Wynonna Judd Says New Album ‘The Hard Truth’ ‘Saved My Life’ and ‘Saved My Sanity’ [Exclusive]

Wynonna Judd has spent her life telling stories through her music, but with her new album, The Hard Truth, she is opening up like never before.

“It feels both exhilarating and terrifying,” Judd shared with Country Now over Zoom a few days before the album’s release. “I’m telling my story unlike anything I’ve ever said before. I’m going for it.”

Wynonna Judd Is Telling Her Story Like Never Before

The Hard Truth is more than just a title. The sentiment embodies the entire record, which marks Judd’s first solo album in 10 years and features her first-ever album co-writes. She had a hand in writing nine of the album’s 10 songs with her husband, Cactus Moser, and a few other collaborators, using the music to confront some of the most painful and defining experiences of her life.

The country music icon felt called to tackle the highs and lows of her life through these songs, getting more personal and diving deeper than ever before. The album takes listeners through different chapters of Judd’s life, beginning with the complicated relationship she shared with her mother and the process of figuring out who she was outside of that relationship. As the record continues, she turns the focus inward, reflecting on the life she has built for herself and the person she is still becoming.

“I’m a survivor of a lot of trauma and how many other people can relate to the stuff I wrote about? I don’t know, but I’ll find out. And I’m not a victim. I’m a victor,” she declared.

Writing The Hard Truth Became a Form of Healing

After spending time reflecting on what she had been through, Judd explained that making this album felt like a necessary step for her following the death of her mother and duo partner, Naomi Judd, in 2022.

“I think this is the next step after mom dying, me coming to terms with the issues that are on the record with my daughter, my biological father, my mother. And sometimes I feel like I’m not going to make it if I don’t continue to write and do these songs.”

For Judd, writing and recording these songs became a form of therapy, allowing her to process the emotions and experiences she had been carrying with her.

“It saved my life, really. It saved my sanity,” she admitted.

Cactus Moser Encouraged Her to Tell Her Story

The Hard Truth would not have been possible without her husband, co-writer, and producer Cactus Moser, who encouraged her to be more vulnerable than ever before. But allowing herself to be that vulnerable was not always easy.

“It was hard at times though too. I struggled a lot with wanting to be so vulnerable. I was just like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I should. Is it okay? Okay, God, what do I do with this? This is a lot.’ And I just tried to do it with grace.”

Moser, however, never tried to steer Judd away from the difficult places. Instead, he encouraged her to trust herself and tell her story.

“He was like, ‘Honey, this is your story. Tell your story.’ He was my biggest advocate,” she recalled.

The two have been partners in both life and music for years, but making The Hard Truth brought a different level of vulnerability to their relationship. Judd said Moser challenged her at times, but always gave her the space to process his perspective and ultimately make her own decisions.

“He had a way of saying, ‘This is what I think,’ and then letting me process that and decide that that’s true.”

“Girl Who Could Sing” Helped Reveal a Deeper Story

In fact, it was Moser who encouraged her to write the deeply personal “Girl Who Could Sing” after her biological father’s family discovered a drawer full of newspaper clippings about her after his passing.

“I told my husband that and he said, ‘That’s a song, honey.’” she shared.

Judd and Moser co-wrote the song with Clara Calaway, Melissa Forrette, and Brant Colella. After this writing session and “about three or four” others, Judd recalls sensing a “pattern.”

“It just made sense to write these songs,” she said. “On some level, I just knew that this was the time to do this record. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail, was my motto this record. What would I do? I would tell the truth, my truth, my testimony. Ashley’s had a book, mom’s had a book, I’ve had a book, but this is definitely different.”

“Broken And Blessed” Is Her Most Vulnerable Song

Of the album’s tracks, Judd says “Broken And Blessed” is the most vulnerable.

“That’s me standing up in front of the church giving my testimony, literally stripping down naked and just standing there and going, okay, here I am. I’m broken and blessed. I’m somewhere between hell and hallelujah. That’s every day of my life. I’m raising a four-year-old with my sweet husband and we are on tour and we’re working on a book and a cookbook and all this stuff that we’re doing, and I’m not going to quit. I’m going to keep on trucking through the storm.”

“Kentucky Queen” Takes Wynonna Back to Her Roots

Meanwhile, the project’s lead single, “Kentucky Queen,” paints an autobiographical picture of her life, from who she was as a young girl growing up in the Bluegrass State to the woman she is today at 62.

“I grew up in the dirt. That’s really who I am. I grew up in the dirt and then years later I’m standing at the Kentucky Derby with my glory outfit on, singing the national anthem at the Derby, and I’m standing there looking at a hundred thousand people going, ‘How did this happen?’ So it really is who I am. Kentucky Queen is taking me back to my roots, going back to my childhood, dealing with all that happened there, and then coming up into this is who I am today.”

Wynonna Judd Is Still Showing Up

Throughout The Hard Truth, Judd’s resilience truly stands out. Looking back, she says she feels a sense of pride in the fact that she was willing to go places she hadn’t gone before and show up when she thought she didn’t have it in her.

“There were days when I thought I couldn’t do it, which everybody goes through. Everybody goes through, and I’m no different. So it’s not like I have this perfectly planned life. I went through days where I though, I don’t know if I can take this or not. This is so deep, but yet I showed up.”

Wynonna Judd will bring The Hard Truth to fans on her The Hard Truth Tour, kicking off October 8 in New York City. The trek runs through November 21.