In “Going Blonde,” country-pop star Tanner Adell opens up about adoption, grief, and reconnection through music.
Tanner Adell has always stood out with her confidence and bold country-pop style. But with “Going Blonde,” she reveals something more—an unfiltered look into the emotional journey that has shaped her. Released today, the track offers a glimpse into her real-life story of adoption, identity, and longing.
Written alone in a Nashville bar, “Going Blonde” was inspired by the discovery that her adoption, long believed to be a selfless act by her birth mother, was not the full truth. After a DNA test gifted by her adoptive parents, Adell connected with her biological brother and learned her mother had passed—just as she was finally close to finding her.
“I think I’m still learning things and I’m definitely still grieving,” she says. “But I’m ready to release it as a form of my own therapy.”
Holding onto a photo of her mother—blonde and glamorous—Adell found comfort in Dolly Parton’s “Dumb Blonde,” and in her own blonde hair. “It made me feel like I had a piece of my mom for the first time.”
The single marks a shift in Adell’s songwriting: raw, intentional, and grounded in real experience. Her multi-part video on social media invites fans into the story behind the music, as she prepares to release her debut album later this year.
With over 200 million global streams and recent highlights including a GLAAD Awards performance and her upcoming appearance at Billboard Women In Music, Adell shows that vulnerability can be its own kind of strength.
