Welcome to The Drop, Refinery29's home for music video premieres. We want to shine the spotlight on women artists whose music inspires, excites, and (literally) moves us. This is where we'll champion their voices.
You've seen Aubrie Sellers before, you just didn't know it. The 28-year-old may be releasing her second album, but her first music video appearance happened almost 20 years ago when her mother, Lee Ann Womack, released the unforgettable song "I Hope You Dance." Being the daughter of musicians (her father, Jason Sellers, is also a country artist), music was always going to be part of her, but Sellers' upcoming album Far From Home is her declaration of independence, and also a marker of her growth since her first album, New City Blues, in 2016.
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"Worried Mind” is perhaps the best example of that. Premiering exclusively on Refinery29, it is one of her most personal songs to date, highlighting mental health and weaving it into her larger narrative. That was the inspiration behind its music video: that you're catching just one snippet of this traveling singer's journey, lucky enough to hear her stop and sing at a diner before she carries on her way.
On its own, it's simple, but "Worried Mind" is an integral thread in Seller's tapestry. Ahead, we spoke to the musician about bringing "Worried Mind" from her heart to the screen, and her ongoing journey towards being her most authentic self.
Refinery29: Can you tell me a little bit about the process of writing this song? What inspired it?
Aubrie Sellers: “This song is really personal and it's one of my favorite songs to do live since we've been playing recently at shows for the first time. It's about my struggle with anxiety and so for that reason it's really personal and it's sharing a part of myself and hopefully, you know, people can relate to it and connect with it emotionally.”
Did you have a specific vision for the video?
“The record to me is like a journey, emotionally, and so we wanted to represent that through the character of a woman who's on a journey by herself. For this song I decided instead of doing traditional music videos, to do acoustic versions of the songs that are live, so it feels kind of like you're on this journey with this girl and she happened to go into a truck stop and play this song late at night when she's on the road.”
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Do you think you’ve had your own musical journey?
“When I was writing my first record and making my first record, I had never been on the road by myself as a frontwoman. I had never played my music for people. I'd lived a lot of life, but not as much life as an artist. Writing the songs for this album, I was on the road a ton touring for my first album and just experiencing a whole different side of life. It's a little more matured in a lot of ways and it does feel more connected in a lot of ways and a little more raw.”
How did growing up with musician parents influence you?
“I was surrounded by music and I knew that music would always be a part of my life, whether I had a career out of it or not. For a long time I kind of rebelled against it in a way because I wanted to have my own identity.”
What are some ways you rebelled?
“It was more like, How can I make sure I'm being a hundred percent myself? And you know, I'm very rock-influenced as well as country-influenced. I made sure to open my world up musically and make sure I was incorporating all of those different aspects of myself so that I didn't feel beholden to what people would expect me to sound like because of what my family does.”
You appeared in the music video for your mother's song "I Hope You Dance." Do you remember any of it?
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“My mom didn't get a record deal until a couple of years before that, so we were going through this together. I wasn't born into her already being a singer publicly. It felt like a really big deal. It was fun. I remember there were dancers on set and they made it rain indoors. My sister had just learned to walk like the day before that video and she walks in the video.”
Being a woman in country music, especially the past few years, is important to champion. Who are some other women in the country music space that you really admire and look up to?
“Well, obviously, Kacey Musgraves. I think women who aren't afraid to just completely be themselves, embrace their own sound and not worry about what's going on within the industry. And you know, very few women have been able to do that and be commercially successful, especially on country radio. Miranda Lambert has been able to do that. I really admire Miranda."
Who would be your dream artists to work with?
“Have you heard of Lillie Mae Rische? We’re friends and I’d love to do something with her at one point. You know who I really love, too, who is totally different than me, is Tame Impala. His last record...I still listen to it every like every weekend.”
What’s next?
“I have a show with Brandi Carlile this month. I'll have another single coming out in November and then we'll have one in January and one in February before the album.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.