Who's that Lady? Why, nobody had to ask that any more after Lady Antebellum followed up their January Grammy win by taking home five Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on April 18. Right before the big show, during which they performed the latest No. 1 hit off the disc, "American Honey," I caught up with the trio's main lady, Hillary Scott, to discuss their sweet sounds of success — plus dieting and dating!
UsMagazine.com: First of all, congrats on all the ACM love!
Hillary Scott: Oh gosh, it was…I mean, when we woke up to the announcement that we got the most nominations [seven], we were actually in Las Vegas playing a private show there. We just had no idea of the outpouring of love… from the industry, because that's just really validating and humbling to be recognized by your peers. It's very humbling, that's the best word to describe it.
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Us: Have you reached the point where you're over all the attention?
HS: No. If anything, it just keeps us going. It keeps us moving forward and wanting to just continue to create music that we're proud of. Like on those test days, you're like 'gosh, I don't feel like stepping out on stage tonight, I would much rather stay home and cuddle up in my pajamas and watch movies,' it gives you that push to do it and keep going when you're tired or you don't feel like it because something in your personal life is awry or whatever. Those are the things that keep us going.
Us: How does it feel to be the only girl in a guys' band?
HS: It's definitely way less drama than a band full of girls. And they take care of me. But…you just have to pick your battles, because me picking the battle of the [toilet] seat being put down in the bathroom on the bus, I'm never going to win that because I'm so far out-numbered. Us: Are you a diva when it comes to hair and makeup? The guys can just throw on a jacket and head out the door… HS: That's my one thing: if I ever start hearing them complaining about getting up early for hair and makeup for TV or photo shoots, I'm like, 'just so you know, I'm normally up for two hours before you are.' In the back lounge of our tour bus, we converted it into a big bed with a closet and some drawer space and stuff, so that's my little sanctuary. So they were sweet enough to give me that, which was a huge perk. My day is planned around how long it's going to take for me to do my hair and makeup for the show, and make sure my clothes are steamed and all that stuff. They can just pull out a T-shirt from their suitcases, a great pair of jeans, and boots and be ready to go. I'm like 'you can’t rush it!'
Us: Is it hard being a single lady on the road? Your bandmate Charles Kelley just got married…
HS: [Bandmate Dave Haywood] and I have a lot of fun together, because Dave and I are both single so we will go out with our band guys…but it is [tough, being first of all so out-numbered as the only girl, but then being a single girl. Seeing Charles and [his wife] Cassie's marriage gives me something to look forward to. Not necessarily right now, because I'm definitely single, but when the timing's right. It gets lonely out here, but you can't really focus on that, because you'll drive yourself crazy. And a really fun job can turn into a really lonely one if you dwell on it.
Us: Have you spent time with Charles' brother Josh and sister-in-law Katherine Heigl's new baby, Naleigh?
HS: I have not got to meet her yet, but Josh actually opened up for us when we headlined two shows in Nashville and he was just beaming. He sang the song that he wrote for her called "Nightly Moon," it was like the last song in his set. And I've seen pictures of her. She has the cutest little chubby cheeks — I just want to pinch them through the iPhone screen.
Us: Going back to the band, what do you attribute your band's overnight success to?
HS: You know, the best way to describe it is even down to the minor details of how we met each other. Charles and Dave have known each other since middle school, but I found Charles' music on MySpace. It organically just fell into place. That's the tone that we've tried to take with the rest of our crew, with making decisions on who is going to be our manager, our record label, what our singles are going to be — we've just really tried to not have to force it. Whatever just happens naturally is what we go with. We were blessed to have been given the opportunity to do this and yeah, we do put the work in, but when it all comes down to do it, there's a lot of timing and fate involved.
Us: How do you stay in shape on the road?
HS: It's a daily battle. I have a Pilates instructor come to the venue a lot of days, and I just try not to just pig out. But at the same time, I'm one of those people that if I deprive myself of something, it's all I'm going to think about, so if I want a bite of a cookie, I'm going to have a bite of a cookie.
Us: Lastly, what's next for you after your recent ACM success?
HS: We're just focusing on hopefully pulling together a headlining tour in the fall. Smaller venues — not huge arenas — but some theaters and a couple of thousand seaters. Because that's what we want to do, we want to headline. So we're just brainstorming on what kind of show we want to make and then just writing. We're such forward thinkers. We have a songwriter out on the road with us this weekend writing for our next record already.
–By Ian Drew for UsMagazine.com. To read more of Ian's blog, click here and don't forget to follow him on Twitter.
