Starting Oct 18, Lauren Alaina joins Dallas Smith’s highly anticipated ‘Side Effects Tour’ for her first Canadian tour. The ‘Road Less Traveled’ singer shares three things she can’t go without on tour and hints that Dallas Smith better watch out for her inner prankster while they’re on the road.
Lauren announced that she would be joining Dallas Smith back in August. Watch the video below!
Lauren Alaina was recently nominated for the New Artist of the Year Award in the upcoming 51st CMA Awards after releasing her sophomore album, ‘Road Less Traveled’, in January. ‘Road Less Traveled’ is a deeply honest album that tells Lauren’s story. By writing about her eating disorder, her father’s alcoholism, and her parents’ divorce, Lauren felt liberated by her songwriting. An advocate of positive body images and female empowerment, Lauren is a powerful young songwriter in the next generation of country superstars.
We caught up with Lauren earlier this week to find out her favourite thing about Canada and more!
TC: This will be your first Canadian tour, what are you most looking forward to about being back in Canada?
LA: I’ve been up there a couple of times, I did a festival [Boots and Hearts]…probably 5 or so years ago. I just remember how excited the fans were and how supportive they were. I was brand new and I didn’t really have any hit songs and they made me feel like a million bucks. I’m excited to be back and just feel that atmosphere with the fans out there. I’m excited to be extending my fan base cause I haven’t been [to Canada] a lot…I’m excited to get in front of new people and hopefully win ’em over, [hopefully] they’ll like the music, and to get to know all new people, it’s so exciting.
TC: Name 3 things you can’t go without on tour.
LA: 1. I can’t go without a onesie, I love onesie pyjamas. 2. I typically bring my own pillow case, I like to bring my own pillow but if I don’t, I bring my own pillow case 3. Stevia. I have to have Stevia because I don’t do any suger and I put Stevia in my coffee. Anytime I just want something sweet, I put Stevia in it.
TC: Do you have a pre-show routine?
LA: Ya, all of us get together in the dressing room before the show every night and pray…Then we do like a little chant and it’s different every night, we make it up, we’ll say like “Canada on three: 1, 2, 3…CANADA!”, we do that every night.
TC: You really opened up about your personal life and story on ‘Road Less Traveled’, were you nervous about being so vulnerable with your fans?
LA: It was definitely a little nerve wracking. When you’re vulnerable like that, you leave room for criticism…When you tell people the truth, you give them the opportunity to have an opinion about it…That’s always scary because on the album I told my story, I told my family’s story and all kinds of people’s stories…It wasn’t just things that had to do with me, I talked about my dad’s alcoholism, and my parents’ divorce, my mom and dad’s new life [with their new marriages] and I talk about my nephew, everyone in my family, pretty much everyone around me… That’s a bit scary because I have a voice, I get to tell the stories, but my family doesn’t and I don’t ever want to have people think badly of them. So I was definitely nervous, but people have been so great and so accepting… We all have flaws and that’s kind of what I say [throughout] the whole album, cause none of us are perfect and we’re all doing the best we can.
TC: I have this feeling you’d pull off some really great pranks on tour, do you think we can expect any pranks on Dallas Smith?
LA: Oh my goodness, I’m a little bit of a prankster. I don’t have anything planned but I’m gonna be doing something for sure, I hope he’s ready!
Top Country Favourites with Lauren Alaina
Favourite Snack: Pistachios
Favourite Drink: Perrier Lime
Favourite Emojis:💃🏻🙄
Favourite New Country Artist: Seth Ennis
Favourite Song Right Now: Maren Morris – ‘I Could Use A Love Song’
Guilty Pleasure: Cheese Cake
Country Crush: Brett Eldredge
Favourite Thing About Canada: Lindsay Ell (Did you know Lindsay and Lauren are best friends?!)
Favourite App: Snapchat
Favourite Store: H&M
Favourite Pun You’ve Used Recently: “You can call me Ariana Blonde” but if I could go back and make it better, I would have put “You can call me LAURiana Blonde”…missed a great opportunity on that one.
