New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Tenille Arts turned to YouTube to debut the music video for her latest Reviver Records single "Call You Names" this week. Shot on a Los Angeles soundstage, the clip features mothers, grandmothers and daughters interacting, as Tenille sings the beautifully touching song. Tenille's own mother, Glenda Arts (pictured at right with Tenille as a toddler,) makes her music video debut in the clip, which can be viewed here.
The story behind the song, which Tenille admits is a tribute and an apology to her mother for "those teen years," was almost divinely inspired.
"I was just kinda playing some chords, trying to think of something different. All of a sudden I started playing these chords, and literally the first line of the song, 'I remember you caught me with that first cigarette I smoked,' just came out of my mouth, and I was like 'What the heck? Where is this going?' It felt like a 'God thing,' because these words were coming out of my mouth, like 'I called you all of these names.' Then I had the idea to change that from the mean names into beautiful names."
"The first few times I played the song live, my mom was in the audience and I couldn't look at her while I was singing it," added Tenille. "I lived at home for a couple of years after high school, saving money to make the move to Nashville, and I started to realize all that my mom meant to me and how amazing she is with what she accomplishes every day."
Next week will see Tenille headed west for dates in California, Nevada, Colorado and Washington before traveling to her home province of Saskatchewan to headline the annual SOAR for Cystic Fibrosis event in Moose Jaw on May 25. She will be back in Nashville for her first official CMA Fest performance Friday, June 7 at 10:30 a.m. on the Walk of Fame Stage.
Born and raised in the small prairie town of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Tenille Arts picked up the guitar and penned her first song at the age of 13 and has been performing across the US and Canada ever since. She made her first appearance on The Bachelor in January 2018 singing her original song "Moment of Weakness." The performance resulted in a record deal with powerhouse indie label Reviver Records. She made her second appearance on the show in January of this year performing "I Hate This." The song hit #1 on both the U.S. and Canadian iTunes Country Charts and #9 U.S. iTunes all-genre following the episode.
Tenille has released an EP and a full-length album, and her music has tallied over eight million streams. Noted music critic Tom Roland was so moved by her music that he has penned two full-page features in the Billboard Country Update.
Music Row Magazine critic Robert K. Oermann called Tenille "Promising in the extreme." Streaming giant
Pandora named her one of their new artists to watch, and CMT included her in their "Ten Must-See Indies You Need to Know," a video discovery program that spotlights rising independent artists and established artists from independent labels. Rolling Stone named Tenille one of their "10 New Country Artists You Need To Know," calling her "An edgy, Fearless-era
Taylor Swift with crystalline vocals; ideal for hopeless romantics who are fire signs," and PopCulture.com named her one of their "Country Artists to Watch in 2018."
