New duo Maddie & Tae are taking the country world by storm with their debut single, “Girl in a Country Song,” just a few years after the two 19-year-olds made the move to Nashville. While growing up in Ada, OK, the duo’s Tae Dye heard all about the town’s other famous native, Blake Shelton.
Tae tells ABC News Radio, “My best friend’s grandma actually taught him in high school at Ada High. I was like, that’s such a small world, but yeah. She said he was a great student, and he had really good hair.”
Blake pays tribute to Ada with a picture of the town’s water tower on the cover of his upcoming album, Bringing Back the Sunshine. Tae admits she got a little misty when she saw that image.
“I almost cried because I love Ada and I miss it so much,” Tae says. “I saw the album cover, and I freaked out.”
Tae’s duo partner, Maddie Marlow, grew up in Sugar Land, TX, but she doesn’t have a connection to the country duo that shares a name with the town.
Says Maddie, “I love Sugarland. They make amazing music, but we were, like, ‘I wonder if they came through Sugar Land? That’s how they named their band?'”
The town of Sugar Land was named for a now-closed sugar mill, and Maddie often has a hard time convincing people it’s a real place.
Maddie says, “They’re like, ‘Candy Land?’ I’m like, ‘No! Sugar Land!’ And they’re like, ‘There’s no way!'”
Hopefully Maddie can help put the town of Sugar Land on the map. Maddie & Tae will release their self-titled debut EP on November 4.
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