From Top 5 On Idol Directly to Nashville – Meet Country Artist Laci Kaye Booth
Laci Kaye Booth went from American Idol directly to Nashville to pursue her country music career. Her hushed, lulling vocal quality landed her in the Top 5 at Idol where she had the chance to do a song with Brett Young. She has opened for Midland, Riley Green and Jordan Davis and was named one of the CMT Next Women of Country. She is well on her way in country music!
Sue Bonzell 00:00
Well, she made the top five on American Idol and she is here today at the Up N Country studios Laci Kaye booth Hello, girl. Hi, how are you? I’m so good. I am super excited to meet you in person and to see you because I think you are such an amazing talent. And, and obviously, the judges on American Idol thought so too. I mean, so we’re obviously gonna talk about that. And we’re gonna talk about your new music. So American Idol. I mean, how nerve-wracking was it to go in and do that audition? I can imagine that was just like terrifying.
Laci Kaye Booth 00:30
Oh my gosh, it was a roller coaster of emotions, honestly. And I didn’t, you know, I had given up on on TV show, oh, talent, TV shows. And because I was rejected from the voice like, twice, really. And then my parents always told me, you know, get a degree before you move to Nashville or anywhere you want to go. So I was in college, I was in the car studying for my test with flashcards when my mom drove me up to the auditions in Houston. And I was just so scared that nobody’s I have a soft voice. So I was like, nobody’s gonna hear my voice when they groom. And it just completely changed my life. It was the best thing I’ve done.
Sue Bonzell 01:06
Wow. I mean, just that. That whole feeling of being there. I think I would like freak out. And I don’t think I’d be able to sing, but obviously, they loved you. And then you went on to make the top five. That’s, I mean, how was that entire experience going through all of that, and all the rounds and all the things.
Laci Kaye Booth 01:25
I call it like a boot camp for what I’m doing now. Okay. It’s just a really fast pace. It was just like, looking back at it. I can’t believe I did it. It was just a lot for just a small town. 23 year old girl that had never, I still lived with my parents at the time. I just, I was very uncultured. I. I just didn’t really know what was happening in the world. And when I did that, it was just like a bunch of information at one time. I’m sure it was honestly like, really, really good for me.
Sue Bonzell 01:54
So now tell me about your family background. You have a lot of musical talent in your family as well. Right?
Laci Kaye Booth 02:00
I do. My dad is a Texas country artist. Okay. My mom grew up singing in church and she I was purely raised on country music for most of my life. I love your
Sue Bonzell 02:09
parents for that. So now when you were on American Idol, you got to sing a song with bright young love bright young. How was how was that? And how and how was he?
Laci Kaye Booth 02:19
He is the sweetest? Yeah, he is the sweetest. I remember, I had a mic in my hands and my head. I was so nervous. My hands were sweating. And the mic just kept slipping right in my hands. And he was like, happens to me every show. Oh, and I was like, oh my god, he doesn’t have to be that sweet. Right. But he was he was just so amazing to work with. And we got to sing one of my favorite songs of this. Yes.
Sue Bonzell 02:39
Yeah, that was that was great. That’s mercy, that you’ve also opened for Riley Green, Jordan Davis, and Midland recently, right? So it’s kind of like boop, boop, boop. How does that feel when you get that call to say, hey, come come with, you know, come show up and play with us. For me
Laci Kaye Booth 02:55
exciting but also scary, like, and I didn’t know how their fans would react to me are they like my music, but they were the best and like it you know, all three of those acts were incredible. And Midland those boys are amazing. And they came upside stage and watched my entire set, which is like unheard of.
Sue Bonzell 03:15
That’s awesome. That’s awesome. So now, so you talked about your voice being kind of like you said kind of low whatever. So you have a style that you’ve kind of made into your own style right? And we’re calling it dreamy country right
Laci Kaye Booth 03:27
and dreamy country.
Sue Bonzell 03:29
Okay, I love this and then your dog’s name is dreamy.
Laci Kaye Booth 03:33
Yeah, I was like it’s just a manifesting this
Sue Bonzell 03:37
dreamy and dreamy it she’s got you got this beautiful like, you know, sparkles in your hair kind of dreamy, all that kind of thing. So tell me about you after you finish with American Idol. You didn’t finish college right?
