Lauren Alaina has released a powerful new video to complement her Top 20 single, “Road Less Traveled,” a song she co-penned with Meghan Trainor and Jesse Frasure about remaining true to who you are despite self-doubt and external pressures.
As a 15-year-old on American Idol, Lauren was thrust into the national spotlight in 2011 and had to deal with a lot of external pressures and self-doubt.
“I actually had an eating disorder for four years,” Lauren, 21, told NCD earlier this summer. “I had it before [American Idol]. But it got dramatically worse after the show. I dropped 40 pounds after the show aired. I was 25 pounds underweight. It was ridiculous. It was not good. My hair was falling out—I had bald spots all over my head. I seriously messed my stomach up. I was very very unhealthy.”
After overcoming her eating disorder, Lauren wanted to give hope, encouragement and inspiration to other young women who may be dealing with negative self-image issues, which is one of the reasons she co-wrote “Road Less Traveled.”
“I just feel like when I was growing up, there were so many songs that made you proud to be who you were,” said Lauren. “Like, [Shania Twain’s] ‘Man I Feel Like a Woman’ and [Martina McBride’s] ‘This One’s for the Girls.’ All of these songs that were super inspiring as far as feeling good in your own skin and you’re not alone. I wanted to write a song like that, and ‘Road Less Traveled’ is that song for me. Actually, a lot of the songs on the album have this message, because it’s what I’m most passionate about. It’s super fun and I feel like it kind of showcases my personality, but it also has a serious message that I think people will benefit from hearing. It’s really universal.
“I wanted to share my story because I think that some of my favorite artists just own what they are going through and share it. It’s so healing for everyone. It’s healing for them to write it, it’s healing for people to hear and think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not alone.’”
Watch Lauren celebrate the “Road Less Traveled” in her new video below.
