Hannah Bethel’s ethereal vocals and universal storytelling are at the heart of her new song “Rhinestone Rodeo.” A tale about chasing her dreams and never giving up, Bethel’s soothing vocals coupled with delicate fingerpicking and soaring pedal steel flesh out the track.
The singer-songwriter had the title for “Rhinestone Rodeo” several years before it was written. While Bethel pitched the song about navigating a life in the music business to several co-writers, it wasn’t until a writing session with Tiffany Goss and Farewell Angelina’s Nicole Witt that the idea came to fruition.
“I was tired, burned out and unsure of where to go next,” Bethel tells Billboard of the song. “Everyone chasing a dream has a ‘mountain’ to climb. For me, Nashville has been my ‘mountain.’ There have been many seasons during my 10 years in Nashville, some beautiful highs and terrible lows, but I am grateful for every experience that has made me stronger, wiser, more certain of who I am as an artist and a human, and more determined than ever to move forward with great joy and optimism in my heart.”
The four-minute video for “Rhinestone Rodeo,” premiering on Billboard below, follows Bethel’s journey as an artist. With homemade videos of Bethel performing on stage as a young girl, the heart of the song comes vividly to life.
“I wanted this video to represent three different aspects of myself. There is the me who can get caught up in the hustle and grind, wondering when the stars will align, and the struggle will lift. Then there is my highest self, the one that’s tuned in with the angels, who already knows the whole story and is guiding me forward and reminding me to take every step with love,” she explains. “And then there is my child self who just wants to sing songs, and who is the spark that started me on this journey in the first place.”
“Rhinestone Rodeo” is the first track off Bethel’s forthcoming EP, which is still untitled.
Watch the video for the song below.