NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Laine Lonero is from Louisiana, where she studied opera and musical theater as a child. No one in her immediate family sings at all. The classically trained artist started lessons at age six and where she learned the basics of how to sing properly.
She said, “At that age, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do this full-time, but my parents wanted to make sure that I did it right.” She continued, “I think that lessons are important for any singer, no matter how old you are or good you think you are, it’s always good to have lessons under your belt.”
And while Lonero is an accomplished vocalist, songwriting is an important part of her life. She began songwriting at age 13. Initially, she went to California to hone her musical skills.
She was in a program that worked with rising artists and did events while she learned how the music industry works.
“They took a couple of us and introduced us to songwriting. We would work on it once a month, but I kind of wanted to do more than that,” she said.
That is when Lonero decided to try Nashville because that is where the songwriting community was. She and her parents would go to Nashville once or twice a month, where she worked with Go Long Entertainment while she learned the art of songwriting.
She would write four or five songs a month and learned to play guitar to accompany herself in the writers’ rounds.
Eventually, it clicked, and she said, “This is where I need to be. This is what I want to do.” Country-pop is the industry that she wanted to be in.
The teen penned her first song at 13 years old. Lonero won the Nashville Dreamin’ songwriting contest for her original “The Little Girl in Me,” inspired by her grandmother’s battle with cancer. By age 14, she was already singing at the famed Commodore Grill on Nashville’s West End. In 2016, her talent caught the attention of Kidz Bop producers, who featured her on four CDs, while Radio Disney Country supported her debut single “No Sweat.” The video for the song was filmed and her real school with her friends and dance team.
Because she started so young in the entertainment industry, she was highly recommended to select Belmont University as her college of choice. She toured the college in seventh-grade and knew it was where she wanted to attend.
“I had no Plan B. I didn’t look at any other colleges. I only applied to Belmont. Luckily, I got in,” she said.
And while many of the artists I have interviewed start at Belmont, many drop out before they complete a degree. Lonero is now a Junior and is determined to see it through. She knows how important it is to have a degree from Belmont on your resume.
Lonero’s favorite song to date (and most popular) is the heartfelt song, “Back to Me” which speaks to finding your way back from heartbreak. The ethereal piano provides the perfect backdrop to the relatable, soul-baring lyrics. The simplicity of the song creates an honest sentimentality that is often missing in current popular music.
Lonero wrote the song “Broke” with Music Spotlight artist Amanda Cooksey, who writes the most emotionally charged relationship songs of any songwriter I know. The goal was to write up a more upbeat song. It didn’t quite turn out that way, but they did flip it where the guy got his heart broken instead of the girl.
Her latest single, “Trouble,” is about falling for someone you probably shouldn’t.
Lonero said, “I am hoping that this song resonates with listeners who have been in the same situation. It is so important to me and my co-writers to have a relatable song.”
The upbeat song was partially inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Trouble.”
“Sadly, this song is very ‘me.’ People who know me know that I always fall for the bad guy. But we had so much fun writing this song,” she said.
Now the singer/songwriter debuted her first session at The Listening Room in Pigeon Forge last year and will make her Song Suffragettes debut Monday at Nashville’s Listening Room.
“The fact that I got to audition with them and play my first show Monday is absolutely incredible,” the singer said.
She is so excited to be part of the prestigious group of talented women.
Talented and driven, Lonero displays her potential as a trendsetter in Gen Z pop country music with relatable lyrics and powerhouse vocals. Proficient on guitar and piano, the singer/songwriter is paving her way to a successful career in the music industry. Keep an eye on this one.
You can follow Lonero on her website, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and all streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and Twitter.
