Lindsay Ell is making waves in the country music industry.
In a genre where radio play dictates success for artists on the rise, this Canadian-born singer went where most wouldn't dare by speaking out against a Sacramento radio station that canceled her gig less than 24 hours before she was set to take the stage. Ell tweeted recently, "Had a scheduled performance in Sacramento today for listeners. The radio station has asked me not to come bc of my personal life. Sorry guys."
What about her personal life made KNCI 105.1 FM pull the plug? Ell is dating Bobby Bones, an extremely popular radio personality that works for a competing station. The response to their romance has been so negative, in fact, that some stations refuse to play her music altogether.
E! News' Carissa Culiner sat down with Lindsay about the ongoing controversy, and why she's taking a stand for the sake of her career. The 28-year-old recalled feeling "scared" to go public with her relationship last fall, "because we knew it was a sensitive thing."
Ell explained, "Eventually I reached the point where I was like, ‘Country music is a beautiful industry because they embrace humans being humans.' And they embrace artists being able to have a personal life and don't let it come in the way of their career or goals or business."
The "Waiting on You" singer also wanted "to be honest" with her fans and "be real with them in hopes that it wouldn't affect my career."
Lindsay said she understands the incredibly cutthroat nature of country music radio, but admitted, "I get in a competitive situation that it's a sensitive topic, however, I really feel that as an artist—male or female—your personal life shouldn't affect what you do."
Unfortunately, it has. Lindsay goes to great lengths to keep her relationship under wraps out of fear that new fans will find out about Bobby and not listen to certain radio shows. She shared with us, "I am very careful about pictures that I post, dialogue on social media. We walk red carpets separately. I do my best to make sure that I'm not flaunting our relationship..."
Despite the scandal, Lindsay is hopeful others will soon be able to separate her personal and professional life just as she has. "Bobby's business is Bobby's business," Ell said. "All I can worry about is me. I work so hard as an artist. I care so much about making music that I've fallen in love with."
She continued, "I've been doing this ever since I was a little girl. I've been playing guitar since I was 8-years-old, so I don't think anything in an artist's personal life should come in the way of that."
Check out Lindsay's current single "Waiting On You" from her upcoming album The Project out in August.