Lauren Watkins - My Greatest Inspiration (2010)

Singer/songwriter Lauren Watkins blends earthy grit with pop-inflected country hooks to create smart, relatable songs. After signing with Big Loud Records in 2023, the Nashville native released a pair EPs including Introducing: The Heartbreak.
Born and raised in Music City, Watkins sang and played in local honky tonks as a teenager, though it wasn't until her college years at University of Mississippi that she began to focus on songwriting. She returned to Nashville with a clutch of songs inspired by forebears like Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Miranda Lambert and managed to land label and publishing deals with Big Loud and Songs & Daughters, respectively. Delivered in her smooth husky voice, songs like "Anybody But You" and "Shirley Temple" blended playful barroom imagery with heartache and twang, both appearing on her 2023 debut EP, Introducing: Lauren Watkins. Later that same year Watkins followed up with a second EP, Introducing: The Heartbreak.