Hailey Whitters’ rise among the country ranks has been one of the genre’s more exciting stories of the early 2020s. A top-notch songwriter with a unique voice to boot, Whitters found critical and commercial success first with 2020’s The Dream and her star only rose higher with 2022’s Raised. On the appropriately peppy I’m in Love—the EP’s cover art serves a delightfully Vegas-wedding vibe—Whitters gets loose and lovey-dovey, showing yet another side of her multifaceted artistry, thanks in part to her co-production with husband and frequent collaborator Jake Gear. Opener “Tie’r Down” is a sweet slice of romantic mythology, describing a free-spirited woman with “a mind of her own” who wants a “one-woman man in a two-horse town.” “Mellencamp” is sparkling summertime nostalgia, nodding to the “Jack and Diane” hitmaker. And the title track pairs a rollicking, banjo-heavy arrangement with vivid glimpses at the ups and downs of long-term love. Whitters closes the EP with Raised cut “Everything She Ain’t,” a song she tells Apple Music “changed [her] world in so many ways.” “Putting it on this project, it’s kind of like a thank-you to the fans,” she adds. “I felt like it’s the one that started a lot for me and is bridging that chapter into this new chapter.” Below, Whitters shares insight into a few key tracks. “I’m in Love” “[The track] feels like the early butterfly stages. Nicolle Galyon, Cameron Bedell, and Lee Miller wrote this song, but the minute I heard it, I was just instantly like, ‘I love this.’ And so, to me, it’s the butterfly, giddy [feeling], but also there’s that long-lasting element to it, too. The lyric, to me, isn’t all just chronological. It feels like it could be different seasons, different phases, different times. When I sing it, I feel that, too. And that’s cool, to me, because it’s about a lasting, real, true relationship.” “Bad Love” “I was just thinking about this phase of life I’m in, where I was about to be getting married. I think about so many bad nights and relationships and the different seasons, and it’s like they all got you here, that kind of thing. I’ve heard so many just horrendous Tinder stories from my girlfriends, and I’m just like, ‘Dang, it is bleak out there, but keep on going.’ And so, I kind of had a little bit of that concept, but that song, we started totally from scratch other than that.” “Everything She Ain’t” “That song has always just completely surprised me. I mean, I thought my record was done. That was just an extra song that we had that Jake had played for the label, and they flipped out about it and were like, ‘We have to record this or put this on the project.’ Then, to find out it’s going to radio—now, it’s like I’m playing these stages, and tens of thousands of people are singing it back. And it’s just been so crazy and so bizarre and just really cool because, for me, it was like, this came out of nowhere. I think it’s taught me to allow yourself to be surprised and don’t put too much pressure on a song, and don’t put too much pressure on the recording of it and the writing of it. Just let it be.”