Lanie Gardner Showcases Beautiful Vocals & Impressive Songwriting Talent On New ‘Polaroids’ EP

Great songwriting and a gorgeous voice to tell the stories.

If you haven’t heard Lanie Gardner’s name before, at some point, you’ve probably seen her extremely viral cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” which she shared on Youtube around four years ago, and it quickly caught the eye of many fans… over 63 million and counting now, to be exact. She has such an incredible voice, obviously, to be able to sing a song like this and really nail it:

Since then, Lanie has been putting out music and trying to carve out a career path in country music, though during a recent interview for Apple Music, she talked about how it hasn’t always been exactly what she expected:

“I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to process  a lot of the ‘fame’ stuff. And I thought I would be like, ‘I finally made it, I finally had a video go viral, this is what I’ve always wanted.’

And then when it did, it was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ All these people are reaching out to me now to basically start a business, which is me. And I was like ‘Oh, so this is my career. This is what I’m doing for hopefully a long time.’ I don’t think I was ready to take that big step, I kind of was just thrown into the lion’s den. But I learned so much.”

It’s an experience many young artists can probably relate to, because often, the actual reality of what it’s like to do music as a full-time job is the opposite of what you’d imagine it to be, especially with what Lanie went through in terms of going mega viral and being thrown into a completely new life with such a big a lunch, if you will. Especially considering she was not expecting or really all that prepared for it to happen the way that it did:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lanie Gardner (@laniegardner)

In 2024, Lanie released her debut album A Songwriter’s Diary, and she was also featured on the Twisters film soundtrack on a song called “Chasing The Wind.” She penned her debut album completely on her own, which is a testament to her raw talent as an up-and-coming artist. The Burnsville, North Carolina native is rooted in country, but has a blend of classic rock and soulful delivery that pair beautifully with her incredible voice.

Growing up in western North Carolina, Lanie’s late grandfather inspired her love for music, and she has a knack for storytelling and uses inspiration from her childhood in the mountains to guide everything she puts out today. She has toured with acts like Jelly Roll, and more recently, played her first set at Stagecoach, and will make her Grand Ole Opry debut next month.

And this past week, she released a brand new EP called Polaroids, which features a solid six songs that touch on everything from love to life and of course, heartbreak. On “Buzzkill,” she addresses the fact that the guy she wants is after a “Barbie doll, show stopper, beauty queen” who isn’t what she appears to be. On “Boys Like You,” she warns herself of the inevitability of the man she’s after breaking her heart and how it’s as sure as the “cigarette that’s glowin red” will burn your lungs.

On “Takin’ The Slow Ride,” she craves the ease of a long, winding drive with no point or destination in mind, and how the unknown of a simple day can fill a part of your soul like nothing else. “Hold Your Horses” is similar in sentiment in terms of slowing life down and finding pleasure in the little things again, and it’s a great reminder I think we all need from time to time.

While it’s an EP, so it consists of just six songs, they pack a punch and impress with her songwriting ability and voice that can sing anything… I know it’s a cover, but I still can’t get over her singing “Dreams,” and there’s a reason that blew up the way it did. Even in country music, you’d be surprised at how hard it is to come by an artist who truly is a gifted vocalist without the help of autotune and other editing, but Lainey’s got the voice and that certainly sets her apart.

For any country artist to have staying power in the industry, songwriting and being able to put a pen to paper in a way that no on else has before, is essential, and Lanie effortlessly combines real emotion and real life circumstances with lighthearted sass and fun, which is a winning combination. Having that kind of range is so important, and I know she will only continue to refine the natural talent she has in this genre.

If you’ve never taken the time to dive into her music or maybe haven’t heard of Lanie before, this EP is a great place to start and I’ll leave my favorite four songs below. Of course, you check out the entire Polaroids project anywhere you stream music as well.

“Buzzkill”

“Boys Like You”

“Takin’ The Slow Ride”

“Hold Your Horses”

Polaroids Tracklist:

“Takin’ The Slow Ride”
“Boys Like You”
“Buzzkill”
“Concrete Cowboy”
“Hold Your Horses”
“Little Bit Of Lovin'”The post Lanie Gardner Showcases Beautiful Vocals & Impressive Songwriting Talent On New ‘Polaroids’ EP first appeared on Whiskey Riff.