''Slide'' is the second extended play by Canadian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist

Madeline Merlo Madeline Merlo (born February 9, 1994) is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. She signed to Open Road Recordings in 2013 and released her debut album, '' Free Soul'', three years later. In 2015, Merlo received the "Rising Star" award from t ...

. It was released on September 23, 2022, via Wheelhouse Records, and marks Merlo's debut release in the United States. She co-wrote every song on the project.

Background and promotion

Merlo signed with the

BBR Music Group BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba. Craig Morgan ...

in 2020 and took extra time to write songs before releasing the extended play. She felt that she initially put too much pressure on herself, before refocusing with the help of her new producer

Zach Crowell Zach Crowell is a songwriter and record producer, who was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Crowell is involved in a joint publishing agreement with Round Hill Music and Taperoom Music. In 2012, he co-wrote and produced the song "Confe$$io ...

. She remarked that it "started to start to sound like me and this kind of next step and evolution that I was hoping for," after some time and that the title track "Slide" was the first song that "felt right". The songs are intended to be included on a full-length album, with Merlo remarking that she wanted to "tease what the rest of the album would be like". She was very thankful that her label gave her "the trust and time to pursue" the sound she wanted. Merlo performed a live acoustic version of the title track on

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

as part of their "Music Fest Friday" series on September 30, 2022.

Content

The title track "Slide" was co-written with American country artist

Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sports career before signing with MCA ...

alongside Crowell and Jerry Flowers. They had intended for the song to be for Hunt, but felt early on during the writing process that it was more of a feminine song, and Crowell asked Merlo if she was interested in joining them to finish the song. In regard to "YOUNG-ish," Merlo stated that she is "passionate about writing songs with strong female characters." "Girl Where He Grew Up" was not meant to be included on the EP, but after it received plenty of attention on

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earlier in the year, Merlo decided to ask her label to replace the original track four with it, which they agreed to do.

Critical reception

Erica Zisman of ''Country Swag'' reviewed the project favourably, saying Merlo "manages to showcase her songwriting chops and her killer vocals," adding that "each and every song is methodically placed," and that it was "the perfect introduction for new fans and audiences in American country music." James Daykin of ''Entertainment Focus'' also gave a positive review of ''Slide,'' writing that Merlo "delivers powerful female stories, from budding romances to growing up to the lessons learned in-between." Stephen Andrew of ''PopCulture'' stated that the four songs "are incredibly eclectic examples of pop-flavored country."

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. * Nick Autry - engineering * Nathan Chapman -

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, composition,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Jim Cooley - engineering *

- composition, keyboard, production, programming, recording, background vocals * Jerry Flowers - composition,

, production, background vocals *

Ashley Gorley Ashley Glenn Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 60 number 1 songs and has over 300 songs recorded by artists including ...

- composition *

Kenny Greenberg Kenneth S. "Kenny" Greenberg is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and session musician. He is known for bringing a rock-and-roll sensibility to Nashville recording sessions. Biography Greenberg was born in Cleveland, Ohio but attend ...

- electric guitar *

- composition * Scott Johnson - project coordinator * Zach Kuhlman - engineering *

Hillary Lindsey Hillary Lee Lindsey is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including Michelle Branch, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shakira, Lady A, Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Bon ...

- composing, background vocals * Sol Littlefield - electric guitar * Devin Malone - acoustic guitar, electric guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

* Joel McKenney - engineering * Andrew Mendelson - engineering *

- composition, vocals *

Jon Nite Jon Nite (born March 19, 1980) is a Grammy-nominated, CMA and ACM award winning singer/songwriter who has written 16 No.1 hits. Nite's songs have been recorded by artists such as Charlie Puth, Keith Urban, Dan & Shay, Gabby Barrett, Luke Bryan, Br ...

- composition *

Josh Osborne Josh Osborne (born c. 1980) is an American songwriter with several number-one singles to his credit. Early life Josh Osborne was born in Pike County, Kentucky, and raised in Virgie, Kentucky. Osborne grew up on US 23, renamed Country Music High ...

- composition * Danny Radar - acoustic guitar * Scott Sanders - guitar,

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

* Jimmy Lee Sloas -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Aaron Sterling Aaron Sterling (born July 9, 1980) is an American drummer, producer, engineer, and session musician who lives in Los Angeles. The son of professional musicians, Sterling grew up in Texas and Nashville, Tennessee, before moving to L.A. in 2000. K ...

- drums * Nir Z - drums

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slide 2022 EPs Madeline Merlo EPs BBR Music Group EPs Albums produced by Zach Crowell