<\/em> shares this knowledge and more wisdom with listeners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming from a place of gratitude being able to still sing for people and share music, and share my love of music and my heart,\u201d she says. \u201cThe willingness to love people, I\u2019m able to share that. That\u2019s the greatest gift right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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