Little Miss Runner Up

Album: yet to be titled (2024)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Gretchen Wilson returned to action in 2024 with "Little Miss Runner Up," a song about a "bleach blonde devil in a push-up cup" who has a reputation for enticing men who are already taken. All the women in town cringe when they see her, but she gives them plenty to talk about!
  • "Little Miss Runner Up" was Wilson's first new music since 2017. Released in 2024, it marked the 20th anniversary of her landmark debut single, "Redneck Woman."

    Wilson took Nashville by storm with her no-nonsense swagger that bucked the trend of high-gloss singers like Shania Twain and Faith Hill. Her debut album, Here For The Party, did very well, but her next two didn't, and in 2009 she left Epic Records to go independent. Wilson wasn't nearly as visible in the 2010s, and after her 2017 album Ready To Get Rowdy she had some setbacks, including a devastating bout of COVID and an injury that left her in a wheelchair for months.

    "Little Miss Runner Up," released in June 2024, was her comeback single. She hit the road, touring with Big & Rich and playing the CMA Fest. She launched a headline tour in January 2025 and in May emerged out of the sea creature costume ("Pearl") on The Masked Singer to win the competition.
  • Wilson considers this song a sequel to her 2004 hit "Homewrecker," where she gives the lady-tramp a stern warning. She wrote both songs with the Music Row veterans Rivers Rutherford and George Teren.
  • In the music video, directed by Natalie Ruffino Wilson, Allee-Sutton Hethcoat plays Little Miss Runner Up. It's set at a bowling alley where she goes trolling for men. It doesn't end well for her: she gets sloppy drunk and passes out.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Janet Jackson

Janet JacksonFact or Fiction

Was Janet secretly married at 18? Did she gain 60 pounds for a movie role that went to Mariah Carey? See what you know about Ms. Jackson.

Andy McClusky of OMD

Andy McClusky of OMDSongwriter Interviews

Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."