Platinum

Album: Platinum (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This blond-ambition anthem is the title track of Miranda Lambert's fifth album. During an interview with Billboard magazine the comment was made that "it might seem cocky" to name a record 'Platinum,' though all of Lambert's previous long players have indeed gone platinum.

    "That's not what I'm thinking," she responded. "I mean, yeah, I'd love that - Mom says, 'Say it as though it's so.' I hope all my albums go platinum. But it's more about my life and my lifestyle." Which means, broadly: "Platinum is a lot of things: It's hair, it's diamonds and platinum, it's Bud Light Platinum, it's the color of an Airstream."
  • Lambert wrote this song with Nicolle Galyon and Natalie Hemby in her condo in Nashville on Music Row. She told Billboard: "The lyrics are funny, two of us are blonde, and we're just talking about stuff like that, 'can you believe we're sitting in a high-rise condo right now, from where we all came from?'"
  • The song features background vocals by Nicolle Galyon, Season 2 The Voice contestant Gwen Sebastian who sings with Blake Shelton on the road, and Aubrie Sellers, whose mother is Lee Ann Womack and stepfather Platinum producer Frank Liddell.

    Lambert recalled: "I wanted it to be like a bunch of girls gossiping. Some people get somewhere just by putting on a lower cut shirt and making there hair a little blonder. That's how some people do it, and that's fine too, whatever it takes. But I wanted that feel in the song when we cut it, 'let's get some girls in here and see what it sounds like it.'"

    "We just got in there and got some cocktails and started talking and singing, and that's what the songs supposed to be like," she added, "a gossipy girls song and kind of an anthem."
  • The Platinum album sold 179,000 units in its first week, to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 - the first time Lambert had topped the all-genre chart.

    The LP also reached the summit of Billboard Top Country Albums, making the Lambert the first artist in the history of the chart to see all of their first five albums debut at #1.
  • The initial spark of inspiration for the song came from Galyon. "It started off with Nicolle. She had a line, 'What doesn't kill you only makes you blonder,'" Hemby told Billboard magazine. "Miranda had one that said 'My heels and my hotels - they just got taller.' That made me laugh out loud."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Bob Dylan Lyric Quiz

Bob Dylan Lyric QuizMusic Quiz

Think you know your Bob Dylan lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.