Lauren Alaina is set to release her new album, Road Less Traveled, on Friday (January 27th), and it’s a project that is very personal to her. She basically wrote about her life over the past several years.

“This time has been a real defining time for me. Five years is a long time from 16, 17-ish to 22, and I went through a lot,” says the Rossville, Georgia native. “My parents went through a divorce; my dad is an alcoholic and he went through rehab. I had vocal cord surgery. I was writing a second album. I changed management. Everything in my life changed. I mean, there wasn’t a single thing, besides my boyfriend, that stayed the same…And it was the best thing that ever happened to me and this music, because it pushed me to grow as a person, it pushed me to grow as a songwriter, as an artist. I had to grow up, and I’m really thankful for that, and I think the music showcases that growth.”

“I just feel like all of those things that happened to me made me really decide to be honest and really dig in to what I wanted to say to my audience, because I came off my favorite TV show and I got a record deal and I started touring and I put an album out, and I never sat and thought, ‘What do I want to say to these people? What’s important to me and what do I want to say to them,’” she adds. “And the last five years that’s all I thought about was, ‘Who am I, and what do I want to say to people?’ And that’s what this album is. It’s every part of me – the pretty and not so pretty parts.”

Lauren co-wrote all 12 songs on the album, which was produced by the award-winning busbee (Keith Urban, Maren Morris, Lady Antebellum). The collection features her Top 15 single, Road Less Traveled.