Lauren Alaina has one of the most fascinating careers in country music. It took Alaina six years after her “American Idol” rise to score a No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 with her song “Road Less Traveled.” She wouldn’t have another Top 10 hit until 2026 with her current single, the Chase Matthew-featured “All My Exes.”
Arriving after this latest hit is “Stages,” a 17-song album divided into three different “stages” of Alaina’s life — the dreaming, the breaking and the becoming. Each stage represents an era of her life, and the project ultimately comes full circle at the end.
“Stages” fits in with Alaina’s brand for its storytelling and vulnerable themes. This album covers her parents’ divorce, her father’s death, her heartbreaks, her marriage and the birth of her daughter.
“Stages” differs from her previous releases in its sound, which features a clear rock-inspired production. At the heart of this album are themes of family, life and empowerment, and the breakdown into three different sections makes the lengthy tracklist digestible.
The Dreaming
The first stage of the album is very small-town. Alaina tags her brother, Tyler Suddeth, for the album opener, “Babies Raising Babies,” which feels like it’s saying, “It’s your parents’ first time living, too.” The album’s first release, “Those Kind Of Women,” follows a sentimental appreciation for matriarchs. Both songs are sweet, reflective appreciations of family and youth.
Mainly, though, Alaina paints the picture of dysfunctional family life in stage one. “Household” and “The Ringer” are both strong, gritty additions to the tracklist, but “Paints The Picket” is a standout on both this stage and this album.
“Paints The Picket” is a ballad that adds color to the canvas of an unraveling marriage by detailing all of the things a couple are willing to do other than say the things they don’t want to say to each other.
The Breaking
“Stages” slips from Alaina’s childhood realities to her romantic history. Among the six songs in this stage are some of the album’s best — and some of the worst.
“Rings On The Table” tells the story of a narrator stepping away from a partner due to their drinking problem, and the play on two different kinds of “rings” is successful country storytelling.
“Walking On Broadway” interpolates “Walking In Memphis.” Before you cringe at the stereotypical country sample, listen to the song; this is a standout on the album for its creative storytelling and its ability to add something new to the original. Alaina makes “Walking On Broadway” her own, and it’s an addition that fits.
“If You Ain’t Gonna Love Me” is one of the album’s best — and most rock ‘n’ roll — moments. The hook, “If you ain’t gonna love me, you’re gonna hate me,” is fiery and smart yet simple. If there were a moment on this album to roll your windows down in your Ford F-150 and head bop, it’s this one. This isn’t just an album highlight, but also a career one.
Then, you step into “All My Exes” and “Raining Whiskey” territory, which might be the only true blemishes on this album. Every song on this album feels necessary, full-circle and specific — except these two.
What is most irritating about these slip-ins is that the same stage of the album features some of Alaina’s best breakup material. “Raining Whiskey” is a salute to drunk bar life, and I fear I’m not really sure what “All My Exes” is even about.
I’m always happy to see Alaina get a hit on the charts, but “All My Exes” is just not the best pick from this lineup.
The Becoming
The album reaches “settle down” territory in the final act, but not until Alaina threatens her soon-to-be husband with her father’s aim on “Daddy Shoots Straight.”
“Daddy Shoots Straight” is humorous, classic and ties the tracklist back into family.
The final collaboration on “Stages” celebrates the 10-year anniversary of Kane Brown and Alaina’s Diamond-certified hit, “What Ifs.” On this song — “Never Been In Love” — Brown and Alaina cleverly detail that they’ve never been in love until now.
“Never Been In Love” veers away from the rock of it all, opting instead for pop percussion, making it Alaina’s next radio-ready hit. I’d subscribe to that, considering it’s considerably better than “All My Exes.”
The last three songs are all in one way or another attributed to Alaina’s late father.
“Boots On The Ground,” a story song about how Alaina wouldn’t have her “boots on a barstool without” veterans’ “boots on the ground,” salutes her father and his time in the military. This is my personal favorite on the album for its storytelling, stripped production and classic-Alaina feel.
The album closes with “Heaven Sent,” which details how Alaina found herself depressed following the death of her father, until her daughter was “Heaven Sent.” There’s some intensely clever wordplay on this song, and it is certainly the biggest tear-jerker.
The album starts with “Babies Raising Babies” and ends with “Heaven Sent,” which creates a cycle and sets up room for her daughter to write her own life story.
“Heaven Sent,” as a closer where Alaina ends up with her own daughter after all of the family drama, disbanded lovers and hardship on the road to self-discovery, cements this as a full-circle concept album.
“Stages” is wholesome yet gritty, emotional yet reflective, tumultuous yet gracious.
Alaina doesn’t gussy her story up before she performs this record for her audience. Rather, she pulls back the curtain and shows her fans the most authentic, raw and true version of herself and her story.
