Lady Antebellum served as the special artist guest on the season two premiere of Songland, which aired April 13 on NBC.
During the episode, the country trio met with four aspiring songwriters who each pitched their song to the group to record. Newcomer Madeline Merlo wowed the trio with her lighthearted song “Champagne Night,” which she wrote with the help of mentor Shane McAnally.
Following the episode, Lady Antebellum released the winning “Champagne Night.” A laidback tune about living in the moment, the island flavored track has Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley trading vocals about a night out in the country. “Don’t need doubles and bubbles to get in all kinds of trouble out in the country/ Don’t need a crystal chandelier to have a real good time/ We’re drinking beer on a champagne night,” they sing on the chorus.
The three-minute video for the song was released following Monday night’s episode and includes Lady Antebellum alongside a cast of actors dancing and singing along to the feel-good song. The upbeat song features snappy rhythms, ear-grabbing production and Lady Antebellum’s memorable harmonies.
“Songland was one of the most incredible and inspiring experiences,” Merlo said in a statement. “The knowledge I obtained throughout is invaluable, and the opportunity to work with such seasoned and decorated songwriters is something I won’t ever forget. As a young songwriter in this business, I felt so validated and honored by this experience. Lady Antebellum was so kind and gracious to me, and it was incredibly cool to be able to pitch a song to a band that I admire so much. I made lifelong friends, grew as a writer all while getting to share my vocals and songwriting abilities on network television.”
Songland returned for its second season on April 13. In an interview with Billboard, mentor Shane McAnally (Sam Hunt’s “Hard to Forget,” Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s “Nobody But You”), said being a part of the show is a dream come true.
“Ultimately we work on all the songs, all of us do, all of the artists that we’ve seen,” McAnally said. “I got a song recorded by John Legend and got to go in the studio and work on it with him. These are like the wildest, wildest dreams coming true for me. Then you add the element of a songwriter coming on the show who’s at a different place in their career and it’s emotional. It really makes me emotional.”
The video for “Champagne Night” is below.