Laci Kaye Booth 03:53
I dropped out. I had dropped out right before top 40 I was like, I just gotta pray that I make it through this. So
Sue Bonzell 03:59
and then and then you and then you immediately moved to Nashville. And then shortly after that pandemic.
Laci Kaye Booth 04:07
It was crazy. I was like, everything fell into my lap at once. And then I just felt like it got taken away.
Sue Bonzell 04:12
It was like that rug. Yeah. So now then you started doing some? Some co writes on Zoom like a lot of people. And how many songs did you write during the pandemic?
Laci Kaye Booth 04:21
Probably close to 400 To be completely honest. And it was just it was so good for me though, because I had only ever written by myself before I moved to Nashville. And I experienced my first co right like the first week I was in Nashville. And it was just a game changer. Yeah, it was amazing. Oh
Sue Bonzell 04:38
I bet interesting to get different perspectives on different things where you’re not hearing it a certain way and somebody hears and you go oh, yeah, that sounds I actually like that. Exactly. Yeah,
Laci Kaye Booth 04:48
I have to be willing to really listen and also have thick skin.
Sue Bonzell 04:52
Of course I can imagine so now you have a new EP out right. Okay. Collection. Oh my goodness. Okay, and what’s I don’t have it. It’s self titled. Okay. Oh, okay booth so okay, if you don’t already follow her on all the socials go follow her right now. Download the album. Okay, you guys want to get that right now? Are you willing to play a little song for us?
Laci Kaye Booth 05:13
Absolutely. I would love to.
Sue Bonzell 05:15
Okay, well don’t go away when we come back Laci Kaye booth is gonna play her latest song true love.
Laci Kaye Booth 05:21
Hey y’all I’m Laci Kaye booth and this is my brand new song true love I hope you’ll like it saw dawn at a Texaco he was getting this pack a small it was sure didn’t talk to him belonging to kids me good tell us hold in a good no but I had to ask after is your best friend but I can always she didn’t fill me happy is your long hairs it was really good we saw the baby paid to hit me when I heard you thumb somebody New Jersey is it too does she make you feel good about me as she lay in where I used to sleep at invited Dr. Adaline is she Assam of saying are you happy is long hair is it too thought that it was really good we said forever baby to hit me and I heard you found somebody New Jersey to begin up the pieces and everything you’ve heard about me but it’s do you have these long hair is it was really good. We said hit me a guess is nothing that I can do
Sue Bonzell 09:20
all right, Laci Kaye booth. True Love That was beautiful. Thank you. Your voice is absolutely amazing. If you’re not following Laci Kaye booth yet and you haven’t downloaded her album, go do it right now. I got a couple more questions for you. So I saw that you were on CMT. Was it next women of country? I was saying, how cool is that?
Laci Kaye Booth 09:40
Oh my gosh, I still can’t believe it. Just seeing like, you know, in the past years, the women that have been on that incredible. I can’t believe I’m a part of that.
Sue Bonzell 09:49
I can, I can absolutely and you know, so then it’s like, kind of like everybody else paved the way and you’re like, hey, I’ll be next. 100% be next. I know. I want to talk about Out of Fleetwood Mac. Stevie Nicks, right?
Laci Kaye Booth 10:05
That’s my cup of tea right there.
Sue Bonzell 10:06
So that was that kind of like, you know, have you have, obviously, she’s an influence on you and everything. But I saw something on one of your tiktoks where somebody said something about your hair being big and great reference you, you put it up and you put up Stevie Nicks. Yeah, girl. A lot of people are like, Oh my gosh, Stevie Nicks is your mom. I’m like, no, no. Well, I mean, obviously, Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac, and how old were you when you started listening to that?
Laci Kaye Booth 10:35
Oh, my gosh. So I like I said before, I was strictly raised on country music. But I remember my stepdad was taking me to school one morning when I was like, 11, and dreams badly when that came on the radio. And I was like, Who is this? And he was like Stevie Nicks. I said, Please, when he picked me up from school, take me to Walmart and buy me her album. He did right dollars at Walmart.
Sue Bonzell 10:57
$8 A woman. We got Stevie Nicks. Oh, my gosh. Okay, I love that.
