Carrie Underwood Premieres "Cry Pretty": Listen to Her "Emotional" New Song

"I hope when you hear it, you can relate those feelings to those times in your life," she says

By Zach Johnson Apr 11, 2018 10:45 AMTags

Country radio has been missing Carrie Underwood.

At long last, on iHeartRadio Tuesday, Underwood premiered her new single, "Cry Pretty," from her forthcoming sixth studio album. The singer co-wrote the song with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose (a.k.a Love Junkies). "You can pretty lie, and say it's OK / You can pretty smile, and just walk away / Pretty much fake your way through anything / But you can't cry pretty," Underwood sings. "You can't turn off the flood, when the dam breaks / When all your mascara is going to waste / When things get ugly, you just gotta face that you can't cry pretty."

"Cry Pretty" is Underwood's first single released on UMG Nashville; she was previously signed with Sony Music Nashville after winning American Idol in 2005. On Sunday, she will perform "Cry Pretty" for the first time ever during the 2018 ACM Awards on ABC, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

In a letter to fans Tuesday, Underwood teased new music was on the way. "I've been in the studio writing and singing a TON, but I've also been able to be creative in a way that I've never been before, which has been very fulfilling and empowering. While I was writing last year, I met a writer/producer named David Garcia. We hit it off in a big way and I'm excited to say that we are co-producing my album together. I've always been lucky to have a voice in the writing and recording process, but this is the first time I am this involved in the production of my music. It's been challenging and incredibly rewarding to be involved in every aspect from start to finish. David has been an amazing teacher and partner, and I'm so proud of what we have created," she wrote. She created "magic" with Love Junkies, and "Cry Pretty" is a reflection of that. "The title refers to when emotions take over and you just can't hold them back. It really speaks to a lot of things that have happened in the past year and I hope when you hear it, you can relate those feelings to those times in your life," she wrote. "It's emotional. It's real. And it ROCKS!"

Underwood has yet to announce an album release date.

(E! and UMG Music are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)