Nicolle Galyon Shares Her Musical Memoir With Debut Album ‘Firstborn’

Nicolle Galyon has spent more than a decade behind the scenes helping country artists like Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini and Dan + Shay tell their stories through song. Today, on her 38^th birthday, Galyon shares her story with the release of her debut album firstborn.

“I’m having so much fun being brave and opening the door to be surprised by people’s responses and what the world comes back with as I offer this to the world,” Galyon, a hit songwriter who has written nine No. 1 singles, tells me.

Galyon says she’s been toying with the idea of making an album for the past 20 years. In early 2021, she had a creative burst while on a drive to her hometown of Sterling, Kansas. During the trip she says she realized “my whole why” for making a record.

MORE FROM FORBESJillian Jacqueline Takes The Reins On Her Career With Independent Release ‘Honestly’By Annie Reuter

The mother of two says the initial concept for firstborn was simply to share with her children the things she wanted them to know about her as a woman and as their mother. Song titles came to her throughout the car ride and the words felt like chapter titles for a book about herself.

Galyon, who founded the female-focused label and publishing house Songs & Daughters in 2019, gave herself one year to write and record the project. She did just that and turned in the album on Dec. 17, 2021. Fittingly, firstborn is released on her own Songs & Daughters imprint. The label executive and award-winning songwriter says the process of making an album has made her both a better ally to artists and a better partner to creatives.

“When I started Songs & Daughters three years ago, it gave me incredible insight and empathy to executives in the business because it was the first time I had ever really stepped into that space myself and had to make executive decisions,” she says. “Putting out this record has given me the exact same insight and empathy to the artists that I work with. It’s one thing to sit in a conference room and to be able to talk about music or to talk about careers, but it’s a totally different thing to be the one that actually puts your name and face next to it.”

MORE FROM FORBESAustin Burke Is Helping Songwriters By Giving 15 Percent Of His MastersBy Annie Reuter

The 11-track album was entirely co-written by Galyon and shares her humble beginnings, love, loss, insecurities and the juggle between motherhood and career. While autobiographical songs like “winner,” “sunflower” and “death bed” are candid and vulnerable, Galyon says the record isn’t about her livelihood. Instead, it’s about her legacy.

“I’ve had the luxury to know that I can put this record out and it’s not so much about the release week for me,” she says. “It’s more about the long-term journey that the record takes. … I’m so proud of these songs and I’m so proud of the team behind the scenes that I’m working with. I’ve fallen in love with the process of putting out music because I’ve never gotten to be on this side of it.”

When Galyon announced the album she said, “While it’s rare to make a debut album at 38, it’s also impossible to write a memoir at 21.” The singer adds that she’s not one to stand on a soapbox and impose beliefs on others. Instead, she embraces the philosophy “be what you want to see.”

“This is something that I would want to see more of, so I’m trying to be it,” she says of releasing her debut album at 38. “Creativity and storytelling has always been my way of subtly getting to become what I want to stand for. If I think that someone at 38 should put out a record, I’m just going to go put out a record. I’m not going wait for somebody else to do it.”

MORE FROM FORBESNatalie Hemby Takes The Spotlight With ‘Pins And Needles’By Annie Reuter

In making firstborn, Galyon has rediscovered who she is as a person. She says the deeply personal “winner” felt like the thesis for the project because of how true it was. “This song’s like an accountability partner for me for the rest of my life now,” she says. “I think that song was probably the most self-aware. It’s basically like a throughline with my whole story for my whole life. It’s probably going to end up being the most impactful on me going forward.”

Album closer “death bed” became a trending topic among listeners even before the album was released. “Death bed” is a poignant song about juggling motherhood and one’s career and Galyon was surprised by the response.

“Working mothers, the reality of how to balance home and work is something that’s not talked about enough,” she says. “I know it’s a niche idea, but I’ve played this record for so many people and they’re like, ‘This was my mom. I can’t believe my mom probably felt this way. She’s a dentist.’ I think it’s more universal than I thought it was.”

While Galyon has finally released her debut album into the world, the initial purpose for firstborn to serve as a time capsule and memoir for her children remains.

“I really wrote it for or them to listen to when they’re older,” she says. “When they’re 21, 22 trying to figure out who they really are, I hope that this can be the guide for them to know where they came from. I think they like the songs now at seven and nine, but again, the music business is all about the long game. For me, the long game for this record is for them to connect with it when they’re adults.”

Along the way firstborn has guided Galyon, too.

“I have fallen in love with the therapy side of getting to write songs in this way,” she says. “I think it’s raised the bar of how I want to be a co-writer.”