Laci Kaye Booth 11:00
I love that Sesa there after that. Well,
Sue Bonzell 11:02
I have to read one little quote from Forbes magazine. Okay. This is actually pretty cool. It’s it’s great says, is referencing Laci Kaye booth. What sets her apart from many other popular country women is her hushed, LOLing vocal quality, which we got to experience, which I think is amazing. I think it’s great. I think it’s different. I liked it. It’s different. And then you can also do so many, you’ve done a lot of covers, and you do my favorite thing to do. Here. You’re so versatile, and you’re able to kind of put your own spin and your own style on it, which I absolutely love.
Laci Kaye Booth 11:35
Thank you so much.
Sue Bonzell 11:36
So are you ready to play a little game? Okay, good. Well, we I do a world famous game. This is my game I play for up in country called Truth or truth. I’ve got my little basket. Oh, questions right here. And you get to pick your own question. To their true true, true true. No dares.
Laci Kaye Booth 11:54
What’s a secret you kept from your parents? Oh, this is a good one. A secret I kept from my parents.
Sue Bonzell 12:05
Like something maybe they didn’t You didn’t tell him until like later on when you became a little older.
Laci Kaye Booth 12:09
Oh, there’s a lot of things I guess that that I drink before the legal
Sue Bonzell 12:22
I’m pretty sure most of us Yeah,
Laci Kaye Booth 12:24
I wasn’t you know, something really interesting. I was Pentecostal for really, and so I only wore skirts and didn’t wear makeup and all that when I was younger, and I would sneak away to my friend’s best friend’s house and like, do my makeup.
Sue Bonzell 12:38
So that’s a secret I get from a secret. They would be a little upset.
Laci Kaye Booth 12:42
But now you know, we’re
Sue Bonzell 12:44
now they’re like, Yeah, okay, we get it. No, no, it all make sense. Like okay, I’m glad she’s awesome. Okay,
Laci Kaye Booth 12:51
secrets. Is that good? Yeah, that’s good. Okay, good one. What person do you text the most? My manager
Sue Bonzell 13:01
manager? Yeah, exactly. What kind of questions or what kind of
Laci Kaye Booth 13:06
just the daily stuff do you want to do? This gig is this guitar player. Okay, like, you want me to sign this for you? She’s amazing.
Sue Bonzell 13:14
That’s awesome. Yeah. And you and you obviously have fun together too.
Laci Kaye Booth 13:17
Oh, absolutely. Oh, she’s the best of course if you could only one thing for the rest of your life. What would you choose? Pickles. Pickle. I am a huge really Hagel fanatic. Oh, my favorite food ever.
Sue Bonzell 13:35
Okay, so do you like dill or sweet?
Laci Kaye Booth 13:38
I like to not not buy into a sweet Oh my end of the world thinking to do
Sue Bonzell 13:44
so do you like like other pickles? Yeah, that everybody’s pickling everything now? Oh, yeah. Katie pickled. Oh, you’re done with that? Oh, yeah. As long as it’s sour pickle, sour. Sour pickle. Yes, yes. Okay. We can hang out. I like the pickled items as well. So we can definitely hang out. Like to do one more? Yep. Okay, of course. We’ll do one
Laci Kaye Booth 14:01
more. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life. This I have hardest question I’ve ever
Sue Bonzell 14:10
really? Yes. Okay. I’m gonna guess but um, but I’m gonna let you answer. I have something in mind. It has to be a Fleetwood Mac. So I was just gonna.
Laci Kaye Booth 14:21
But there’s too many to choose like, I love songbird. I love dreams. I love gypsy. I just I love them so much.
Sue Bonzell 14:27
Okay, that’s gonna be on the playlist. So she shifts you get stuck on a deserted island. To get to bring one kind of music. It’s going to be Fleetwood Mac. Absolutely. Okay. All right. So we’re so we’re 100% Clear on on your preference for music on this? Definitely. Well, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to come out and talk to us and play your song. Wishing you all the best. We’re gonna keep an eye on you. Make sure you’re following on up and country. You’re following Laci Kaye booth, go get her album, get the music, listen on Spotify, all those things. And I’m super super excited for all your success.
Laci Kaye Booth 15:02
Thank you so much for having me. Awesome.
Sue Bonzell 15:05
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