Chrissy Metz wasn’t planning to spend her quarantine in Nashville per se, but when a trip from her home in Los Angeles to Music City for studio time coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she wasn’t complaining.
“There’s no rush to go back, since we don’t know when we’re going to production — and I’ve been loving it,” she revealed during a recent conversation with Taste of Country Nights.
The This is Us star first broke into the genre early this year, when she signed a deal with Universal Music Group and started gearing up to release her debut country album. Fans got the first taste of that project in July, when Metz shared her faith-inflected debut country single, “Talking to God.”
When she started work on her album, Metz said she was fulfilling a lifelong dream by pursuing country music. Now, during her unexpectedly long stay in Nashville, she’s realizing even more that she feels right at home.
“You know, my family’s, like, a drive away, in Florida. So if I should need to go, and when I can go, it’ll be exciting. And I don’t have to get on a plane,” she continues. “But I love it. I love it here.”
Not only is she happy to be in Music City itself, but Metz adds that the country music community has welcomed her with open arms ever since she decided to take her first steps into the genre.
“Yeah! [They’ve been] so loving, so welcoming and warm. And even when we did the ACM [Awards] performance a couple of years ago, I literally was like, I am singing in front of some country royalty,” she recalls, referencing a 2019 performance that also featured Carrie Underwood, Maddie & Tae, Lauren Alaina and Mickey Guyton. “But they couldn’t have been more kind and gracious, and supportive.”
During her downtime, Metz has picked up a new hobby — but, she warns, this sport isn’t for the faint of heart.
“I did get a tetherball, in which I have injured two fingers playing with my friend … who’s been quarantined with me,” she admits. “Y’alll — listen, this is why they took it out of school yards. It’s dangerous … I literally cannot bend this pinky all the way down. Still.”
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